The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor will tomorrow, Thursday, 1 September 2011 at 17h00, deliver the keynote address at the National Research Foundation (NRF) Presidential Awards Function at Velmore Hotel and Conference Estate, Mooiplaas, Erasmia in Pretoria.
The purpose of the NRF awards is to recognise South African scientists for their research achievements in line with NRF’s mandate to support and promote research.
The awards will be presented in the following categories:
- P-rated researchers; (see editor’s notes below)
- A-rated researchers; (see editor’s notes below)
- Transforming the Science COHORT; (see editor’s notes below)
- Champion of Research Capacity Development at South African universities(see editor’s notes below)
- Lifetime achiever (see editor’s notes below)
Editor's notes
1. P-Rating is given to young researchers (normally younger than 35 years), who have held the doctorate or equivalent qualification for less than five years at the time of application and who, on the basis of exceptional potential demonstrated in their published doctoral work and/or their research outputs in their early post-doctoral careers, are considered likely to become future leaders in their field.
2. A-Rating award is given to researchers who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field, for high quality and impact of their recent research outputs.
3. Champion of Research Capacity Development at South African higher education institutions award recognises individuals within the research community who contribute to the transformation of South Africa’s community and landscape. The aim of this award is to encourage and promote this activity across the South African research community. It should be noted that the award is dependent on the number of students in the designated groups that had been trained, as well as the quality and impact of research outputs of the students.
4. Transforming the Science Cohort Award, responds specifically to addressing the challenges of getting more black scientists advancing to world class research performance and receiving encouragement and recognition for these efforts. It is focused on transforming the science cohort to be more representative of the country’s demographics.
5. Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to a deserving South African individual who is considered to have made outstandingly extra-ordinary contribution(s) to the development of science in and for South Africa, over an extended period of time. The contribution(s) must be considered to be of international standard and impact. In this category, some of the previous winners of note are Professor Eskia Mphahlele and Dr Mamphela Ramphele.
Media are invited.
Enquiries:
Lunga Ngqengelele
Tel: 012 843 6802
Cell: 082 566 0446
E-mail: lunga.ngqengelele@dst.gov.za
