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The South African discipline of physics grows more complex and more engaged each year. As a country, striving for global competitiveness in the areas of science, technology and innovation, we have remarkable track records in transforming, fostering and maintaining physics in South Africa.
 
This was the message from the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, to more than 490 physicists from around the world including the Americas, Europe and Asia, at the opening of the 2014 South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) annual four-day conference hosted by the Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on Monday, 7 July 2014.
 
She highlighted that with innovation and sustainable solutions, physicists have the power to change the world as we know it, mentioning South Africa’s involvement in key projects such as the SA-CERN programme; the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (SA-JINR); MeerKAT; the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), and the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA).
 
Also addressing the delegates, the South African Institute of Physics’ president, Dr Igle Gledhill, said that coordinating effective actions should be the focus. She added that there is no doubt that the country needs serious intervention strategies to strengthen mentorship, support and guidance in curriculum implementation at secondary school level. She believes that constructive peer coaching and innovative mentorship programmes can benefit experienced educators, adding that university physics and science departments should play a crucial role in teacher education. She commended the University’s Soweto Science Centre’s project that coordinates a well-structured teacher professional development programme, where educational support of and assistance with learning content, mathematical and science related skills are provided to teachers.
 
Says Prof Hartmut Winkler of the Faculty of Science, UJ: “The conference happens at a time when there are several major developments generating excitement not only in the physics community but in broader society as well. A lot of the scientific discussions at the conference are expected to focus on these developments as well as the potential of new discoveries.”
 
Some conference highlights:
 
Wednesday, 09 July at 16:30 – Local innovation will come under the spotlight during Prof Andrew Forbes of the CSIR’s presentation. His team was featured in the news last year for their advances in laser physics.     
 
Thursday, 10 July at 12:30 – An hour plenary lecture on the latest progress with the construction of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). This session will be presented by Prof Justin Jonas (SKA Associate Director: Science and Engineering). Much discussion at the conference is also expected to focus on the possible selection of Namibia as host for the Cherenkov Telescope Array, another international project to establish a massive astrophysical gamma ray facility.
 
Friday, 11 July at 09:00 – Prof Emmanuel Tsesmelis of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Oxford University, will share with the delegates the dramatic discoveries made at CERN in recent years, including the long anticipated finding of Higgs Boson, which resulted in the awarding of the Physics Nobel Prize to the discovery team (which included South African participation).
Other plenary speakers include theoretical physicist Prof Toshimi Suda of Tohoku University, Japan; nanoscientist  Prof Eric Fullerton of San Diego University, USA; photovoltaics expert Prof Vladimar Djakanov, based in Germany; photonics specialist Prof Miles Padgett of Glasgow University; astrophysicist Megan Donahue of Michigan University, USA; Prof Cedric Linder, Uppsala, Sweden, and Prof Marcia Barosa, Brasil, will challenge the delegates with discussions around Physics education and Women in Physics respectively.