Research excellence for societal benefit: a retrospective look at highlights of NRF Strategy 2020 (April 2015-March 2020) NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Advancing Knowledge. Transforming Lives. Inspiring a Nation. NRF 5 year Highlights Report CONTENTS

A Message from Dr Dorsamy Pillay, Acting Ceo of the National Research Foundation...... 4 Strategy 2020: Outcomes...... 5 Introduction...... 6 1. AN INFLUENTIAL AGENCY SHAPING An internationally competitive research system and PROVIDING leading edge research infrastructure...... 10 1.1. Introduction...... 10 1.2. Peer-Reviewed Published Articles...... 10 1.3. outcomes in Specific Research Areas...... 12 1.3.1. Health Research...... 12 1.3.1.1. HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis...... 12 1.3.1.1.1. Tracking the Prevalence of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis in South Africa...... 12 1.3.1.1.2. New Hope for Young Women Exposed to HIV...... 13 1.3.1.1.3. New Diagnostic Tools for TB and Drugs Validation...... 14 1.3.1.2. Cancer...... 14 1.3.1.2.1. Radiopharmaceuticals for Cancer Research, Diagnosis and Treatment...... 14 1.3.1.2.2. Tracking HPV for Cervical Cancer Prevention...... 16 1.3.2. Food Security...... 17 1.3.2.1. Strengthening the Nutritional Quality of Food...... 17 1.3.2.2. ensuring Food Safety Through Cost-Effective Innovation...... 18 1.3.2.3. Research Findings on Food Market Distortion...... 19 1.3.3. Energy...... 20 1.3.3.1. Supercapacitors: The Future of Energy Storage...... 20 1.3.3.2. Sustainable Solar Energy...... 21

Page | 1 NRF 5 year Highlights Report CONTENTS

1.3.3.3. Clean Energy for a Clean Future...... 22 1.3.3.4. Making Conventional Energy Resources Better...... 23 1.3.4. Astronomy...... 23 1.3.4.1. Radio Astronomy Uncovers New Secrets of the Universe...... 23 1.3.4.2. SA Telescopes Look Deeper into the Universe SAAO...... 25 1.3.5. ecosystem Research...... 27 1.3.5.1. Helping SA to Balance Conservation and Societal Needs...... 27 1.3.5.2. Addressing Biodiversity and Environmental Pollution...... 28 1.3.5.3. Influencing Policy in the Important Indian Ocean Region...... 30 1.3.6. Researching the Human Condition in South Africa...... 31 1.3.6.1. When Childhood Experiences Affect Adulthood...... 31 1.3.6.2. Poverty and South Africa’s Education System...... 31 1.3.6.3. Sexuality and Violence: Young Girls at School...... 32 1.3.6.4. Poverty, Inequality and Family Dynamics...... 33 1.4. Patents Filed by SARChI Chairs and CoEs Help Build South Africa’s Knowledge Economy...... 34 2. A Transformed And Representative Research System...... 37 Introduction...... 37 2.1. The NRF Changes Lives: #myNRFstory...... 40 Dr Keleabetswe Lerato Mpye...... 40 edith Phalane...... 41 Dr Nimmi Seoraj-Pillai...... 41 Prof Jeanetta Du Plessis...... 41 Dr Manoko Maubane-Nkadimeng...... 42

Page | 2 NRF 5 year Highlights Report CONTENTS

Tshepo Chabalala...... 42 Jayson Ledwaba...... 43 Dr Kerry-Ann van der Walt...... 43 Prof Kebogile Mokwena...... 44 Stephanie Minnies...... 44 Amy Steinhobel...... 44 Ndoni Mcunu...... 44 3. A Scientifically Literate and Engaged Society...... 47 Introduction...... 47 3.1. The Popularisation of Science...... 48 3.1.1. Science Engagement...... 48 3.1.2. Nurturing Talent in Science, Technology, and Mathematics and Engaging Educators...... 48 3.1.3. Higher Education Engagement...... 49 3.1.4. Scientists and Researchers Engaging the Public...... 49 3.1.5. Science Olympiads...... 49 3.2. Astronomy and Education...... 50 3.2.1. NRF-SARAO...... 50 3.3. environment and Education...... 50 3.3.1. NRF-SAEON Environmental Science Education Programme...... 50 3.4. Youth Science and Technology Journalism Programme...... 51

Page | 3 NRF 5 year Highlights Report A MESSAGE FROM Dr Dorsamy Pillay, ACTING CEO OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The foundation for research, in terms of both knowledge and society, is research excellence, whether it is academic advances, across and within disciplines, or advances in the economic and societal benefits that accrue from it.

This document is a retrospective snapshot at some of the achievements made by the National Research Foundation over the last five years (April 2015- March 2020) and the benefits that these achievements have had for/on South African society.

The NRF’s mandate directs the organisation to focus, primarily, in these areas – the supporting, promotion and advancement of research and human capacity development; the provision of the necessary research infrastructure; the provision of national research facilities; support and promotion of public awareness of, and engagement with, science; and the promotion, development and maintenance of the national science system and support of Government priorities. The impact of the NRF is evident across all of these areas.

The most fundamental gauge of the impact that the NRF has on research in South Africa is in the amount of investment directed towards key areas of national development. With regard to those areas highlighted in this publication, of the NRF’s total grant budget of R11.3 billion over the last five years we have invested the following in some key development areas as outlined below:

Poverty and Food Security R584 895 582

Good Healthcare and Wellbeing R837 486 652

Quality Education and Skills Development R802 614 901

Affordable and Clean Energy R557 727 703

Employment and Economic Growth R730 622 927

Climate Change R450 392 478

Table 1: NRF investment in key development areas However, it is important to remember that investment alone is not the only indicator for impact. Impact comes in many forms that do not necessarily have a Rand sign attached.

Page | 4 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Strategy 2020: Outcomes

The outcomes of the NRF’s Strategy 2020, which provided a roadmap for the organisation for the last five years, reflect the agency’s influence and actions in helping to build and maintain a vibrant and globally connected and competitive national system of innovation. Five strategic outcomes were identified in Strategy 2020 and are the following:

ÈÈ An internationally competitive, transformed and representative research system ÈÈ Leading-edge research and infrastructure platforms ÈÈ A reputable and influential agency shaping the science and technology system ÈÈ A scientifically literate and engaged society ÈÈ A skilled, committed and representative NRF research and technical workforce

In promoting globally competitive research and innovation, the NRF’s strategic commitments to the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) and the Centres of Excellence (CoE) programme, both key NRF initiatives, has been enhanced. Both programmes have seen considerable investment over the period in review. SARChI Chairs received R2.3 billion and the CoEs received more than R739 million. SARChI saw the graduation of 801 Masters and PhD students; the mentoring of 1 166 postdoctoral Fellows and the publishing of 8 263 peer-reviewed articles while the CoEs graduated 671 Masters and PhD students and published 4 758 articles.

In promoting a transformed and representative research system, over the last five years there has been a continuous increase in NRF support for Black students from Honours level to postdoctoral level as a result of the various NRF interventions. For example Black post- doctoral support grew from 55% to 62% (2016 to 2019). Over the same period, Black PhD funding grew from 67% to 78%; Masters from 74% to 81%; and Honours from 87% to 92%. Over the same period, there has been a steady growth in the numbers of NRF-funded Women from Honours level to postdoctoral level with growth from 46% to 53% (postdoc); 52% to 56% (PhD); 53% to 61% (Masters); and 59% to 60% (Honours).

Page | 5 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

The country’s research and infrastructure platforms have grown considerably with aging equipment being replaced by new, leading edge technology as well as new platforms being designed, developed and funded as required.

Two major infrastructure projects can be mentioned here – the Gamma Ray Spectrometer for Knowledge in Africa (GAMKA) at iThemba LABS and the Hydrogen Intensity Real-Time Analysis Array Experiment (HIRAX), hosted by NRF-SARAO at its Square Kilometre Array site at Carnarvon.

The NRF has invested R35 million in the construction of GAMKA which, when completed in 2021, will provide universities and scientists access with access to the latest technology for nuclear research.

Another R35 Million was invested in HIRAX, a radio telescope that will probe the Universe, through hydrogen intensity mapping, to research the evolution of dark energy as well as research fast radio bursts.

The influence, impact and reputation of the NRF has undergone considerable growth since 2015. Its organisational structure has been reconceptualised into a fit-for-purpose, high level entity. This has enhanced its ability to drive science in South Africa and various levels.

Over the last five years the NRF developed its Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, Strategic Partnerships Strategy, Transformation Framework, and Postgraduate Bursary Policy. The MeerKAT radio telescope array has been completed and partial funding for the South African Isotope Facility was raised. In the latter part of the last period, the ten year plan for the organisation, Vision 2030, and its accompanying five year implementation plan, Strategy 2025 were finalised and are currently guiding all work post March 2020.

The NRF has made major inputs into science policy and government including the revised NRF Act; the White Paper on STI; the HESTIIL Review; and the Ministerial Task

Page | 6 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Team on the Recruitment, Retention and Progression of Black South African Academics, to name only a few.

The organisation has also fostered a number of key strategic local and international partnerships in pursuing the goals of competitiveness and sustainability. Its staff lend their expertise to a number of science systems and organisations including Global Research Council (GRC); Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI); International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA); Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET); Ministerial Task Teams; Council on Higher Education (CHE); Water Research Commission (WRC) etc.

In ensuring an excellent return on investment, the NRF has enhanced its efficiencies and cost management practices to bring its operational overheads to below the 10% threshold. Its strict adherence to proper supply chain management and cost control have resulted in it consistently receiving unqualified audits from the Auditor General’s office, even with large, complex projects such as the MeerKAT radio telescope.

The building and strengthening of the relationship between science and society was an important objective of the NRF over the past five years in line with Strategy 2020. In this regard, at an organisational level, the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (NRF-SAASTA), a business unit of the NRF with the mandate to advance public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering, innovation and technology in South Africa has enabled the NRF’s science engagement portfolio to reach an average of 1.3 million participants through science awareness, communication and education activities, reaching learners, educators, journalists, scientists, researchers and the public.

At a national level, NRF-SAASTA in collaboration with DSI, developed the Science Engagement Strategy which was approved by the Minster in 2015. The development and the approval of the 2018 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) will also enable the NRF to reposition its Science Engagement Portfolio in the next five years. To ensure the financial sustainability of science engagement, the DSI has since approved a new funding model for science engagement in which 4% of all the DSI programmes will be allocated to science engagement through NRF-SAASTA. Furthermore, the DSI reached an agreement with all of its entities that a minimum of 4% of each entity’s budget should be allocated to science engagement within the next three years. Additionally, over the last five years NRF-SAASTA managed to secure sponsorships worth more than R16 million from the business sector and Europeans Union to drive science engagement.

At an international level, NRF-SAASTA has participated and presented at national events in China and Europe and participated in the Nucleus Project which focused on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) with 24 organisations. This resulted in one of the NRF’s National Research Facilities, the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity’s (SAIAB) appointment as a Nuclei of the RRI on recommendation from NRF-SAASTA.

