SAIP
The South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) is a voluntary non-for-profit learned society and professional body for physics, formed in 1955. It is the professional body for physicists offering CPhys and CPhysTech certification and is registered with SAQA for this purpose. It represents South Africa at the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
The South African Institute of Physics aims to become a world class, robust and inclusive learned society and professional body for physics in South Africa, advancing physics education, research and applications, and ultimately contributing to socio-economic development for the country.
Physics is a fundamental basic science crucial in addressing global challenges such as climate change, energy security, clean water, unemployment, poverty, health, and food security. South Africa has great potential in utilising physics to benefit from its abundant natural resources, diverse ecosystem, and young and vibrant population. However, South Africa is not fully benefiting from this potential due to a shortage of human capital in sciences, engineering, and technology (SET). The annual SAIP conference is a flagship event that contributes to human capital development by providing a platform for South African physicists and postgraduate students to make presentation on their work, exchange ideas on addressing various problems and build networks to support further collaborative ventures.
Wits
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is a 100-year-old university that grew out of a mining school and blossomed into a research-intensive university with a wide range of research strengths and, particularly, a strong social consciousness. Wits produces innovative research with far-reaching impact. We are proud of our researchers who count among the leaders in their fields.
The School of Physics is the largest, single campus Department/School of Physics in South Africa, which engages in internationally competitive research within very diverse fields, some emerging and some established, including experimental and theoretical high energy physics, namely string theory, phenomenology, gravitation and cosmology, materials physics, experimental and theoretical condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, astronomy, astrophysics and astro-particle physics, high-throughput electronics, photonics, space propulsion, and physics education. The School currently hosts two DSI-NRF Chairs, one Distinguished Professor and is the home of the Materials Physics Research Institute with significant experimental infrastructure, the Mandelstam Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Institute for Collider Particle Physics, the Wits Centre for Astrophysics, the Nuclear Structure Research Group and the WitsQ Research Group focused on quantum technologies. The School of Physics plays important roles in large international science projects e.g. the South Africa-CERN Programme (ATLAS, ALICE, and ISOLDE), Astronomy and Astrophysics research initiatives (SARAO and H.E.S.S.) and hosts the Gauteng node of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS). The School is also the host of the newly launched Wits Anglo American Digital Dome.
