The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Stellenbosch University (SU) have launched two new research chairs, one in quantum, optical and atomic physics and the other in artificial intelligence (AI).

The physics chair, hosted by SU’s Faculty of Science, would allow researchers to focus on the use of single trapped atomic ions for studying quantum phenomena and on developing laboratory technologies for the field of research that can be commercialised.

The AI chair would double the university’s Department of Information Science’s research capacity and allow for the allocation of bursaries to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

CSIR and SU physicist Dr Hermann Uys, and CSIR Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research representative Professor Arina Britz would hold the respective chairs.

"It will make it possible to bring more AI research into our courses and will also create a student pipeline for the CSIR in the sense that students may one day work with or for the CSIR,” the department’s chairperson Professor Bruce Watson said, adding that AI was one of the “very interesting” research areas that could find application in defence, service delivery and information and communications technology.