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Date : 18/09/2003
Source: Ministry of Science and Technology
Title: Ngubane: African Institute for Mathematical Sciences launch


ADDRESS BY DR BEN NGUBANE, MINISTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AT THE AIMS LAUNCH

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome our international visitors and partners to South Africa for the launch of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). Today we live in a globalised world, which is highly competitive and increasingly becoming borderless. Science and technology is critical to the economic growth and to the upliftment of quality of life of all South Africans as well as the African continent.

The changes that are taking place in the world today demand higher levels of innovation and creativity in order to improve our competitiveness. With the shift towards knowledge-based economy, the ability of a nation to continuously enhance proficiency in science, technology and innovation is becoming more urgent. We need to respond to these changes with new strategies and approaches.

We need to ensure that we strengthen the contribution of science and technology to the development needs of our society and continent now and in the future. Hence, our continent's ability to produce well-trained, effective scientists, engineers and technologists will be important to us becoming successful nations. In this regard, I would like to commend initiatives such as the establishment of the AIMS. AIMS draws on outstanding local and international scientists to train students in the important field of mathematical research and is a major step in the right direction.

This initiative also has political significance because the exclusion of large numbers of our people from mathematics and the sciences became a metaphor of the apartheid regime. Much still needs to be done to overcome the effects of this exclusion and this was a matter of active discussion and planning at the recent Cabinet Lekgotla.

Basic research in the mathematical sciences is a fundamental enabler of developments in virtually all areas of science and technology. Mathematical modeling and computational simulation are essential tools for modern design and control, as well as for the prediction and understanding of phenomena across the sciences. This role is well understood, but its impact is perhaps less well appreciated.

Through the use of computational design and simulation, mathematical research of the past decades has, in large part, fueled recent increases in productivity. Mathematics has transformed industrial design. The design of modern commercial aircraft and high-performance military aircraft, for example, rely on mathematical tools developed in the last two decades. The Boeing 777 is a well-known example of a commercial aircraft designed through computational simulation. In military aircraft, the development and testing of stealth capability depend in large measure on the large-scale computational codes that simulate the reflection of electromagnetic waves from airplane surfaces.

Mathematics has contributed to advances in nearly every niche of technology. Numerical weather prediction is an everyday tool that uses models of fluid flow coupled with modern computational algorithms. Even the technology for ensuring the reliability and safety of our nuclear reactors, as well as for reducing environmental hazards from waste, now depends on computational simulation.

Modern medicine and the life sciences increasingly rely on mathematics to simulate, visualise, and predict new structures, and then to organise and understand, quickly and cheaply, the data needed for the development and certification of more effective devices and pharmaceuticals.

Recent advances in information technology and the explosion of the Internet have depended on mathematical advances of the past few decades, and further progress will require continued new developments in mathematics and related disciplines. Web search engines use modern numerical algorithms. Dynamic routing algorithms developed by mathematicians over the past fifteen years are speeding up Internet routing.

Even the national economies' financial markets rely strongly on mathematical tools that were developed through basic research. Mathematical tools, such as the Black-Scholes algorithm, are used to price securities and options and to regulate the markets. These powerful tools were developed through research in stochastic differential equations. Research in mathematical finance continues to be an important application area, and stack exchanges remain a strong source of demand for graduates from the mathematical sciences.

With the advent of high performance computing, the mathematical sciences have become an integral part of every scientific and engineering discipline. Computing, in the form of simulations, now complements analysis and experiments as part of a triad that is increasingly successful in understanding physical, biological and behavioral phenomena.

As computers become more powerful, mathematics penetrates more deeply into every area of science and technology. Today, mathematics finds application directly and rapidly through computer codes. While advances in computers attract a lot of national attention, it should be recognised that mathematics is equally important for advancing capabilities, if not more so. AIMS is also committed, wherever possible, to utilise Open Source Software and is fully supported by the department in this regard.

One of the reasons for the utility of mathematics lies in its abstraction. Models for phenomena in one application area are often applicable in another. As a result, mathematical results can be transferred quickly. But mathematics has its own infrastructure to be developed, and to that end further fundamental research in mathematics itself is required.

Interdisciplinary research lies on the border between mathematics and an application discipline. It can be driven by the pull of the application or by the push to drive new mathematical ideas into new understanding and technology in an application area.

The dissemination of knowledge, understanding and expertise is crucial for reducing global inequity. AIMS student intake represents a rich mix of cultures from the African continent which is likely to lead to an innovative response to the needs of our continent. This initiative also creates opportunities for African scientists to have a stimulating environment to work in. The Institute offers huge opportunities for the advancement of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative by creating a pool of technical talent who would be in a position to focus on African solutions to African problems. The important role that science and technology plays in advancing development can only be achieved by increasing the human resource capacity in critical areas.

The publication of the National Research and Development Strategy represented a milestone in our National System of Innovation. The strategic objectives of this strategy are to increase innovation through mastery of technological change in our economy and society; to develop sufficient human capital and bring about transformation through increased investment in South Africa's science and technology base; and to ensure alignment and delivery through the creation of an effective government science and technology system.

The Research and Development Strategy recognises that the global best practice in generating human resources is to focus on excellence. The Department of Science and Technology has initiated a "Centres of Excellence Programme" in partnership with the National Research Foundation, which is intended to strengthen post-graduate production in key areas of relevance and importance to our nation. This has the positive benefit of making a larger contribution over a shorter time period, as well as creating a more interesting and challenging environment for post-graduate students. It is satisfying to note that the AIMS has already engaged with another initiative that the Department is supporting in the field of epidemiological modeling and analysis. With the challenges that this country and the continent is facing around communicable diseases such as TB and AIDS, such interactions are getting increasingly important.

In addition to this, we have been strengthening our investment in key science areas of enduring value to South Africa, including astronomy, palaeontology, the Antarctic and the Islands research programmes, indigenous knowledge and key bio-resources. These investments ensure that South Africa remains at the forefront of international research. Other exciting initiatives include South Africa's bid to host the Square Kilometer Array which was announced in May 2003. Final decision regarding both the site and the preferred technology will be made by 2005.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Neil Turok, Fritz Hahne, Daya Reddy, Keith Moffatt, and Jan van Bever Donker in advancing the development of this Institution. Archimedes once said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world", I believe that AIMS has the requisite ingredients to 'move' our Continent.

In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, our government is committed to strategically increase investment in science and technology so that we can generate the next generation of inventors and innovators who will bring new benefits and quality of life to our people. Building competencies in science, engineering and technology is a shared responsibility. Government, although a key player, cannot undertake this task alone. Industries, universities, science councils, the scientific community and society as a whole must also play their part in ensuring that together we can truly develop a meaningful alliance that would enable us to confront the future with confidence.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
18 September 2003

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