Experts to share thoughts at CSIR conference

The conference will feature a host of both local and international experts in the fields of energy, the natural environment, information and communications technology, health, industry, defence and security and the built environment, who will be discussing exciting and expected future technological developments and pertinent global research issues.

The conference will take an incisive look at questions such as: what will future sustainable energy systems actually look like. What is needed to be able to truly eradicate malaria. What are the big data challenges on the African continent. What are the financial benefits of renewable energy. How is technology aiding in the fight against poaching? And how can we measure the contribution of nature to the economy.

Main attraction

The speakers at this year's conference are local and international thought leaders and experts who will share knowledge and expertise with conference delegates. One of the main attractions will be a talk by Dr Michael Thackeray, one of the revered 'fathers' of the kind of spinel oxide lithium-ion batteries that have become synonymous with modern life, powering all manner of portable electronic devices like smartphones and tablets.

Another highlight will be a talk by Prof Lynn Morris, a chief specialist scientist who heads the HIV virology laboratories within the centre of HIV and sexually transmitted infections at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Johannesburg and holds a joint appointment as Research Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Another anticipated talk is that of Dr Pushpam Kumar, chief of the Ecosystem Services and Economics Unit of the Division of Environment Programme Implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme. Kumar, who works on the mainstreaming of ecosystem services into development policy through the tools and techniques of ecological economics, will lead a discussion on how it is possible to measure the contribution of nature on world economies and on how global and national policies do not adequately recognise the dependence of economies on nature.

Own research progress

The conference will also showcase the CSIR's own research progress, breakthroughs and impacts. A talk on the financial benefits of South Africa's renewable energy projects by Dr Tobias Bischof-Niemz promises to be informative, while Dr Dalu Mancama will be sharing the CSIR's work on the screening of synthetic compounds to help identify a new generation of drugs that will hopefully be able to permanently disrupt the life-cycle of the malaria parasite.

Also on the conference agenda is a discussion on the creation of vastly enhanced plastics thanks to nanoclay minerals by Prof Suprakas Sinha Ray. Priaash Ramadeen will be discussing how technology is being used in the fight against poaching while Dr Francois Engelbrecht will outline the progress made towards the development of the first African-based earth system model for accurate climate change projections.

For more, go to http://conference.csir.co.za