19
Y oung
researchers
IT MIGHT BE SUPERFLUOUS to mention again the importance with which the CSIR regards its young researchers. But–they are the next generation that has the biggest role to play in transforming the science,engineering and technology skills base in South Africa.The CSIR firmly believes in nurturing and developing the expertise of young scientists,ensuring they are not only able to conduct research independently,but that they are also role models for students and learners.
In a strategic decision to formalise its commitment to grow young researchers,the CSIR established the Young Researcher Establishment Fund.The discretionary fund was created to assist young researchers(younger than 35years,although exceptions exist)in following their own research ideas and developing their areas of expertise and reputations in scientific fields.Although encouraged,it is not obligatory that projects are formulated aligned to the operating unit’s strategy.However,the research ideas(in the form of a proposal)must respond to the CSIR’s mandate.
Dr Tumi Semete is a
researcher in polymers
and bioceramics and is
currently conducting
research on novel drug
delivery systems for anti-
tuberculosis(TB)drugs,with
Dr Hulda Swai as mentor.
The project is of national
significance and has received
significant attention from the
Department of Science and
Technology,the World Health
Organization and the inter-
national research community
20
“I THRIVE ON ADRENALIN,”says the poised young scientist.In addition to her extensive research work,she is a part-time lecturer in immunology at the University of Pretoria(UP)and often has to manage her CSIR research group during the absence
of her manager,Dr Hulda Swai.With determination and sheer drive,Tumi has been gathering prestigious scholarships, national admiration and international recognition in short succession.
In March this year she was selected to
the BioVision.Nxt‘Class of2007’programme,one of only five candidates from Africa who have been in
vited to participate.She is also the only woman from South Africa to join the programme. BioVision.Nxt is one of the three pillars upon which the World Life Sciences Forum, a United Nations(UN)institution,is based and only100top scientists with PhD,post-doctoral and MBA qualifications from lead-ing universities and research institutions are invited annually.In between preparing for a conference in the United States and doing research for two forthcoming journal papers,she recently spent a day with the SABC television crew who wants to feature her in a forthcoming hour-
long programme.*Only a few months ago,she was elected
to spend nine months on a researchibm 微软
sabbatical in international laboratories
in Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
In2006alone,she was first author and
delivered presentations in Switzerland,
Sweden and twice in South Africa,includ-
ing at the NanoAfrica2006conference.
My teachers,my heroes
Born and raised in Diepkloof,Soweto,her
parents moved her to Highlands North in
Johannesburg in her Grade8year when
unrest and learner strikes in Soweto were
causing disruptions in education.It was
there,under the inspiration of her enthu-
siastic Grade10biology teacher,that
young Tumi Semete’s future took shape.
“Our teacher exposed us to all the exciting
issues around DNA and I became most
fascinated by the world of diseases,of
what really happens on a very small
scale,”she explains.
Hulda,her manager and mentor,plays a
guiding role in her professional life.
“In the current drug delivery programme,
I do a lot of work with her,”she says,
“and it exposes me to all facets of my
field.It is really exciting.I love learning
new things–and it happens all the time.”
Genetics has always been her first love.
Tumi completed her PhD in biochemistry,
with specialisation in genetics,at the
North-West University in2005.“The PhD
programme focused on gene expression
analyses of proteins that function as anti-
oxidants in cells undergoing oxidative
stress.
From Soweto to the world
science stage:Tumi Semete
Dr Boitumelo(Tumi)Semete is,at the age of27,at the pinnacle of her career.
“I love learning
new things–
and it happens
all the time.”
S C I E N C E S C O P E J U N E2007Y O U N G R E S E A R C H E R S
21
Much of her PhD work was submitted in a paper in the peer-reviewed Biochemical Journal in2006.In addition,Tumi and members of her team have been invited to submit a chapter called‘Nanotechnology in drug delivery for malaria and TB treat-ment’for the forthcoming book Biotechno-logy in South Africa,to be published towards the end of2007.
Tumi is currently working on two papers
to be published towards the end of the year–one on controlled drug release (for the Journal of Controlled Release). The other paper,for the journal Tuberculosis,will be on drug release
in animals.