I believe that what the NRF stands for, and its impact on science and society as a whole, is encapsulated in its slogan – advancing knowledge, transforming lives, inspiring a nation. It speaks to the very fundamentals of the NRF’s mandate as it continues to facilitate innovation and scientific discovery; build the country’s human and institutional capacity; and develop a society in which science is recognised for the value of the benefits it provides in changing lives.

Page | 7 NRF 5 year Highlights Report Introduction

In its Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management (OECD, 2002), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development defines impact as ‘positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended.’

The Global Research Council (GRC, 2019) maintains that no research is free of impact and that it can come in different forms, such as the advancement of knowledge (scientific impact); the development of societies (societal impact); and fostering innovation (economic impact).

In simpler terms, in the scientific and research sense, impact can be seen as bringing about change, which is what the National Research Foundation, as a catalyst for scientific research in South Africa, is really all about. Whether it’s changing the lives of postgraduate students through support and funding or bringing about change for the benefit of society through its support of leading edge scientific research that addresses both the immediate and long-term needs of the country and its people.

In its Strategy 2020, the NRF placed renewed emphasis on its agency function and its role in influencing and implementing policy within the

Page | 8 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

National System of Innovation (NSI). It identified five strategic outcomes that would help guide the organisation:

ÈÈ Creating an internationally competitive, transformed and representative research system; ÈÈ Establishing and maintaining leading-edge research and infrastructure platforms; ÈÈ Growing the NRF into a reputable agency that will shape the science and technology system; ÈÈ Pushing for science literacy and actively engaging with society; and ÈÈ Managing and improving on a committed and representative NRF research and technical workforce.

While Strategy 2020 came to an end in March 2020 and been superseded by the organisation’s new Vision 2030, looking back over the last five years it can be confidently said that the NRF has achieved most, if not all, of its goals for the period. This publication is a reflection of a small fraction of the NRF’s achievements over five years. It presents a snapshot of where science is leading society, and how far we have come in addressing society’s needs.

That does not mean, however, that the NRF’s work is done. Science in any field is a continuous process that builds on the efforts of previous generations. New discoveries; new technologies that enable us to reach new heights of innovation; and new cohorts of young scientists who are equipped to tackle the challenges of the day are driving South Africa’s knowledge economy forward and they require the support of an organisation that is committed to improving the lives of all South Africans.

Communicating the research that is supported by the NRF and the impacts thereof is almost as important as the research itself. A society that is scientifically literate is one that can make informed choices and one in which its youth, looking to their own futures as productive members of their communities, are comfortable in considering STEM subjects as the foundation for their careers.

In the pages that follow you will read a snapshot of the impact the NRF has had in advancing knowledge, transforming lives and inspiring a nation.

The contents of this report are organised on the basis of the five strategic outcomes of NRF Strategy 2020 as outlined.

Page | 9 NRF 5 year Highlights Report 1 AN INFLUENTIAL AGENCY SHAPING An internationally competitive research system and PROVIDING leading edge research infrastructure

1.1. Introduction

In the past five years, the NRF has focused on enabling the South African research system to be globally competitive. Equally at the centre of the pursuit of global competitiveness has been the need to pursue research that is locally relevant with research outputs that are beneficial to society both in the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities.

NRF funded researchers, National Facilities and programmes such as DSI/NRF SARChI Research Chairs and CoEs have, building on their unique contributions to the global research landscape, established themselves as world leaders in their domain-specific research and innovation areas. In addition to leading edge research, they ensure that South Africa’s future cohorts of researchers represent the whole of society.

One of the markers of the progress that has been made thus far has been the output of peer-reviewed articles by South African researchers. While publication of research is important in and of itself, translation of that research into application is a significant marker of impact.

1.2. Peer-Reviewed Published Articles

Research publishing is often a measure of the competitiveness and excellence of a country’s research system. According to World of Science publications, NRF-funded researchers have distinguished themselves in a number of areas. Research outputs by authors affiliated with the RN F stood at 640 in 2019, up from 393 in 2015. Researchers working at National Facilities increased their outputs by an average of 37.2%, while NRF- funded researchers increased their outputs by 28.8%. NRF-funded researchers contributed 29% to the total number of South African publications in 2019.

Page | 10 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Figure 1: Articles published by National Facilities

In terms of the WoS Category Normalised Citation Index (CNCI), the NRF’s National Facilities outperformed both South Africa as well as the world in various research areas including Materials Science, Biology and Biochemistry. From an international perspective, South Africa’s CNCI equals or betters that of comparable Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) countries such as Poland, Argentina and Malaysia.

Figure 2: Articles published by NRF-funded researchers

Page | 11 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

1.3. Outcomes in Specific Research Areas

This section looks at the impact that NRF-funded research has had across various research areas including health, food security, energy, astronomy, environmental and social sciences. This represents a fraction of the NRF’s overall research funding, highlighting some of the major impacts that the organisation has had over the last five years.

1.3.1. Health Research 1.3.1.1 HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) are critical health challenges world-wide but particularly in South Africa, where they go hand-in-hand in many communities. In isolation or as co-infection these two diseases have forced South Africa to develop a dynamic research community, which includes a number of SARChI Chairs and Centres of Excellence, dedicated to their study.

As of 2018, South Africa had the highest number of AIDS infections at 7.7 million. The country accounts for a third of all new infections in Southern Africa. Women are the most affected by the disease, with a 26% infection rate compared to men at 15%.

Tuberculosis (TB) killed 1.6 million people worldwide in 2017, the highest number of deaths caused by a bacterial infectious disease. About 10 million humans were infected, the majority being poor people in the developing world. In South Africa, according to the National Strategic Plan on HIV, STIs and TB 2012-2016 produced by South African National AIDS Council, 80% of the population are infected with Myobacterium tuberculosis, mostly latent TB. In 2019, 58 000 people died from TB of which approximately 36 000 were also HIV positive.

Between 2015 and 2020, a total of five SARChI Chairs focusing on HIV/AIDS were awarded. The total funding provided to these Chairs over the same period was R62.6 million. Three SARChI Chairs focusing on tuberculosis research were also established with a total funding of R27.7 million over the period. The three CoEs which operate in the area of HIV/AIDS and TB research and epidemiological analysis were funded a total of R181.5 million over the same period.

1.3.1.1.1 Tracking the Prevalence of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis in South Africa Understanding the spread and extent of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and TB provides researchers with a starting point from which to build up the country’s capacity to reduce infection rates, bolster prevention and produce viable treatments.

A community-wide study in KwaZulu-Natal by the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), which hosts the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in HIV Prevention, included about 10 000 individuals and used phylogenetics to understand the transmission networks and risk of HIV infection. The findings, published in Lancet HIV in 2017, showed that sexual partnering between young women and older men, who might have acquired HIV from women of similar age, is a key feature of the sexual networks driving transmission. This study provided scientific evidence to guide targeted HIV prevention interventions to break

Page | 12 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

the cycle of HIV transmission. Importantly, these findings have been translated into policy adopted by UNAIDS and were the basis of the 2016 UNAIDS Report on the “Life Cycle Approach to HIV”.

In another study, a large, representative household-based survey (N=9,812) in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands undertaken by CAPRISA and Epicentre reported that community HIV prevalence in those aged 15-49 years was 36.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 34.8 - 37.8). Age and sex disaggregated HIV prevalence data revealed that HIV prevalence was alarmingly high in women, reaching 71.7% in those aged 35-36 years. Prevalence reached a peak of 60% in men aged 43-44 years. Age, incomplete secondary schooling, being single, having more than one lifetime sex partner, sexually transmitted infections and not being medically circumcised were associated with HIV positive status. The community HIV incidence rate in 2016 in 15-35 year-old people in this KwaZulu-Natal district was 2.31 per 100 person-years. Of note, the incidence rates reached a high of 4.63 per 100 person-years in teenage girls in this community.

Globally, large proportions of HIV-positive populations live in cities. The Fast-Track Cities Project aims to advance progress toward the elimination of HIV as a public health threat by accelerating the response in cities across the world. The DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) applied the Thembisa Transmission Model to provide key HIV estimates for the five largest metropolitan districts in South Africa: Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Johannesburg and Tshwane. The model was calibrated to metro- specific data sources and estimate progress toward the 90-90-90 targets set by UNAIDS (90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and viral suppression in 90% of those on ART). The metros are making good progress to reach diagnosis and viral suppression targets in 2020. However, the metros and South Africa face severe challenges in enrolling the PLHIV who received diagnoses onto treatment to reach the 90% ART target.

A new study of nine women from South Africa revealed that a disproportionately high number of their viruses at the time of antiretroviral initiation went into a hidden state in their bodies to evade treatment, providing researchers with new opportunities to develop a cure for HIV. These findings come from a joint study by the University of Cape Town (UCT), CAPRISA and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.

This study investigated the women on antiretroviral treatment who have had no detectable virus for at least four years. Researchers found, surprisingly, that most of the viral strains in the viral reservoir, the biggest barrier to a cure for HIV, were those circulating in the blood at the time of antiretroviral treatment initiation. This new information creates the opportunity to develop new approaches to curing HIV as this discovery indicates that the reservoir could be changed markedly through additional interventions at the time of antiretroviral treatment initiation.

1.3.1.1.2 New Hope for Young Women Exposed to HIV There are many reasons why younger women may have a higher risk of HIV acquisition. For example, young people are more likely to be inexperienced in sexual risk-taking and they may not be able to negotiate condom use with older partners. Sexual debut also marks the initial exposure to a number of sexually transmitted pathogens, including viruses such as herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and human papillomavirus (HPV),

Page | 13 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

which have very high per-coital rates of transmission. Pregnancy rates are also high in rural sub-Saharan Africa, leading to girls dropping out of school, which itself is a HIV risk factor. Understanding the immunological basis of HIV transmission in young women could hold useful clues to future HIV prevention technologies and strategies.

Analysis of female genital tract samples from the CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel trial showed that mucosal inflammation, defined by combinations of elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, was associated with a three- fold increased risk of HIV acquisition. However, the causes of the genital inflammation remain unclear. The DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in HIV Prevention, hosted by CAPRISA, has attempted to define why certain women have higher levels of inflammation than others. In addition to the causes of inflammation, the CoE also investigated the consequences, including mechanistic links between inflammation and HIV transmission.

Genital inflammation has been shown to undermine the effectiveness of topical pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. This research, which was published in Nature Medicine in 2018, showed that genital inflammation significantly reduces the effectiveness of tenofovir gel in preventing HIV infection in women. These findings indicate that both genital inflammation and adherence need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of topical PrEP strategies for HIV prevention in women. The study further showed that tenofovir gel provided 57% protection against HIV acquisition in women who had no evidence of vaginal inflammation but provided no protection in women with genital inflammation, even if they used the gel consistently. This study gives us an important clue to enhance HIV prevention in women.

