Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor officially opened the new Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Nanomaterials Industrial Development Facility (NIDF) in December 2015. Delivering the keynote address at the official opening of the NIDF at the CSIR in Pretoria, Pandor described it as an important milestone in fostering innovation. “The Nanomaterials Industrial Development Facility is an important milestone in a long innovation journey,” Pandor said. “As…

It is hard to believe we are in the month of February already. We wish all our readers a prosperous 2016 and success in your endeavours. I am glad to announce that we have managed to secure Roswika Media to produce the bimonthly Nano newsletter in collaboration with the NPEP team for a 12 month period starting with this February issue. Over the last year, we were privileged to share some of the highlights of…

Following on the success of new research centres in nanoscience and nanotechnology established by the Department of Science and Technology, the next major step was to introduce a dedicated postgraduate programme for training in nanoscience and nanotechnology in South African Universities. This programme also marked the introduction of a new system of collaboration between universities, where four South African universities are simultaneously presenting the same master’s degree. Since 2012, a Master’s programme in nanoscience and…

Neuro-degenerative diseases (NDD’s) affect lives on a daily basis. These diseases are not geographically confined and their adverse effects on the human body have been, up to now, essentially irreversible. However, some significant progress may have been made towards fighting NDD’s by our own home grown South African scientists. Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system and the nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The progressive loss of structure or impaired…

Nanotechnology is no longer just an emerging field of science or science fiction. Many countries already have nano-products in their marketplace (Figure 1). Nanotechnology has the potential to impact many industrial sectors and every economic sector across the globe, with the market for this technology estimated to grow to as much as $3 trillion by 2020. In the last two decades, the South African government has invested a substantial amount of funds into nanotechnology research…

Madichaba Phuti Chelopo is a 27 year old scientist who was born in a township in Polokwane in the Limpopo province. Chelopo is currently a PhD Student at North West University (NWU), majoring in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and hosted by the CSIR. She obtained a BSc degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry in 2008, BSc Honours degree in Chemistry in 2009 and MSc degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 2012 at the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN). Chelopo…