AIMS South Africa Newsletter August 2024

[Linda Camara]

AIMS Celebration of South African Women’s Month 2024    To commemorate Women's Month, with the theme "Celebrating 30 Years of Democracy Towards Women’s Development," AIMS South Africa House of Science participated in the Women in Mathematics Seminar at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and conducted a Social Media Campaign.     The two events aimed to inspire women and stimulate discussions about equality, diversity, and inclusion in mathematical sciences in South Africa and across the continent.    Read more    A celebration of Women in Mathematics at UWC    On 29 August, our AIMS South Africa female students were invited to join colleagues and students at UWC’s Mathematics Department for a mid-week celebration of Women in Mathematics, organised by Prof. Paran Pillay.     Dr Elham Medhi-Nezhad gave a very interesting talk on game theory, “An Example of an Unfair Sequential Game of Perfect Information: A Game-Theoretic Comparison Between the EN-Gammon and The Standard Backgammon”.     Our House of Science manager, Dr Rejoyce Gavhi-Molefe spoke about her journey as a female mathematician and how we each have a unique story.     It was inspiring witnessing new connections between the next generation of female mathematicians being made. We are grateful to our colleagues at UWC for the invitation.    Read more AIMS South Africa alumni drive the 44th Teachers’ Conference in Uganda          Dr Sinobia Kenny, the Academic Manager of AIMSSEC, the Schools Enrichment Centre of AIMS South Africa, was recently honoured as the keynote speaker at the 44th Teachers’ Conference in Kampala, Uganda.     This prestigious event brought together educators, mathematicians, and thought leaders from across Africa, focusing on advancing mathematics on the continent.    Read more    Student News          January intake students completed: Symmetry Analysis (Masood Khalique, North-West University) and Algebraic Structures (Karin-Therese Howell, AIMS South Africa).           and Algebraic Structures (Karin-Therese Howell, AIMS South Africa).       Cosmology/Astrophysics Group Update August was a very busy month for the Cosmology/Astrophysics Group led by Prof. Amanda Weltman! They attended the IAU General Assembly which was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 6 to 15 August 2024. The first time it has been held in Africa. Most group members gave a talk and/or presented a poster.             Members of the Group also attended and spoke at the South African Gravity Society Conference held from 18 to 22 August in Stellenbosch and at a special event organised in conjunction with the conference titled ‘George Ellis @85’ held to honour its esteemed first President, Prof. George Ellis.          The group also hosted Prof. Will Kinney from SUNY at Buffalo who gave a fantastic and well attended pedagogical talk on Inflation.    Visitors    On 29 August 2024, a delegation from Penn State University visited AIMS South Africa. The delegates were Kimberly Lawless, Dean College of Education, LaWanda Ward, Associate Professor of Education, College of Education and Mel White, Senior Director of Global Initiatives and Operations.          On 30 August, AIMS South Africa hosted Ms Eva Ziegert from the German Aerospace Center. She visited on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). During her visit, Ms Ziegert engaged in fruitful discussions with key AIMS staff about potential collaborations to further support and strengthen existing partnerships between AIMS and BMBF.       The team shared insights into AIMS' progress since Ms. Ziegert's last visit in 2016, highlighting developments in academic research, school enrichment, public science communication, women’s advancement programs, and institutional infrastructure projects. Additionally, Ms. Ziegert had the opportunity to interact with some students who aspire to continue their studies in Germany.    We are enthusiastic about the potential for further collaboration with our visitors and look forward to advancing mathematical research and applications across Africa.       Collaborating for Girl Empowerment in Al(girl)rithms On a bright and inspiring Saturday 17 August 2024, Masibambane Secondary School in Khayelitsha became a hive of creativity and collaboration as young minds gathered for an innovative event under the theme, “Collaborating for Girl Empowerment in Al(girl)rithms”. The event brought together 11 primary school girls from Molo Mhlaba School, 15 girls and five boys from Masibambane Secondary School, all eager to dive into the algorithmic world of collaboration for African design.          Read more    Turning townships into towns through mathematics education On 31 August 2024, something extraordinary happened at AIMS South Africa. The young women of Lavender Hill Secondary School held the hands of girls from Levana Primary School, not just as learners of mathematics but as leaders, creators, and dreamers.    Read more    AIMSSEC Staff Farewell Kwethemba Moyo, Senior Programme Coordinator & Lecturer and Elizabeth Turok, Lecturer celebrated their last days at AIMSSEC on 30 August 2024. They have been invaluable members of the department, and their commitment and dedication have made a lasting impact. We wish them well. Chair of AIMS Council          Prof. David Holgate, Chair of the AIMS South Africa Council embarks on his tenure as the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).    Read more In Memoriam             AIMS South Africa joins our colleagues at UWC in mourning the passing of Prof. Brian O'Connell, a former AIMS Trustee.    Read more    Teaching tip for lecturers!       Cutting-edge scientists are often enthusiastic about sharing and creating new knowledge and innovative ideas. But how frequently do we explicitly teach thinking skills like reasoning, as an example, in our lectures? Aim to focus on reasoning in your lecture, or be bold, record, and watch it. Turn your attention to how you facilitate reasoning and how your students respond. Note what you could do differently next time to deepen their reasoning skills. Focusing on thinking skills is a powerful exercise to deepen understanding and also an opportunity for students to explain their thinking.       ANNOUNCEMENTS    We are hiring!       We have open positions for:    A Machine Learning Researcher: Earth Observation & Ecology (open until filled.)     Please see our applications page for more details!    Read more       Click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list.