Another study has shown that cervicovaginal inflammation facilitates the acquisition of less infectious HIV variants. This research, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases in 2017, showed that genital inflammation facilitates the establishment of less infectious variants that would not normally establish infection in the absence of genital inflammation. This study showed that less than 20% of women without genital inflammation prior to infection were infected by HIV variants with low infectivity, compared to more than 60% of women with pre- infection genital inflammation.

1.3.1.1.3 New Diagnostic Tools for TB and Drugs Validation The DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research (CBTBR) has led the development of advanced microbiology and imaging tools in a collaborative initiative which aims to capture and analyse bioaerosols from M. tuberculosis-infected individuals. This work has attracted additional funding from the South African Medical Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team comprising engineers, clinicians, biochemists, mathematicians, and biodefense experts, the team has made key advances in this critically underexplored aspect of the tuberculosis infection cycle. Moreover, the molecular and imaging techniques developed for single-cell analyses in this project have cross-cutting applications in other areas of fundamental and clinical mycobacteriology.

CBTBR’s Stellenbosch University node has expanded the repertoire of research during the review period to encompass a range of omics techniques including Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and RNA Seq, proteomics, and miRNA assessment. The drug susceptibility testing platform has increased to include up to 14 different anti-TB drugs. The researchers have embarked on a number of new projects with translational

Page | 14 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

impact and have initiated an internationalisation programme with the vision to train scientists from neighbouring countries. Developments include:

ÈÈ A point-of-care lateral flow device that measures the levels of several host inflammatory markers in fingerstick blood as triage test for TB and this is currently being evaluated across Africa and in Vietnam. ÈÈ Tests for prediction of progression to active TB, detection of high risk for poor TB treatment outcome and for diagnosis of TB. ÈÈ Advancing the understanding of TB treatment responses through PET-CT imaging and the establishment of a research bronchoscopy program.

To enable discovery of new TB drugs, the team at the University of the Witwatersrand’s CBTBR node has focused on identification and validation of new drug targets with emphasis on the cell wall of tubercle bacteria, particularly the enzymes that remodel this structure. These efforts identified several important role players in the final steps of cell division, with associated implications for drug development. Results of the research include identifying differentially culturable tubercle bacteria (DCTB) in the sputum from TB patients that can be bacteria missed by standard diagnostic tests and confirmation that these bacterial populations most likely necessitate the protracted treatment required for TB.

Continuing in the theme of diagnostics, the Wits node has also played a pivotal role in supporting the National Department of Health in the rollout of GeneXpert to all microscopy level centres in the country. This was accomplished through the provision of proficiency testing controls and these reagents are currently being used in over 20 countries to support delivery of rapid TB diagnostics.

1.3.1.2. Cancer The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that by 2030, at least a million people in Africa will be dying of cancer annually. This means that cancer will become the number one killer of people in Africa, overtaking HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases.

1.3.1.2.1 Radiopharmaceuticals for cancer research, diagnosis and treatment The use of radiopharmaceuticals in the research and detection of cancer is commonplace worldwide. What few people are aware of, however, is that a large proportion of those radiopharmaceuticals are produced in South Africa by NRF-iThemba LABS.

The facility’s Radioisotope Production Programme uses a 66-MeV proton beam to produce high-grade radionuclides which are used locally and internationally for the research into and detection of diseases such as cancer.

A wide range of diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals are produced routinely by NRF-iThemba LABS and delivered to over 25 nuclear medicine departments at private and public healthcare facilities throughout South Africa and Namibia. These radiopharmaceuticals are used in a variety of applications such as tumour and inflammatory lesion localisation, cardiac and neurological applications.

Page | 15 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Various long-lived radionuclides are also produced and despatched to over 100 clients worldwide, including applications such as myocardial perfusion studies, endocrine tumours and positron annihilation studies.

NRF-iThemba LABS is currently the only supplier of UHV 22Na positron sources in the world and is presently servicing a market base of over 35 active clients worldwide. It is also one of only three major suppliers of the 68Ge/68Ga generator worldwide with a market footprint of 40%. It produces 20% of the world demand for 82Sr, in the form of irradiated Rb metal targets, used for heart monitoring. This makes NRF-iThemba LABS a valuable asset to South Africa, highlighting its ability to compete effectively in the global market.

The activities of the Radiation Biophysics division at NRF-iThemba LABS are driven by a research and development program in medical physics and radiobiology, both strongly focused on state-of-the-art clinical applications in particle therapy and nuclear medicine:

ÈÈ Screening of victims of radiation accidents to determine potential chromosomal damage, a critical resource for the nuclear research and nuclear energy sectors. NRF-iThemba LABS operates the only biodosimetry lab in Africa and can also screen for large scale radiation accidents using its Metafer automated microscope. ÈÈ In vitro radiolabelling studies of the Auger electron damage caused by 123I-labelled deoxyuridine (123IUdR) to cell DNA. ÈÈ The use of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) in proton therapy to improve tumour treatment by radiosensitising tumour cells using AuNP, enabling as much as a 31% increase in the number of tumour cells killed through proton irradiation treatment. This allows for the treatment of a wider range of tumours, particularly radioresistent ones.

1.3.1.2.2 Tracking HPV for cervical cancer prevention In 2019, WHO the called for the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health concern. Their suggested strategy to achieve elimination involves vaccinating 90% of pre-adolescent girls against HPV, screening 70% of women for pre-cancer and treating 90% of women with pre-cancer by 2030. In South Africa, despite having a national screening policy in place since 2000, diagnosed cervical cancer incidence has shown no signs of decline.

SACEMA extended an individual-based model for HIV to include infection with 13 high-risk HPV types and progression to cervical cancer to quantify the impact of the HPV vaccination programme and to estimate the impact of scaling-up current cancer prevention strategies, as well as proposed alternative strategies.

The model accounts for future reductions in HIV incidence and prevalence and includes a detailed cervical cancer screening algorithm, based on individual-level data from the public health sector of the Western Cape. It is estimated that the screening programme has prevented 8 600 (95% CI 4 700-12 300) cervical cancer cases between 2000 and 2019. Scaling-up the current programme to meet the WHO’s 90-70-90 targets by 2030 will prevent around 70 000 additional cancer cases by 2040 and 360 000 cases by 2120, compared to the status quo.

Page | 16 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

1.3.2. Food Security A major challenge facing South Africa, and the continent as a whole, is ensuring that food production remains sustainable and secure. Scarce and inconsistent food supply can lead to malnutrition, disease, local strife and mass human migration. Therefore, finding novel ways to overcome these challenges remains paramount.

1.3.2.1. Strengthening the Nutritional Quality of Food Biofortification, or the breeding of specific food crops to increase their nutritional value, is an important low- cost method of ensuring that not only do populations have access to food, but also access to the right food with the requisite nutritional value to ensure healthy living.

A team consisting of researchers from NRF-iThemba LABS and food scientists from the University of Pretoria carried out a project that studied the mineral content of biofortified pearl millet grains. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is an important indigenous African grain as it is the staple food of more than 90 million people.

The research project used micro-beam Proton Induced X-ray Emission (micro-PIXE) spectrometry to determine specific grain tissue concentrations of Fe and Zn in two contrasting pearl millet varieties known as “Dhanashakti” and “ICMB 92111”.

Micro-PIXE elemental mapping of the two pearl millet varieties using the Nuclear Microprobe Facility of the Materials Research Department at NRF-iThemba LABS found significant differences in the iron and zinc enrichment in the grain of the two different varieties. The concentrations of Fe were found to be considerably higher in the bran layers of the Dhanashakti grain (±361mg/kg) while its endosperm tissue indicated significantly higher concentrations of Zn (± 24mg/kg) compared to the ICMB 92111 grain (±115mg/kg and ±13mg/kg respectively).

NRF-iThemba LABS’s ability to carry out micro-PIXE analysis on food-based samples provides scientists with new insights into how to improve current biofortification strategies as well as to confirm the mineral value of crops designed to improve the nutrition and health of South Africa’s population.

Food fortification, as distinct from biofortification, involves the addition of nutrients such as essential trace elements and vitamins to food. Some of the research carried out at the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security focuses on overcoming the problem of protein energy malnutrition (PEM), a major health problem in Africa where complementary foods are based on starchy staple foods such as cassava.

Soy flour has been found to enhance the nutritional and sensory quality of cassava complementary porridges (complementary foods are those that are used along with breast milk in young children). Cassava porridges are a common complementary food in many countries including Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania, but lack many essential amino acids and are relatively low in protein. In addition, they can be difficult for infants and young children to chew and digest due to their high viscosity (stickiness). By adding defatted or full-fat soy flour to cassava porridge and extrusion cooking it into a ready-to-eat product, the overall nutritional value, digestibility, flavour and appearance is improved.

Page | 17 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Diet-related health problems such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity have emerged as serious risks across Africa. The inclusion of dietary fibre in food has been proven to have a positive effect on the risk reduction and control of these diseases.

Its benefits include its ability to suppress hunger and increase satiety. It was found that 200g of wheat bran added to one kg of cassava-defatted soy composite porridge, which was then extrusion cooked led to an increase in soluble dietary fibre content and consequently increased viscosity of the food. This increased its satiety which slowed down the eating process, leaving the test subjects feeling fuller for longer despite having consumed fewer calories.

Grape pomace, a by-product of the wine and grape juice production process containing leftover skin, pulp and seeds, is another food ingredient with the potential to address the challenges of food-related health problems. In addition to its fibre content (51% to 56%) for red grape pomace, it is also a source of phenolic compounds. Its high fibre content positively influences carbohydrate metabolism by slowing down glucose absorption while the phenolic compounds have been observed to inhibit the activities of starch hydrolysing enzymes.

In the study, 20% grape pomace was added to a cassava-soy composite and extrusion cooked. The results revealed a lowering of the total glycaemic index of the foodstuff. In addition, the antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds have the potential to contribute to a reduction in the risk of diseases such as cancer and Type 2 diabetes.

1.3.2.2. Ensuring Food Safety Through Cost-Effective Innovation An integral part of food security is food safety, as unsafe food can act as a vector for disease and toxins. Pasteurisation (treating food with mild heat) is a common method of eliminating pathogens as well as extending the shelf-life of the food. A challenge in this area is providing cost-effective pasteurisation facilities in rural areas, particularly where electricity is unavailable.

The design of a low cost small scale concentrated solar power (CSP) system for pasteurising milk was undertaken by the Materials Research Department at NRF-iThemba LABS. The system had to meet specific criteria:

ÈÈ The overall cost of the system must be kept under R10 000. ÈÈ The system must be able to pasteurise milk to a state that meets national standards. ÈÈ The system must be freestanding, durable and easy to operate.

The system consists of parabolic trough-type solar thermal collector that is straight in one dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, and lined with a polished metal mirror. When the desired temperatures are reached, i.e. 70°-110°C, the milk flow is controlled and the pasteurisation is achieved faster at higher temperatures.

