NRF-iThemba LABS hosts the 2nd South Africa-Joint Institute of Nuclear Research Workshop on Theory and Computation

The iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (NRF-iThemba LABS) will host the 2nd South Africa-Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (SA-JINR) Workshop on Theory and Computation at Nelson Mandela University’s Summerstrand South Campus in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, from 05 to 08 December 2023. Members of the media are invited to cover the workshop.

The workshop will bring together theoreticians and experimentalists from the Russian Federation’s Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR), and researchers based at South African universities and NRF-iThemba LABS. The workshop will include plenary talks by invited speakers and discussion sessions on various topics in theoretical, computational, and experimental physics. The workshop will also initiate opportunities to strengthen existing collaborations and establish new areas in scientific cooperation among physicists from South Africa and the JINR. Another key objective of the workshop is to foster public interest in fundamental science by raising awareness of the potential impact that the pursuit of scientific knowledge has on society. A public lecture, entitled The Science, Innovation, and Technology behind Nuclear and Particle Physics, will be presented on 07 December 2023.

The first South Africa-JINR workshop was held in Franschhoek, Western Cape, in January 2020. South Africa has been an associate member of the JINR since 2005, after the Republic of South Africa and the Russian Federation signed a Memorandum of Agreement. The agreement enables collaborations between the JINR scientists and researchers based at South African universities and research institutions. Many South African researchers and students have been to the JINR since the start of the associate membership. This resulted in several South African students completing MSc and PhD degrees based on the projects undertaken within the SA-JINR collaboration.

The long-term collaboration and upcoming workshop are part of efforts to transform South Africa into an international player in field of theory and computational science. “The collaboration contributes to human capacity development initiatives to grow the next generation of researchers in areas identified as critical skills in South Africa,” says Professor Victor Tshivhase, NRF-iThemba LABS Managing Director. “There are plans to enhance this collaboration to improve skills and technology transfer programs for the benefit of South African postgraduate students and emerging researchers.”

Workshop Topics

• Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Reactions
• Few-body systems
• Astrophysics and Cosmology
• Condensed matter Physics and Nanotechnology
• Biophysics
• High Energy Physics
• Quantum Computing and Quantum Systems.

Event Details:

Venue: Nelson Mandela University Summerstrand South Campus, Gqeberha, South Africa
Dates: 05 December to 08 December 2023
Time: 09:00

For more information visit: https://indico.tlabs.ac.za/event/128/overview

For enquiries, please contact:

Bongani Nkosi
Media Relations Officer
National Research Foundation
+27 61 477 3064
b.nkosi@nrf.ac.za

Or

science.marketing@mandela.ac.za