President of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, Dr James Wesley-Smith;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen:
Introductory remarks
Thank you for the invitation to address you today. It is an honour to attend an organisation of respected international standing such as yourselves, The Microscopy Society of Southern Africa. It is no small achievement for any organisation to reach the milestone of 51 years of age. This is only possible through the sacrifice, hard work and perseverance of the members.
The MSSA started with the inspirational story of how Dr Heinz Wilsdorf and his team at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research used to meet, three times a year, with only three main topics to discuss, namely – • snags in the preparation of samples; • how to maintain their instruments; and • literature studies of the latest developments in their fields of interest. Over the years the group grew bigger and the meetings were formalised to the point where a secretary and treasurer were appointed.
In the sixties of the last century microscopy knowledge was intensifying and commercial firms started giving much needed support by supplying microscopes. The group then became known as the Electron Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, or EMSSA. The society then applied for membership of the International Federation of Societies for Electron Microscopy, or IFSEM, in 1966, and was accepted, whilst attending its first meeting in Tokyo. Since then, the MSSA has never looked back; it grew substantially as more topics were introduced, workshops were started and the first president was appointed.
The society changed its name to the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, in order to accommodate all forms of microscopy. You may be wondering why I have just related this MSSA history that most of you probably already know. One reason is that this remarkable story is part of the bigger picture that reflects just how far we have come as a country. It should also be viewed in the context of the impending celebrations to mark our country's 20th anniversary of democracy. The growth of modern microscopy technology as a science, modern electron microscopy has become a sophisticated and indispensable tool for materials research. In the past, microscopy was largely a matter of trial and error, until systematic microscopy studies of the microstructure of materials were made.
Over the last 50 years, phenomenal progress has been made; it has revolutionised our understanding of materials structure, right down to the subatomic level. To a large extent, the development of modern engineering materials has taken place in parallel with the rapid evolution of microscopy techniques. In the life sciences, one of the crowning achievements of transmission electron microscopy is its contribution to the three-dimensional visualisation of proteins, viruses and other macromolecular complexes. You will recall that one of South Africa's four science Nobel laureates; Aaron Klug, was a pioneer in this area.
You would also be aware that three dimensional cryo-transmission electron microscopy is at present a major tool for growing our understanding of the complexity of HIV, and it is emerging as a central tool for understanding the mechanics of the malaria parasite and tuberculosis. However, it is a matter of some frustration that South African scientists have travel abroad to gain access to the equipment necessary to participate in this work, which is obviously of central importance to our continent.
The DST's contribution given the importance and growth of microscopy, we, as the Department of Science and Technology, regard it as crucial in addressing some of our strategic priorities in the areas of human capital development – by training competent technicians to do research on HIV, mining and many other fields, using the high-end microscopes that the DST has funded.
Moreover, microscopy is advancing emerging research areas such as nanotechnology, where it is in alignment with the objectives of the National Nanotechnology Strategy For this reason, we have – through one of our agencies, the National Research Foundation – been generously supporting the microscopy community. Our momentous contribution was when the DST funded the establishment of the state-of-the-art specialised facility, the Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, based at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth.
To date the DST has invested R84 million in support of the centre. Through this centre, South Africa is now firmly positioned as a global player in the high resolution arena. Our hope is that this investment will translate into cutting-edge research and development capacity, providing young scientists with high-end skills and attracting beneficial collaborative partnerships internationally. I am pleased to note that, since its launch in 2011, 20 articles have been published; training workshops have been held, and 22 students have been registered at MSc and PhD level.
The DST is also investing in high-end microscopes through the National Equipment and National Nanotechnology Equipment Programmes (NEP and NNEP), managed by the National Research Foundation. Through these two programmes, approximately 40 microscopes and related imaging equipment have been acquired to the amount of approximately R200 million, which makes up 28% of our total funding budget over the last eight years. The DST is also funding two Nanotechnology Innovation Centres based at the CSIR and Mintek, as well as the Nanotechnology Flagship Programme which is managed by the National Research Foundation. Since the establishment of the centres, at least R328 million has been invested in microscopes and related equipment.
Through the investments made in these programmes, at least 263 students at MSc and PhD level have been trained, 807 publications have been realised and 16 patents have been registered. Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge the sterling work of the scientists and researchers gathered here, and thank them and our internal partners for continuously enabling us to meet our national goals. It is my sincere hope that your conference will not only reflect on progress made over the past 50 years, but that it will also produce new perspectives in the areas you have chosen for discussion.
It would please me even more if this conference can devise ways to ensure that such new perspectives can be shared with those sections of our society which, for historical reasons, may not have had the privilege of a proper science education. The overall challenge facing us here today is to answer the question: What impact does the work that I do have on South African society? I wish you fruitful deliberations, and will await the outcomes of this conference with keen interest.