Page | 18 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

To increase the efficiency of the CSP system, selective solar absorbers were coated on the CSP tube and studied after being exposed to temperatures that could be expected during its lifespan in a solar collecting device.

The success of the system means that farmers in rural areas will have a means of pasteurising milk with ease, regardless of electricity availability. This will reduce the risk of contamination as well as prolong the life of the milk, allowing for longer storage and/or the ability to transport the milk longer distances with reduced risk of spoilage, leading to considerable cost savings for the farmer.

Figure 3 - Parabolic-trough concentrating solar power (CSP)

1.3.2.3. Research Findings on Food Market Distortion The Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation (SLF), in partnership the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security and the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape, submitted written input to the “Grocery Retail Sector Market Inquiry.”

Corporate retailers constitute an important element of the core of the South African food economy. The research argued that formal sector grocery retail is distorting food economies in ways which disadvantage other stakeholders of food value chains.

The effects of these distortions are felt both upstream in the packaging, processing and production of food as well as horizontally among informal-sector grocery retailers. The latter has impacted negatively on township grocers who are pushed out by large corporates who, through shopping malls and large chain businesses, create localised grocery retailing monopolies in townships.

This was an important intervention as government was outsourcing the distribution of SASSA grants through corporate retailers, meaning the retailers operating in townships maintain a stronghold in these spaces through their ability to ‘capture’ essential revenue streams.

This highlights the importance of observing the retail space and advocating for oversight bodies to curb price gouging in essential goods such as food. Researchers at the CoE-FS in partnership with other institutions

Page | 19 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

across the country are conducting research into this important issue, to contribute to policy making and legislation about creating an equitable and just food environment for all South Africans.

1.3.3. Energy South Africa’s ability to develop effectively depends on a number of factors, among which energy independence is important. Concerns around climate change and the cost of building new carbon-based power generation plants are driving research into alternative and renewable energy sources that are energy- and cost-efficient as well as sustainable. The supercapacitor can store 10 to 100 times more energy than conventional batteries and can be charged at a much faster rate, and solar energy offers hope to an energy-starved nation such as South Africa, which has had to endure loadshedding and infrastructure breakdowns almost continuously over the last 10 years or so.

1.3.3.1. Supercapacitors: The future of energy storage NRF-iThemba LABS continues to lead the way in researching the design and development of enhanced technologies for energy storage such as batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. The latter is of particular interest as supercapacitors can operate at very high charge and discharge rates with very high lifetimes since they are not limited by the electrochemical charge transfer kinetics of batteries. Despite this success, however, supercapacitors still suffer from a low energy density that severely hinders their applications. To overcome this challenge, new types of supercapacitors are being explored.

A research team at NRF-iThemba LABS has developed a new type of symmetric supercapacitor fabricated by using three-dimensional nickel foam-graphene/zinc hydroxychloride nanosheets (NiF-G/ZHCNs) composite electrode materials. This study demonstrated high electrochemical performance of a symmetrical supercapacitor.

Figure 4: SEM micrographs of (a) 3d graphene networks (GNs); (b) AgNPs deposited on GNs, inset: high-resolution SEM image of the deposited AgNPs.

Another research project looked at the rapid microwave-assisted growth of silver nanoparticles on 3-D graphene networks for supercapacitors. These electrodes yielded greatly improved capacitive performance and excellent capacitance retention. These results suggested that the nanocomposite fabricated by using a simple microwave-

Page | 20 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

assisted growth process is suitable and a promising electrode for high performance energy storage devices.

Figure 5: Graphene deposition on nickel foam by using the Chemical Vapour Deposition technique

1.3.3.2. Sustainable Solar Energy Solar energy is one of the renewable resources of energy that has an infinite supply and is easily accessible. Most areas of South Africa average 2 500 hours of sunshine per year. In addition the country has solar radiation levels which solar radiation levels that average from 4,5kWh/m2 to 6,5kWh/m2 - among the highest in the world - making it ideal for solar power generation.

The photon energy from the Sun can be converted to useable thermal energy by concentrating it onto a highly absorbing material which has a low emissivity. This objective can be achieved by using solar absorbers, which are coatings made from various combinations of materials, with microstructures that are able to absorb incident photons from solar radiation and then convert it to a high temperature thermal energy.

Figure 6: The reflectance of the Cr2O3/Cr/Cr2O3 multilayered coatings deposited on stainless steel substrate (The inset is showing the layers- stacking configuration)

The NRF-iThemba LABS team investigated the possibility of preparing a multilayered selective solar absorber coating based on Cr2O3/Cr/Cr2O3 by electron beam evaporation technique. This coating essentially consists of a thin semi-transparent Cr layer sandwiched between two dielectric layers, i.e. Cr2O3, deposited onto stainless

Page | 21 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

steel. The results confirmed that the manufacture of more efficient solar energy systems was a viable option for a country struggling to become energy independent.

1.3.3.3. Clean Energy for a Clean Future Over the last five years, the DST-NRF SARChI Chair in Clean Coal Technology, hosted at the University of the Witwatersrand, has engaged in a number of important research projects aimed at improving coal quality in South Africa in order to reduce its adverse environmental effects as well as optimise costs for coal energy users.

Projects include the co-firing of raw indigenous biomass such as the karee (Searsia lancea), wild tamarisk (Tamarix usneoides) and bamboo with discard coal to reduce emissions of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. The Chair has also researched 10 different coal types from Southern Africa in the fluidised bed combustion unit of the University of North Dakota in the USA. This project found that some of the coal types had a significant potential for self-scrubbing (reducing emissions as well as lowering overall consumption rates).

Another project looked at “biocoal pellets” produced from trees grown on acid mine drainage. The high grade pellets offer a number of advantages for conventional high temperature pulverised coal boilers including the prolonging of the lifespan of the boilers.

The above projects address the country’s existing pollution problems as well as some of the CO2 reduction requirements of the Paris Accord and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 of the United Nations.

The Chair successfully synthesised activated carbons from run-of-mine fine coal, discard and slurry with large surface areas comparable with commercial activated carbons and used it for gas storage applications. The aim is to use the activated carbon as a porous material packed in a vessel for an adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage system. The ANG requires less energy for compression and provides higher energy density and higher storage capacity than the conventional compressed natural gas (CNG) system.

Hydrogen production with lower energy requirements was also researched using high ash coal slurry (which would otherwise be discarded). Among its various uses, hydrogen is a clean and abundant energy source. This project addresses SDG 7 of the United Nations – clean and affordable energy. The project also led to new research into the use of coal as a precursor material to synthesise activated carbon (AC) electrodes for supercapacitor applications.

Figure 7: A natural gas powered vehicle. An ANG storage system has the potential for lowering the costs of such vehicles. Image: Mariordo, Wikipedia

Page | 22 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

1.3.3.4. Making Conventional Energy Resources Better While renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and improved energy storage are priorities for energy research, it is important to remember that conventional energy sources such as oil and gas are still critical for industry and domestic use across the world. What has become a major concern, however, is how to explore and extract these fuels sustainably and with as little impact on the environment as possible. At the same time, the oil and gas industries maintain infrastructure platforms that may prove ideal for researchers studying various aspects of environmental science.

In 2015, NRF-SAEON was chosen to implement the Operation Phakisa Ocean Economy Oil and Gas Lab Initiative B3: Exploiting the broader research opportunities presented by offshore oil and gas exploration. This culminated in the launch of the South African Marine Research and Exploration Forum (SAMREF), with the Secretariat based at SAEON’s Egagasini Node, in 2016, with the signing of a high-level MoU between the then Department of Science and Technology and the Offshore Petroleum Association of South Africa. Speaking at the launch, then Minister Pandor said the South African coastal and marine environment was one of our most important assets - "It plays a major role in regulating our climate, has tremendous natural biodiversity and supports numerous communities through fishing, tourism and mining."

1.3.4. Astronomy 1.3.4.1. Radio Astronomy Uncovers New Secrets of the Universe Since the launch of the 64-dish MeerKAT telescope by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRF- SARAO), a key achievement and highlight of this period in itself, it has contributed significantly to astronomy and has helped provide answers to some questions about the Universe. The MeerKAT telescope, a precursor of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) situated near the Karoo town of Carnarvon, has helped provide explanations for the complex “X” galaxies, helped in the discovery of new galaxies and, together with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), helped identify the mystery of a stellar event.

Figure 8: Annotated image showing X-shaped giant radio galaxy PKS 2014-55, observed with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s MeerKAT telescope, indicating the old X-shaped radio jets, the younger jets closer to the central black hole, and the region of influence dominated by the central galaxy’s stars and gas. The curved arrows denote the direction of the backflow that forms the horizontal components of the X. Credit: UP; NRAO/AUI/NSF; SARAO; DES.

Page | 23 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Several possible theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of many galaxies having enormous twin jets of radio waves extending far into intergalactic space. The jets are normally in opposite directions from a massive black hole at the centre of the galaxy. However a few are more complicated and have four jets forming an “X’. A study using MeerKAT produced high quality images of the galaxy PKS 2014-55, and its findings haves supported the explanation that the four jets are material falling back into the galaxy being deflected into different directions forming the other two arms of the ‘X’. These findings were accepted and published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

To learn about the history of star-formation of the Universe, astronomers need to look back in time. Galaxies throughout the Universe have been forming stars for the past 13 billion years. But most stars were born between 8 and 11 billion years ago, during an era called “cosmic noon”. It has been a challenge for astronomers to study the faint light coming from this era. Optical telescopes, like SALT, can see very distant galaxies, but new stars are largely hidden inside dusty clouds of gas. Radio telescopes can see through the dust and observe the rare, bright “starburst” galaxies, but until now have not been sensitive enough to detect the signals from distant Milky Way-like galaxies that are responsible for most of the star formation in the Universe. An international team of astronomers, using NRF-SARAO’s MeerKAT telescope made the first radio observation sensitive enough to reveal these galaxies. The resulting image shows a region of the sky that is comparable in area to five full Moons, containing tens of thousands of galaxies.

Scientists using the MeerKAT and SALT combined forces for the first time to discover and identify a unique and previously unseen flare of radio emission from a binary star in our Galaxy. This was the first new transient, an astronomical event which lasts only for a short time, discovered using MeerKAT. These events are important as they provide a glimpse of how stars live, evolve, and die. The source of the observed activity is located in the southern constellation of Ara and was found to be in the same place as a giant star about two times as massive as the Sun.

Figure 9: MeerKAT image of radio galaxies: Thousands of galaxies are visible in this radio image covering a square degree of sky near the south celestial pole. Credit: NRF-SARAO; NRAO/AUI/NSF

Page | 24 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

In its short existence, MeerKAT has contributed significantly to astronomical research and the vary building of the telescope has led to technological innovations that have applications beyond astronomy.

Figure 10: South Africa has already demonstrated its excellent science and engineering skills by designing and building the MeerKAT radio telescope – as a pathfinder to the SKA. The 64-antenna array is located at the SKA site at Losberg in the Karoo, about 90 kilometres from Carnarvon.

