Professor Warren Potts has been appointed the Oppenheimer Chair in Environmental Justice for Africa’s Coastal and Inland Fisheries. The Chair has been established through the Benjamin Raymond Oppenheimer (BRO) Trust facilitated by Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation (OGRC).

The Universe is not silent, and apart from what we observe with our eyes, much of what it says arrives as faint radio whispers that we are able to listen to if we tune into the right frequency. South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope has become one of the world’s finest listeners, revealing structures in deep space that were simply invisible to previous instruments. At the centre of this effort is the MeerKAT Galaxy Clusters Legacy Survey (MGCLS), a programme led by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO).

When a faint, fast-moving speck named 3I/ATLAS slipped into view earlier this year, it carried more than a whiff of cosmic intrigue. Only two other confirmed interstellar objects have ever wandered through our Solar System, and both left scientists with more questions than answers. The internet promptly filled the gap with theories ranging from the plausible to the eccentric. However, while the speculation churned, a quieter, methodical effort began to take shape in South Africa.

In a spectacle that underscored its technological ambitions, Rhodes University recently deployed a helicopter to transport delicate scientific instruments to its new, state-of-the-art nanotechnology facility. This operation not only highlighted the sophisticated nature of the Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation (INI) but also marked a significant expansion from its original space in the ChemPharm building due to its substantial growth.