NITheP presentation including video

“The world has changed far

more in the past 100 years

than in any other century in

history. The reason is not

political or economic but

technological - technologies

that flowed directly from

advances in basic science.”

Stephen Hawking

“It seemed incredibly exciting to

spend one's life attempting to find

the secrets of the universe by

using one's mind.”

David Gross

Our vision

To be Africa's leading and an internationally

competitive research and training institute in

theoretical physics, a discipline that provides the

conceptual framework for the natural sciences.

Our mission

To sustain a stimulating theoretical

physics research and user facility

that links South Africa

internationally through excellence

in research and training thereby

supporting scientific innovation,

transformation and socio

economic development in South

Africa.

A home for theoretical physics

The National Institute for Theoretical Physics

(NITheP) is managed as a National Research

Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence (CoE),

that leads research programmes and educational

opportunities in the field of theoretical physics in

South Africa and Africa.

National representation

NITheP is a geographically distributed institute that

includes ALL theoretical physicists in South Africa.

Headquarters: Stellenbosch Institute for

Advanced Studies (STIAS), at Stellenbosch University.

Regional nodes:• University of the Witwatersrand

• University of KwaZulu-Natal

RESEARCH

Research

• NITheP strives to foster research in all areas of

theoretical physics.

• Beyond the Standard Model

• Open Quantum Systems

• Statistical Physics of Phase Transitions

• Quantum Transport and Mesoscopic Physics

• Our research staff at SU, WITS and UKZN focus

on the broad areas of:

Our research network

Category 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Contract 5 4 7 5 5 4

Post doc (internal and external) 10 6 11 17 8 12

Individual associates 46 53 59 63 66 71

Long term visitor 8 7 8 9 13 11

Students supervised (MSc, PhD) 25 38 29 35 36 23

Bursary (MSc, PhD) 44 39 33 23 29 33

Size and shape of the NITheP research network

Research outputs: publications

Publication trend for the period 2007 – 2015

Research outputs: citations

Citation record for the period 2007 – 2015

Research network

Our international collaborative network

ASSOCIATES

Associate network

NITheP has two types of associates:

• Institutional

for well-constituted groupings at SA tertiary institutions

or national facilities.

• Individual

for individuals at South African tertiary institutions or

national facilities.

Associate support

Associates can apply annually for financial

support under the following programmes:

• Workshop

• Short research

• Mobility

• Visitor

STUDENTS

Student support

These programmes are aimed at researchers and

students to drive research and capacity-building

goals.

• Travel grants

• Internships

• Bursary programme

Attendees of our 2015 bursary holder workshop

Bursaries

• NITheP offers bursaries at masters and

doctoral levels for studies in theoretical

physics.

• Bursaries are available at all South

African tertiary institutions.

Bursary values

Level Value Term

Hons R50 000 1 year full-time study

MSc R80 000 2 years full-time study

PhD R100 000 3 years full-time study

HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

Human capacity development

NITheP has made a considerable contribution to

human capacity development.

Since inception, NITheP has delivered an impressive:

• 61 MSc students

• 28 PhD students

Human capacity development: postgraduate supervision

Human capacity development: graduation numbers

Number of bursary holders and/or students under

NITheP staff supervision who graduated from

2010 to 2015:

Human capacity development

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

South Africa

Other African

International

Total

Student enrolment in NITheP training events

TRANSFORMATION

Transformation

Transformation of the theoretical physics landscape in

terms of race and gender is a priority of NITheP.

Transformation

Demographic profile of bursary holders in MSc programme

44

61

74

60

43

38

64

56

39

26

40

57

62

36

11

19

47

21

8

21

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

%

% White % Black % Female

Transformation

Demographic profile of bursary holders in PhD programme

41

36

52

62

56

30

18

59

64

48

38

44

70

82

12

0

14 13

19

0

9

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

%

% White % Black % Female

Theoretical physics… as a driver of technological development

Predictions made by theoretical physicists, e.g. the

Standard Model and Gravitational Waves, have often

become the focus of large experimental tests.

Theoretical physics… as a driver of technological development

• World Wide Web (www):

developed at CERN to facilitate

communication and sharing of

data between experimenters.

Experimental efforts have delivered many technological

benefits, most notably:

• LIGO: the most sensitive

seismic instrument ever built;

has many potential applications

to study the geology of earth far

beyond anything previously

available.

Direct technological applications flowing from theoretical physics

Apart from the indirect technological impact of

theoretical physics as a driver of technology,

many more direct technological applications have

benefitted mankind…

Direct technological applications flowing from theoretical physics

• Nuclear energy: uses the equivalence between mass and energy as

predicted by Einstein’s famous formula: E = mc2

• GPS uses general relativity to correct for time differences between

clocks in a gravitational field.

• Transistors, lasers, NMR, CDs, DVDs, SQUIDS: all rely on our

understanding and control of quantum mechanics.

• Quantum technology: a new branch of technology that directly uses

quantum mechanics for computing, secure communication and many

other applications.

Socio-economic impact… of theoretical physicists

With their advanced analytic and numerical skills,

theoretical physicists also contribute in other ways to

the economy:

Software developers

Employed by soft- and hardware

developers such as Google,

Microsoft and Apple.

Quantitative analysts Employed by

banks, fund managers, stockbroker

and consultation firms.

Researchers

Employed by universities,

research facilities and high-tech

companies.

Lecturers and teachers

Universities, colleges and schools.

Entrepreneurs

Own consultation firms for industrial

and financial sectors.

https://vimeo.com/171416282

Contact us

NITheP: Stellenbosch University

René Kotzé

T: 021 808 2649 | E: renekotze@sun.ac.za

NITheP: University of Witwatersrand

T: 011 717 6838

NITheP: University of KwaZulu-Natal

Nelisiwe Mncube

T: 031 260 7570 | E: mncube@ukzn.ac.za