1.3.4.2. SA Telescopes Look Deeper into the Universe 2020 marked a milestone for the South African Astronomical Observatory (NRF-SAAO) as it celebrated 200 years of astronomy in South Africa. The facility has made major contributions to the world’s knowledge of the Universe and continues to break new ground in the area of astronomy and astrophysics through its various telescopes. Situated near Sutherland in the Karoo where conditions for observing the Universe are optimal, the site hosts SAAO’s own telescopes including 1.0m, 1.9m and SALT, the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere as well as those of various international partners including ATLAS, KELT-South and KMTNet, among others.

Figure 11: The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is the largest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere and among the largest in the world. SALT is situated at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) field station near the small town of Sutherland, in the Northern Cape province, about 400 km from Cape Town.

Page | 25 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Astronomers using SALT have measured the rotation of some of the largest spiral galaxies, spinning at up to 570 kilometres per second. Their rapid spin is a result of sitting within an extraordinarily massive cloud, or halo, of dark matter – invisible matter detectable only through its gravity. The largest “super spiral” studied here resides in a dark matter halo weighing at least 40 trillion times the mass of our Sun.

The Milky Way, an average spiral galaxy, spins at a speed of 210 kilometres per second in our Sun’s neighbourhood. New research has found that the most massive spiral galaxies spin faster than expected. These “super spirals,” the largest of which weigh about 20 times more than our Milky Way, spin at a rate of up to 570 kilometres per second.

Super spirals are exceptional in almost every way. In addition to being much more massive than the Milky Way, they are also brighter and larger in physical size.

Figure 12: The top row of this mosaic features Hubble images of three spiral galaxies, each of which weighs several times as much as the Milky Way. The bottom row shows three even more massive spiral galaxies that qualify as “super spirals,” which were observed by the ground-based Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Super spirals typically have 10 to 20 times the mass of the Milky Way. The galaxy at lower right, 2MFGC 08638, is the most massive super spiral known to date, with a dark matter halo weighing at least 40 trillion Suns. Image Credits: Top row: NASA, ESA, P. Ogle and J. DePasquale (STScI). Bottom row: SDSS, P. Ogle and J. DePasquale (STScI)

The largest span 450 000 light-years compared to the Milky Way’s 100 000 light year diameter. Only about 100 super spirals are known to date. Super spirals were discovered as an important new class of galaxies while studying data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as well as the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). In addition, SAAO’s 1.0m telescope discovered a planet in the “Neptunian Desert” - the planet NGTS-4b, also nick-named ‘The Forbidden Planet’ by researchers. It is about 20 times the mass of the Earth and about three times the size. The planet orbits its host star in just 1.3 days with temperatures exceeding 1000°C.

Page | 26 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

1.3.5. Ecosystem Research 1.3.5.1. Helping SA to Balance Conservation and Societal Needs The South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB) contributes to two National Operation Phakisa Labs through which South Africa has identified the potential to develop the Biodiversity Economy and the Blue Economy. NRF-SAIAB has developed several high-level platforms capable of undertaking research in various environments, which have positioned the Institute as an innovative leader in aquatic biodiversity research.

Peer-reviewed research outputs have contributed towards the actualisation of key priorities of the NDP and NBSAP. The research conducted by NRF-SAIAB has had the following impacts:

ÈÈ Improving conservation and management of biodiversity through the development of an equitable and suitably skilled workforce (education and training); ÈÈ Rural development, job creation and social well-being; ÈÈ Management of biodiversity assets to enhance their contribution to the economy (investments in ecological infrastructure enhance resilience and ensure benefits to society); and ÈÈ Developing effective knowledge foundations to support management, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The platforms provided and projects undertaken by NRF-SAIAB promote capacity development and transformation, serve the blue economy, help to ensure food security and contribute to environmental policy development.

Figure 13: SAIAB platforms

Page | 27 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Through implementing principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI), NRF-SAIAB works to develop and maintain fundamental links between science and society.

South Africa is a maritime nation with more than 3 500 km of coastline and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.5 million km2. Ocean governance based on sound research, including marine spatial planning, has been identified as a priority for the sustainable development of South Africa’s blue economy.

Research conducted on several African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) projects provided critical information towards South Africa’s National Habitat Map and National Biodiversity Assessment, both of which underpin the foundations of responsible marine spatial planning. As a result, the programme has been important in the implementation process of the Phakisa Marine Protected Area (MPA) network. This included research towards the placement, size and zonation of several of the offshore MPAs in the network. Furthermore, important information into the effectiveness of the MPAs through their ecological connectivity to other areas, and their ability to buffer the effects of climate change help to establish the extent of their effectiveness. The process is ongoing and, as research fills the knowledge gaps, management needs to respond accordingly.

NRF-SAIAB hosts the DSI-NRF SARChI Research Chair in Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology. Through this Chair NRF-SAIAB has made increasingly important contributions to policy formulation, capacity development in freshwater eco-systems research and aquatic biodiversity health, towards ensuring sustainability and food security.

NRF-SAIAB research was essential in the National Biodiversity Assessment and has contributed to the development of planning tools such as the National Freshwater Environment Protected Areas (NFEPAs) to guide decision making so that land-based developments do not compromise the ecological integrity of freshwater resources and the biota within them.

1.3.5.2. Addressing Biodiversity and Environmental Pollution The Limpopo Province’s most threatened vegetation type is its 2 000 km2 of grassland, supporting high levels of often unique biodiversity, much of which is of conservation concern.

Figure 14 : Grasslands are hyperdiverse systems, often containing endemic and threatened forb taxa. Examples from Limpopo include (from left): Indigofera rehmannii, Inezia speciosa, Merwilla plumbea and Aloe lettyae. (Photos: Sylvie Kremer-Köhne)

Page | 28 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Threatened plant species here include Indigofera rehmannii, Inezia speciosa, Merwilla plumbea and Aloe lettyae. In 2016 it was estimated that less than 6% of this grassland type remained untransformed, restricted to just 10 isolated fragments. The largest of these includes the 126 hectare Haenertsburg Nature Reserve, site of over a decade of vegetation fire-response monitoring by the NRF-SAEON Ndlovu Node.

One of the most serious plant invaders, bracken fern, Pteridium aquilinum is singled out in the Haenertsburg Nature Reserve management plan as needing to be closely monitored, and that strategies to control its spread need to be investigated. In 2011 the species occurred in 8% of periodically burned permanent vegetation plots being monitored by the South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON); in 2020 that figure had nearly doubled to 15%.

Bracken is one of the most successful invasive plant species in the world with the widest distribution of any plant taxa. Once established, it is difficult to eradicate and its establishment in dense stands is an ecological disaster, diminishing local biodiversity and ceasing the provision of associated ecosystem services.

The baseline data collected by this research is invaluable for several reasons:

ÈÈ To generate a list of species that persist despite the presence of the bracken; ÈÈ To identify traits associated with the persistence of indigenous flora; ÈÈ To pinpoint the percentage cover value for bracken beyond which local species richness declines; and ÈÈ To act as the benchmark against which to measure the efficacy of control measures.

Two other research projects by SAEON-supported postgraduates highlight the critical work being undertaken to reduce pollution of South Africa’s scarce resources.

One project investigated the influence of a dairy farm on the water quality of the Nuwejaars River which flows into one of South Africa’s largest lakes, Soetendalsvlei, home to many diverse ecosystems. Soetendalsvlei then flows into the Heuningnes Estuary, a protected RAMSAR wetland site.

Animal manure and waste products from the dairy farm are stored in a small retention pond on the banks of the river, which overflows into the Nuwejaars when it is full or when it rains. Too much manure in a water system can lead to eutrophication - an overproduction of algae in the water that reduces the volume of dissolved oxygen available for aquatic plants and animals. It can also pose a health risk to adults and children with weakened immune systems if consumed.

The research suggested that rivers have the ability to purify themselves through natural processes, and this can be seen in the Nuwejaars River. This project assists in more sustainable and applicable future catchment management practices.

Page | 29 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Another project, funded by DSI-NRF CIMERA, looked at alternative leaching processes for South African gold ores. The aim of the project was to reduce the environmental impact of gold processing while increasing the feasibility of extraction from difficult complex ores. Alternative techniques were evaluated against cyanide with the thiosulphate leaching method shown to be more feasible.

The research offers the potential to facilitate the cleaning up of the gold industry by reducing the pollution it produces during processing.

1.3.5.3. Influencing Policy in the Important Indian Ocean Region In 2016, NRF-SAEON’s Egagasini Node was chosen to host the Secretariat of the South African Chapter of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Academic Group (SA IORAG) due to Indian Ocean Rim Association’s (IORA) focus on the Academic Cooperation, Science and Technology and the Blue Economy and NRF- SAON’s experiences within participating in international programmes and networking capabilities. South Africa was the chair of IORA for 2017-2019, and was then also chair of the IORAG, represented by Prof Narnia Bohler-Muller (HSRC). This has allowed NRF-SAEON to further develop its policy advice activities.

Notable achievements include:

ÈÈ Facilitating the funding of several research projects by members of the SA IORAG in the IORA priority areas and the release of a summary compendium.

ÈÈ Facilitating South African academic engagement in a number of IORA and other international workshops and policy platforms, e.g. 3rd IORA Ministerial Blue Economy Conference, IORA Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD), IORA Cultural Exchanges Workshop, IORA-FAO “Effective fish trade and sustainable development for Small Island Developing States” workshop, Sustainable Blue Economy Conference.

ÈÈ Strengthening regional academic networking.

ÈÈ Hosting IORAG special sessions at Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) 2017 and 2019. In 2019, this was co-hosted with the Western Indian Ocean Early Career Scientists Network (WIO-ECSN) and the involvement of the IORA Secretariat with IORA Secretary General, Dr Nomvyo Nokwe as a guest speaker.

ÈÈ Co-hosting the 24th IORAG Meeting and 5th IOD with the Department of Science and Innovation. This also saw a side-event of the launch of ‘The Handbook of the Blue Economy for the Indian Ocean Region”. Prof Juliet Hermes and Ms Nicole du Plessis (NRF-SAEON Egagasini Node) co-authored a chapter in the book (linked to the SAMREF).

ÈÈ Prof Hermes and Ms du Plessis representing South Africa at the 25th IORAG meeting as the outgoing chair of the IORAG.

ÈÈ Participating as part of the South African delegation within the ‘Workshop on Progress of the IORA Action Plan (2017-2021) and Preparations for a new IORA Action Plan (2022-2026)’.

Page | 30 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

1.3.6. Researching the Human Condition in South Africa 1.3.6.1. When Childhood Experiences Affect Adulthood The foundation of children in their earlier years impacts their entire life. Hence, for every child, the earlier moments and experiences matter.

Research by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development, hosted at the University of the Witwatersrand, investigated the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and psychological distress in a South African population.

ACEs include, among others, physical and emotional abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, neglect, mental illness of a household member and parental divorce in the home environment. Using data from their Birth to Twenty Plus (Bt20+) study, which has been tracking the health and development of Soweto children from 1990 to date, the cross - sectional study assessed 1 636 young adults for prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress.

The research found that:

ÈÈ At least 87% of the young adults reported exposure to at least one form of ACE while 35% reported exposure to four of more forms of ACEs at home; ÈÈ A third of the young adults reported signs of psychological distress and 66% of those affected were women; ÈÈ Women who experienced at least one ACE were two and half times more likely to report psychological distress. This effect increases with the inclusion of socioeconomic status and adult stress.

These findings support other studies which found that adversity experienced early in life can not only disrupt the brain structure and functioning, but also cause dysfunction in other systems resulting in low stress tolerances that persist throughout life and increase the risk of stress-related disease or disorders.

Furthermore, individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences such as neglect may be more likely to show greater distress in the presence of adult stressors compared to those not exposed in early life. According to the research, the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory (PARTheory) explains the consistent link between neglect and psychological distress in the population.

1.3.6.2. Poverty and South Africa’s Education System Low-quality education is keeping children from poor families trapped in a cycle of poverty. Despite significant improvements and pro-poor spending shifts in education in post-apartheid South Africa, too many young children in the country are still failing to master the basics of learning. The DSI-NRF SA Research Chair on the Economics of Social Policy at Stellenbosch University has been researching these issues.

Page | 31 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

The main research found:

ÈÈ 58% of Grade 4 children have not yet learned to read for meaning in any language and 29% are reading illiterate. ÈÈ Learning in schools is highly unequal socioeconomically and racially - there is an achievement gap of almost three years between Grade 3 learners in the wealthiest Quintile 5 schools and those in other schools. ÈÈ Weak teacher content and pedagogical knowledge are possibly the dominant constraints for system improvement with 32% of Grade 6 teachers having a desirable teacher content knowledge level. ÈÈ Learners attending poor quality schools generally earn substantially less than those who attend good quality schools, even when they have the same education levels.

The report recommends, among others:

ÈÈ Adopting a unifying goal: “Every child in South Africa must learn to read for meaning by the end of Grade 3”. ÈÈ Addressing weak institutional functionality. ÈÈ Addressing undue union influence on administrations’ ability to act in children’s best interests. ÈÈ Eliminating wasted learning time. ÈÈ Improving weak teacher content and pedagogical knowledge.

1.3.6.3. Sexuality and Violence: Young girls at school Even at a young age, girls at school have to endure the everyday struggles and battles associated with male power and patriarchy. These nuanced everyday experiences are revealed in a study by the DSI-NRF South Africa Research Chair in Gender and Childhood Sexuality: Violence, Inequality and Schooling at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The research examined ways in which gender and sexuality are experienced by boys and girls at school, particularly how gender power inequalities and violent relations manifest themselves and the influence of heterosexuality in the development of the femininity of girls aged 12 to 13 years as they engage with each other and boys in informal school relations.

The study found that in school environments girls often find themselves having to make complex choices on how to deal with boys. They broker relationships with boys knowing that boys, by virtue of their size, bodies and dominant masculinity, have power whilst rendering girls subordinate to such power. In response, girls often have to consolidate their relationships with other peers to create safe spaces in order to prevent themselves from being harmed.

The research found that while girls mediate their relationship with boys based on a risk assessment, they do not passively accept their situation. They resist and find creative ways to ensure safe spaces. However, even

Page | 32 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

though they are not simply victims of male power, they operate in an environment that is male dominated and girls continue to face vulnerability to male violence.

The study recommends, among others:

ÈÈ Enabling the exercise of girls’ power to end male privilege. ÈÈ Training teachers to understand that gender and sexuality are key to primary school identities and associated inequalities. ÈÈ Providing supportive environments to help girls understand the world in which their heterosexually is framed. ÈÈ Investing in more research that focuses on the different manifestations of gender and sexuality and the deployment of power in primary school.

1.3.6.4. Poverty, Inequality and Family Dynamics The way a family is formed impacts on whether poverty and inequality persist in the home.

A nuclear family is not the norm in South Africa. Many households are not formed around a marital couple and many children do not live with their parents. Where children live with only one parent, then typically it is their mother. Where they live with both their parents, fathers tend to play a much smaller role than mothers in childcare.

Other factors highlighted by the research include:

ÈÈ The provision of primary childcare in South Africa is highly gendered with mainly African women providing care to children in the home. ÈÈ The financial support of children, e.g. schooling expenses, is borne mostly by African women. ÈÈ African children are less likely to live with both parents. Where they live apart from their mothers, it is other women, such as grandmothers or aunts, who provide primary care. ÈÈ Temporary labour migration, a persistent feature among African homes, together with low marital rates and high rates of children born out of wedlock.

Women’s responsibility for the financial and primary physical care of children influences the type of employment women can access. Given that many women do not live in households with African men, the impact of gender differences in the labour market is not balanced at home. As a result, women are left to share their low income with children.

The research also found that African children devoted less time to learning activities, particularly outside of school hours. This study found that this time allocation is linked to the socioeconomic reality that African children live in poorer households and are confronted with environments that are not conducive to learning.

Page | 33 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

The findings from the research highlight the importance of developing an enabling environment that will allow for:

ÈÈFathers to contribute to the care of children. È ÈWomen to combine childcare responsibilities with employment. ÈÈChildren in poor households to access skills, specifically in the home environment.

1.4. Patents Filed by SARChI Chairs and CoEs Help Build South Africa’s Knowledge Economy

Critical to South Africa’s ability to compete both economically and scientifically at a global level is the development and sustainability of the country’s knowledge economy. The NRF’s South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) and Centres of Excellence (CoE) programme have helped to drive innovation in the country, resulting in the application of various patents across a variety of industries from healthcare to materials science, facilitating the commercialisation of a sizeable proportion of the results of NRF- funded research. The following table details the patents that have been filed in various jurisdictions that emanate from research funded by the NRF.

Page | 34 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

INSTITUTION DESCRIPTION DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Bioorganic Chemistry Gold-complexed compounds against Myobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium abcessus DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Applied Proteomics & Chemical Biology Biomarkers for diagnosing tuberculosis in urine samples DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Applied Proteomics & Chemical Biology Identification of health status in the elderly using immunological biomarkers DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement Histamine-targeting aptamers and applications DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Scientific Computing Glycosyltransferase gene expression profile to identify multiple cancer types and subtypes DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Tuberculosis Biomarkers Method for diagnosing tuberculosis DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Coal Research Production of a carbonaceous feedstock material from a DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Biofuels and Other Clean Alternative Fuels waste carbon source DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Medical Product Development Additive manufacturing system and method DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement Analysis of human immune status DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement Biosensor DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement Diagnosis of malaria DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Applied Proteomics & Chemical Biology Method of analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Fluoro-Materials Science and Process Metal production Integration DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Pharmaceutical Biomaterials & Polymer- A bioactive association platform delivery system Engineered Drug Delivery Technologies DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Pharmaceutical Biomaterials & Polymer- An oral pharmaceutical dosage form for the delivery of a Engineered Drug Delivery Technologies peptide and/or protein. DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Applied Proteomics & Chemical Biology Genetic biomarkers and method for evaluating cancers DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Microbial Genomics Heterologous expression of ornithine acyl-acp n-acyltransferases and their uses DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Pharmaceutical Biomaterials & Polymer- Intracellular drug delivery in dermatological disorders Engineered Drug Delivery Technologies DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Pharmaceutical Biomaterials & Polymer- Ligand-bound drug-loaded nanospheres for intracellular Engineered Drug Delivery Technologies drug delivery in motor neuron disease DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Enabled Environments for Assisted Living Mechatronic system for assisting an individual in obtaining a standing position DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in Genetic Tailoring of Biopolymers Method for increasing cellulose in sugarcane DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials Method and system for improving the surface fracture toughness of brittle materials, and a cutting tool produced by such method. DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials System for and method of performing laser shock peening on a target with a fluid flow path sandwiched between a transparent to laser light solid medium and the target. Table 2: Patents filed by SARChI Chairs and CoEs

Page | 35 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Page | 36 NRF 5 year Highlights Report 2 A Transformed And Representative research system

Introduction

Transforming South Africa’s research system has been an ongoing objective of the NRF since its inception. It is no easy task to reverse the inequities created by the apartheid system and efforts have often been perceived as slow but, in the last five years, the NRF’s efforts have shown notable improvements. These achievements are ongoing, ensuring that the science system is representative of South Africa as a nation.

Figure 15: Black postgraduate student funding support Figure 16: Female postgraduate student funding support

Page | 37 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

The proportion of Black postgraduate students supported overall has increased from 69% in 2015 to 80% in 2019, while female supported postgrads has reached 59%, exceeding the target of 55% that was originally set.

In support of grant-making, review and evaluation, over the past five years, the number of NRF-rated researchers has grown from 3 369 to 4 172 (23%). Of those, the numbers Figure 17: NRF-Rated researchers per academic year of female and Black rated researchers has grown steadily. For example, the female rated researcher percentage grew from 31% in 2015 to 35% in 2019, while Black rated researcher percentages grew from 26% to 32% over the same period.

The SARChI Chairs Initiative and Centres of Excellence programme both take cognisance Figure 18: Investment in Centres of Excellence 2015 to 2019 of the importance of transformation. Of the 232 SARChI Chairs currently in operation, 47% are headed up by female directors and 35% by Black directors.

In terms of the Centres of Excellence, of the 15 CoEs in operation, four are headed up by female directors and three by Black directors.

Figure 19: Investment in SARChI Chairs from 2015 to 2019 To date, NRF-SARAO HCD has provided 1 279 grants to post-doctoral fellows, postgraduate and undergraduate students doing science and engineering degrees and research at universities, and universities of technology, and to students training to be artisans. In addition, the project is supporting five Research Chairs at South African universities. The research chairs have further increased the number of researchers and supervisors able to supervise postgraduate students and manage SKA and MeerKAT Figure 20: SARAO grants related research.

Page | 38 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

NRF-SARAO HCD has always consciously and actively prioritised support to Black (ACI) and Women South Africans. Through its various HCD interventions, NRF-SARAO has been instrumental in developing a large and interactive research community in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa that participates in relevant radio astronomy science and engineering research at a local and international level.

When South Africa submitted its expression of interest to host the SKA in 2003, there were less than five radio astronomers in South Africa. Today, largely due to NRF-SARAO’s HCD programme, there are more than 200 practicing radio astronomers based in South African universities and National Facilities.

By utilising NRF-iThemba LABS as the gateway to world-class global research infrastructures such as CERN in France/Switzerland and the JINR in Russia within the area of nuclear science, greater training opportunities for both the postgraduate cohort as well as research and technical support staff are to be created, within which specific prioritisation is given to female, Black and disabled students.

NRF-iThembaLABS maintains a number of collaborative international partnerships designed to not only provide South African researchers with exposure to international research technology and practice but also provide training and human capacity development for students and researchers. These collaborations include:

ÈÈ The ALICE, ISOLDE and ATLAS experiments at CERN in Switzerland ÈÈ PANDORA collaboration which consists of NRF-iThemba LABS; the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP) in Japan; and the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) in Romania. ÈÈ The NUCRED collaboration which utilises the experimental facilities at NRF-iThemba LABS, Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory, and ISOLDE at CERN. ÈÈ The collaboration in the NuMEN (NUclear Matrix Elements for Neutrinoless double-beta decay) project with the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, (LNS) Catania, Italy.

NRF-iThembaLABS also holds a number of workshops on an annual basis, often through its various collaborative partnerships, designed to provide postgraduate students and researchers with additional skills and capacity development:

ÈÈ Radiochemistry training at NRF-iThemba LABS in collaboration with the SAINTS international partner, the French National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology (INSTN). ÈÈ The INTPART partners (NRF-iThemba LABS, Stellenbosch University and the University of Oslo) have setup a series of nuclear physics schools that are aimed at advanced MSc and PhD level students. ÈÈ Sending of two PhD students to GSI/FAIR for a period of three to six months. In particular, it will link with the GET-INvolved program at GSI and thereby introduce this short-term research opportunity for South African early-stage doctoral students. ÈÈ Workshop on Spectrum, Presentation, Analysis, Manipulation, and Simulation (SPAMS) where students are

Page | 39 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

introduced to different data acquisition systems used in nuclear physics experiments involving gamma-ray spectrometry. ÈÈ The NRF-iThemba LABS Summer School and the JINR Students are annual events organised under the SA-JINR program. Postgraduate students form South African universities participate in a three-week summer school in January and a selection of students from this group participate in the JINR Student Practice in Dubna, Russia, in June of the same year. ÈÈ The Advanced Nuclear Science and Technology Techniques (ANSTT) Workshop is an annual event hosted by NRF-iThemba LABS to promote collaborations from both UK-Africa and inter-Africa.

SACEMA hosts a variety of opportunities for training and professional development for its staff and students. One such program is the International Clinics on Infectious Disease Dynamics and Data (ICI3D) program. SACEMA, in partnership with consortium institutions and other institutional partners, participates in the on-going program that aims to train junior researchers to conduct integrative research in infectious disease dynamics and to communicate across disciplinary boundaries. ICI3D has had a sustained long term impact on participants’ careers. As of the last full programme review, conducted in 2017, ICI3D outputs included:

ÈÈ 36 peer-reviewed publications ÈÈ 39 conference presentations ÈÈ 58 successful grant proposals ÈÈ One software package ÈÈ An Open Access repository of slide sets, video lectures, and programming tutorials

2.1. The NRF Changes Lives: #myNRFstory

It is not just through scientific research that the NRF has impacted on people’s lives. Through its funding and support of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, new generations of scientists, who otherwise may never have had the opportunity, have embarked on the long journey of building their research careers. The NRF’s ongoing commitment to equity across race and gender has ensured a steady increase in the numbers of Black and female scientists in South Africa.

The personal testimonies included are from NRF beneficiaries, many of whom have had to overcome challenges both personal and professional to achieve their goals. These are their stories.

Dr Keleabetswe Lerato Mpye Funding from the NRF has helped me to gain financial independence and eased my mother’s financial burden as she was then able to focus on my younger siblings while I was still studying. Without the stress of having to rush to find a job so that I can help my single mother, I was able to remain at school and quench

Page | 40 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

my academic thirst until I got my PhD, followed by the three years of NRF-funded postdoctoral fellowship.

I am where I am because of the generosity of NRF funding and their understanding of our need to remain in school but being unable to because of our social backgrounds.

Edith Phalane I am a mother of two kids, a 6 year-old boy and 4 year-old girl, so the NRF allows me to focus on my studies without worrying about provision for our accommodation, food and other living expenses as a full-time student and a mother.

Today, I stand as an achiever, graduate, scientist, researcher and an example of many possibilities, all because of the role that NRF funding has played in enabling me to pursue my dreams.

To all the aspiring young researchers and scientists, no matter what challenges you face or go through, know that there is there a crown to be won at the end of every challenge and, moreover, every challenge precedes victory. There are no big or small dreams, rather all dreams are valid as long as you do not give up and keep working at it.

Dr Nimmi Seoraj-Pillai The NRF played a critical role in my career development. I was raised by a single mother with a severe heart ailment. We lived off a Government disability grant of R470 pm while I was in school. We were so poor, we lived nomadically from house to house while my mother served as a wageless maid, despite her ill health, just to keep me in school and provide temporary accommodation for us.

Today, I am no longer a homeless child, but a Zoological Scientist at the Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). I hold a PhD in Zoology from the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), in addition to an international postgraduate qualification (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) in Education from the Haaga- Helia University of Applied Sciences, Finland.

I am also a Senior Lecturer and Programme Coordinator at my Department, with 18 years’ experience in a tertiary institution operational environment. All through the opportunities created by the NRF 20 years ago.

Prof Jeanetta Du Plessis I was enrolled as a PhD student in 1988 at the then Potchefstroom University. At that time, the NRF (then the Foundation for Research Development - FRD) awarded me a bursary of R15 000 and this (together with a bursary from a pharmaceutical company) enabled me to survive for a full year in the USA. I completed all the

Page | 41 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

laboratory work for my PhD during that year and afterwards published seven international publications from that data.

My research has been continuously funded by the FRD and then the NRF for many years, ensuring ample bursaries and running costs for my research program in order to deliver more than 80 MSc and 18 PhD students. It also resulted in more than 100 international publications.

My contribution to science was acknowledged by the fact that I was elected as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and, since 2017, I am a member of the National Health Research Committee. None of this would have been possible without the funding and support of the NRF.

Dr Manoko Maubane-Nkadimeng If I were to sum up how the NRF has influenced my career and personal life, into a title, it would be “From writing homework using moonlight, to a Fulbright Scholar”. That is how much the NRF impacted both my personal and my career life.

My involvement with the NRF broke the generational poverty in my family. I was born third of seven children and I was the first in my family to go to university. I grew up in a rural village of Moletjie Ga-Manamela in the Limpopo province and I remember during matric days at Maserole Senior Secondary School, when “other kids” were busy with application forms for university admissions, I did not even bother because I could not even afford a postal stamp to send an application letter. I had poverty written all over me, I am that girl who once used moonlight to write my Maths homework, but today I am an awardee of one of the most prestigious scholarships, the Fulbright Scholarship.

Tshepo Chabalala The NRF is involved in my studies as a main source of funding for my 2019 academic year. I applied for the NRF SARChI Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning bursary from Wits University’s School of Architecture and Planning and earlier this year in February and I was awarded the bursary.

My relationship with the NRF has significantly influenced both my career path and personal life in many ways. For my career path, it has influenced my research topic and what I am currently focusing on for my research. Initially, my research focus was on a rural area in the Greater Giyani Municipality, focusing on traditional leadership and municipal ward councillors. The NRF SARChI Research Chair suggested that I had to change my research topic to focus on urban areas so that they could be able to offer me the bursary.

Page | 42 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

This has shaped my personal life because when I registered for my Masters I had no other sources of funding. Being funded by the NRF has helped my personal life in doing research to come up with a suitable topic that relates to my Masters field of study, i.e. urban politics and governance of urban areas instead of rural areas. My research topic is "Policy reaction to hidden spaces on the urban periphery" and my study area is Johannesburg. My research topic will shape my career path to focus more on policy formulation in municipalities.

Additionally, being funded by the NRF has aided me in easing my financial burden because I come from a non-working class family. I was raised by a mother who managed only to get me through high school as she survived on only a child support grant. Now that I am supported by the NRF, my fees have been paid, meaning when I complete my studies I will graduate in record time. NRF has positively impacted my life.

Jayson Ledwaba NRF offered me an opportunity to do an internship with the CSIR in 2015/16 and my life changed for the better. Throughout the internship, I became a good science communication writer. In addition, under the good guidance of my former supervisor, I learnt a lot and became an experienced professional in the field of communication. NRF opened platforms for me to work for a reputable company like the CSIR that builds careers for young people and breed talent.

Moreover, NRF has programmes for the interns to acquire project management skills to use in the future. I am glad for those skills and will continue to use them in my every day project encounters.

Dr Kerry-Ann van der Walt Since childhood I have been passionate about the ocean. I grew up in Johannesburg which is nowhere near an ocean, but reading and learning more about this wondrous underwater world made me more enthusiastic to pursue a career as a marine scientist.

In 2014, I was successfully selected to be an NRF intern at the National Research Foundation-South African Observation Environmental Network (NRF-SAEON) Elwandle Node where my knowledge of Marine Science was further broadened by working with zooplankton and phytoplankton.

In 2015, I began my PhD at Rhodes University with an NRF Innovation Doctoral Scholarship focusing on thermal tolerance and the effects of climate change on fish and invertebrates in the Kariega Estuary and adjacent coastline in the Eastern Cape. I completed my PhD in 2019 and was successful in receiving an NRF Innovation Postdoctoral Scholarship in 2020 based at NRF-SAIAB where I now focus on the thermal performance of early life stage of fish and invertebrates in urban coastal systems within the Eastern Cape coastal region.

Page | 43 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Prof Kebogile Mokwena I grew up in Dobsonville, Soweto, and attended Kelokitso Secondary School in Meadowlands and matriculated from Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu. As a young girl, I had plans of doing well at school, building a successful career, and spending some time in Europe or the USA.

My primary training was in physiotherapy, which I practised clinically for four years. I then worked as an academic in physiotherapy before I was granted a scholarship for a Doctoral degree in Public Health at the University of South Carolina.

When I returned, the National School of Public Health had been started three months prior and I joined to be the first Head of Department in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences. After conducting some work on nyaope, I was awarded a Substance Abuse and Adolescent Mental Health grant by the South African Medical Research Council in 2016, which enabled me to further my research on nyaope. I was then established enough to be eligible to apply, and was granted the DSI-NRF SARChI in Substance Abuse and Population Mental Health in 2018.

Stephanie Minnies I grew up in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, and went to school there before starting my tertiary studies at Stellenbosch University.

I always enjoyed Biological Sciences at school, and I always wanted to, at least, get my Honours degree. I never thought I would one day be working on my PhD but I am happy that I am on this journey now.

My research focuses on new diagnostic tests for extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). EPTB is tough to diagnose because patients often present with atypical symptoms and many diagnostic tests are not sensitive enough to detect EPTB as, most of the time, the specimens that were collected are paucibacillary. New and more sensitive diagnostic tests are, therefore, vital to diagnose and treat these patients.

I am a PhD student within the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and a member of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research (CBTBR) housed within the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics.

I received NRF funding for my Masters studies (Innovation Scholarship, 2018-2019) and am currently funded by the NRF for my PhD (Innovation Scholarship, 2020-2021).

Amy Steinhobel I am a Masters student within the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and a member of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical

Page | 44 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Tuberculosis Research (CBTBR) housed within the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics.

I was born in Johannesburg but I grew up in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. I have dreams of travelling and working throughout the world, but I will always be proudly South African and Cape Town will always be my home.

My research aims to understand the nature of drug-resistant TB, especially with regards to newer anti-TB drugs such as bedaquiline. By using both phenotypic and genomic approaches, my research aims to take an in-depth look at drug- resistance in the Western Cape and investigate the driving forces behind this drug-resistance.

Ndoni Mcunu I am a PhD candidate at the Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), under the supervision of Prof Rob Scholes and have received funding from the NRF for my Masters and PhD in Environmental Studies.

My focus is on climate change and agriculture, looking at food production and the variability in climate. My focus is to evaluate how farmers can improve their food production with the changing climate and environment. I look at scale and diversification with the aim of understanding how to make farmers more resilient to changing climate.

I studied Environmental Sciences. I developed an interest in Agriculture and wanted to have a broader understanding and impact. From undergraduate to MSc Level, I studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I am currently completing my PhD at Wits.

Page | 45 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Page | 46 NRF 5 year Highlights Report 3 A Scientifically literate and engaged society

Introduction

At the heart of a successful and dynamic knowledge economy is a society in which its members are scientifically literate and engaged with the research that, ultimately, provides societal benefits.

From the DSI, the NRF has adopted four strategic aims with regard to science engagement and communication, each with interventions or initiatives:

ÈÈ To popularise science, engineering, technology and innovation as attractive, relevant and accessible in order to enhance scientific literacy and awaken interest in relevant careers through science education support, science literacy for the public and career support; ÈÈ To develop a critical public that actively engages and participates in the national discourse of science and technology to the benefit of society. This will be achieved through citizen-centred dialogues; public engagement in research; and the use of the media as a form of dialogue between science and society. ÈÈ To promote science communication that will enhance science engagement in South Africa through science communications media, and science communication as a professional field. ÈÈ To profile South African science and science achievements domestically and internationally, demonstrating their contribution to national development and global science, thereby enhancing the public standing of South African science.

It is important that the successes of the South African science and innovation system be effectively communicated and profiled to demonstrate how the country’s science system has advanced and contributed to national development. To this end, the NRF’s South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (NRF- SAASTA) gives effect to a national coordinating role with respect to the DSI’s Science Engagement Framework.

Page | 47 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

NRF-SAASTA’s science awareness activities centred around three interventions – science festivals, public access to science information (e.g. science exhibits), and guided science tours of research facilities. Over the last three years these platforms have performed successfully with 3.1 million people reached through science festivals; 200 838 reached through science public access; and 58 193 reached through guided tours of various National Research Facilities, science councils, science centres as well as university and science organisation research facilities.

Since 2017, NRF-SAASTA’s reach has extended from only 33% of the country’s district municipalities, i.e. where at least one science activity was held, to 100% for the 2019/2020 period. Over the same period, it has reached 567 797 learners through Olympiads and competitions (377 121); workshops (102 508); and career guidance initiatives (88 168). It has also increased its reach to the country’s district municipalities from 69% in 2017/2018 to 100% in 2019/2020.

Figure 21: SAASTA learner development initiatives

NRF-SAASTA has also operated a number of workshops over the last three years, engaging 8 647 educators across the country.

In the area of science engagement in the higher education area, NRF-SAASTA reached a total of 6 534 undergraduates and postgraduates.

The National Facilities play a critical role in science engagement and communication. From 2017 to 2020, more than 900 scientists from NRF facilities were profiled and engaged with the public. Critical to this is the development of science communication skills of researchers as well as youth and this is achieved through various initiatives, workshops and competitions. For example, FameLab, delivered globally by the British Council, provides young researchers an opportunity to present their work in the form of a three-minute science talk. Competitors are judged according to criteria such as content, clarity and charisma. Other competitions include the NRF-SAASTA Science Lens photography competition; the Young Science Communicators competition; and the National Schools Debates competition.

The Annual Youth in Science, Technology and Innovation Indaba provides NRF-SAASTA and the Department

Page | 48 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

of Science and Innovation with an opportunity to engage the country’s youth on the issues and challenges facing South Africa and how these are being addressed.”

NSET Tracking Study: From School to STEM Careers A recent tracking study was conducted of Grade 10-12 learners from rural schools in Limpopo and Mpumalanga who were part of the Nurturing SET Talent (NSET) three-year programme. These learners were tracked to university and on to their absorption in the labour market. The NSET beneficiaries opted for different career fields after completing their high school education with the majority enrolled in SET-related career fields such as engineering, technology, environmental sciences and medicine. The study revealed that of the 143 respondents, 94 (66%) obtained STEM-related qualifications, 33 (23%) obtained non-STEM-related, and 16 (11%) qualifications were undisclosed. From the STEM-related qualifications, 43% of the qualifications are in science; 11% in technology; 46% in engineering; and 1% in mathematics. The largest proportion of non-STEM-related qualifications were in the field of education (39%). Notwithstanding the 94 qualifications, 96 (67%) of the respondents progressed into the STEM sector where, at the time of the study, 41% were employed; 28% were unemployed; and 17% is still studying. A total of 47 (32%) of the respondents moved into the non-STEM sector where, at the time of the study, 74% are employed, 19% are unemployed, and 7% are still studying, whereas 14% are undisclosed.

In partnership with the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), NRF-SAASTA has ensured that all of South Africa’s 11 official languages are used in engaging the public and across different platforms. Unemployed graduates (18 to 35 years of age) in science and technology, communications or journalism are hosted by the community-media outlet for a one-year science journalist internship. NRF-SAASTA places the interns at specific community media organisations in identified municipalities to produce stories for broadcast, online and print media about science, technology and innovation (STI). The interns are responsible for developing popular articles about specific technologies piloted in local communities, as well as innovations developed within these communities.

Figure 22: Science Technology Youth Journalism community media language representation

Page | 49 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

NRF-SAASTA partners with the MDDA to identify community media outlets to host interns and produce science and technology stories in all the South African indigenous languages. Over the three year period from 2017 to 2019 the programme reached 89 youth, providing training in STEM print editorial, STEM radio broadcasting, and STEM television broadcasting. The programme produced 2 591 media stories across all 11 official languages in that period.

Science Olympiads, a flagship project of NRF-SAASTA, offers learners from Grade 10 to 12 an opportunity to showcase their own innovative approach to science and scientific research. South Africa’s National Science Olympiad (which includes entrants from SADC countries) has been held for annually for more than 55 years and has proved to be not only an excellent incubator for innovation but also a stepping-stone for young learners who may otherwise not consider careers in science. Sponsorship of the Olympiads, worth R1.5 million annually (totalling R7.5 million over the last five years), was obtained from Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited.

3.1. Astronomy and Education

3.2.1. NRF-SARAO Since 2007, NRF-SARAO has been coordinating various interventions in the primary and high schools close to the SKA site in the Karoo. The intention of the schools programme is to improve literacy, mathematics and science teaching and learning in these schools, and ensure greater educational benefits accrue to the local communities as a result of the SKA project. Interventions have included the secondment of qualified and experienced Mathematics and Science educators to the schools, support to the science and mathematics educators and learners, and a bursary programme for Grade 8 to 12 learners to study at Carnarvon High School (the only high school in the region offering Mathematics and Physical Science to Grade 12 level).

Since 2016, 19 matriculants from the Karoo region have been awarded NRF-SARAO scholarships to study science, engineering or education degrees at South African universities. NRF-SARAO also coordinates and funds a Lego Robotics programme at the schools in the area and one team, a local high school, won the 2019 International Lego Robotics Competition in Uruguay.

3.2. Environment and Education

3.3.1. NRF-SAEON Environmental Science Education Programme The integration of research into the education outreach activities contributes to an improved understanding of long-term and large scale ecological processes for learners and educators. Educators’ workshops are conducted to encourage and equip educators to teach science using data gathering and analysis in their classrooms.

Science camps are a flagship activity of the SAEON environmental science education programme (ESEP). During these camps learners develop an interest in science and are inspired to become future scientists. From 2015 to date, six learners that were mentored and coached by the SAEON Egagasini Node are studying towards a career in Marine Science at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Page | 50 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

Figure 23: Learners conducting a MiniSASS assessment along the banks of the Vaal River at the Good Hope Nature Reserve by NRF-SAEON’s Arid Land Node NRF-SAEON, through the numerous projects and programmes, is very instrumental in transforming lives through the advancement of knowledge. NRF-SAEON can proudly reminisce about the many achievements that resulted in an inspired nation. The learners who participated in the 2019 Eskom Expo performed excellently. NRF- SAEON learners were awarded a Siemens bursary, laptops from Siemens and Best Project in the Environmental Studies category and Best Project in Agricultural Sciences category. Two projects were shortlisted to attend an international science fair next year. NRF-SAEON learners received two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. The Ndlovu Node mentored and supported Castro Mabunda, Amanda Khoza, Ndzalama Tihuhlu and Khutso Madiba. Through Castro Mabunda’s achievements at the 2019 Eskom Expo ISF, Siemens has awarded his school, Majeje High, R225 000 for a lab upgrade.

Figure 24: Castro Mabunda won a Siemens bursary worth R1.3 million, Figure 25: Lindelihle Manyathi was chosen to represent a laptop and received a gold medal for his project water refinement vortex, South Africa in California at the Regeneron which can be used to save water. International Science Fair in 2020.

Figure 22: Science Technology Youth Journalism community media language representation

Page | 51 NRF 5 year Highlights Report

SAASTA partners with the Media Development and Diversity Agency to identify community media outlets to host interns and produce science and technology stories in all the South African indigenous languages, over the three year period from 2017 to 2019 the programme reached 89 youth, providing training in STEM print editorial, STEM radio broadcasting, and STEM television broadcasting. The programme produced 2 591 media stories across all 11 official languages in that period.

Vision 2030: A prospective look at the NRF

With the completion of Vision 2020, the NRF stands on the threshold of reimagining itself over the next 10 years through its Vision 2030. The new Vision 2030 emphasises the agency’s role in enabling, initiating, facilitating and performing excellent research with direct and indirect impact, both in the immediate and long-term. The NRF’s role will seek to extend across the frontiers of knowledge and address national challenges; to have a transformative effect on the national research enterprise and the relationship between science and society; to shape, influence and impact the national research system; and to establish the NRF as a thought leader and source of knowledge within the science sector.

The outcome of the new Vision 2030 will see the NRF positioned as a transformed and agile knowledge organisation that shapes and influences all aspects of the knowledge enterprise with unwavering commitment to transformation, impact, excellence and sustainability.

Page | 52 www.nrf.ac.za add: Meiring Naude Rd, Pretoria, Gauteng, 0184 tel: 012 481 4000 twitter: @NRF_News facebook: @NRFSouthAfrica