Postdoctoral research Tumi and the team at the CSIR’s polymers and bioceramics research group are mak-ing impressive strides into a life-changing project that is aimed at addressing patient non-compliance in TB control programmes. The project seeks to develop a system where drugs can be administered in a single dose that maintains an active level for a number of weeks.This is done by nano-encapsulating TB drugs using biodegradable polymers that allow slow and steady release of the drugs.Different encapsulation methods were
studied and the most promising are being
optimised.吴欣怡neinei
South African nano-
drug delivery platform
“One of Dr Swai’s objectives is to establish
a nano-drug delivery platform for South
Africa so that we can ultimately apply
various delivery systems for various
drugs,”Tumi explains.“This means one
can either increase or decrease the
release time of any drug.With a number
of systems we could eventually deliver
therapeutic compounds for diseases
where we know patient compliance to
be a problem.”
She currently works closely with the Univer-
sity of the Witwatersrand where a drug
delivery platform was launched recently.
“Their technology is different from ours,
so our work is complementary;we deal
with different aspects of similar issues,”
she explains.
Motivation and
future plans
“I really get inspired by the fact that we
will soon be able to address the country’s
TB problem,helping thousands of people
within a number of years,”she says.
“I can see my career developing towards
the commercial aspects of my field–where
you do research and then develop a
product.I want to see it from the concep-
tion point,where the research begins and
a potential product emerges,to the testing,
the IP and management,and where I
can contribute to the lives of young
Master’s and PhD students,”she enthuses.
During her scarce spare time,Tumi is
devoted to her church activities and enjoys
reading biographies,business and spiri-
tual books.She loves good food and is
a self-confessed restaurant‘hopper’.She
lives her life to the fullest and approaches
each obstacle as a challenge.
–RenatèJanse van Vuuren
“I really get inspired by the
fact that we will soon be able
to address the country’s TB
problem,helping thousands
of people within a number
毕加索价格of years.”
*The lively Dr Tumi Semete will be featured in the documentary series‘Urban Explorers’,
a programme on the identity of young black women in South Africa today.The programme
will be screened at the Encounters Film Festival and on the SABC in August2007.
22
PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI’S famous “I am an African ”speech captures who Pumeza Ceza is.This young and out-spoken advocate for open source software (OSS)hails from the little rural town of Ku-Gatyane on the Wild Coast,Eastern Cape.
In his speech,the President said:“I am an African,I owe my being to the valleys,the mountains and the glades,the rivers,the deserts,the trees,the flowers,the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land.”
Working in an information and communi-cation technology (ICT)arena has been a
highlight for Pumeza Ceza of the CSIR’s Meraka Institute Open Source Centre.The bubbly Pumeza’s early dreams had nothing to do with working in the ICT
arena.She wanted to become a television personality.As a result,she pursued social science subjects at school.“Mathematics was my worst nightmare,”she recalls.When she packed her bags,leaving her family and friends behind for the University of Fort Hare in 1997,little did she know she would end up in a science-driven
industry,let alone working on OSS instead of making a name for herself as a journa-list or a communication professional.After obtaining her Bachelor’s in social science,specialising in communication,she became a freelance journalist and her articles appeared in national newspapers and magazines.Pumeza decided to leave journalism to pursue other avenues,which later landed her the job at the CSIR.
Translating science in a free and open environ-ment
Open source software (OSS)refers to software that is deve-loped,tested,or improved through public collaboration and distributed with the inten-tion that it must be shared with others,ensuring further colla-boration.Pumeza Ceza is a young CSIR professional who works at the coalface of new develop
ments in this field.
Pu
Y O U N G R E S E A R C H E R S
23
Since joining the Institute,the26-year-
old OpenSpeak researcher,has made
a significant contribution to the popular-isation of OSS as well as to international research and collaboration on such projects.The CSIR announced at the beginning of the year that it had adopted the open document format(ODF)as its default document format as part of the organisation’s move to free and open source software.
“I find open source amazing,it is very accommodating to people like me who know less about the technical aspects of ICT,”she says.“When I first joined the CSIR,it was easy for me to find my way in an OSS environment.OSS has a social aspect to it,which makes this environment the best place for me to apply it.”
The Meraka’s Open Source Centre boasts a successful Soweto satellite office,which for Pumeza translates to ICT being about people development and transformation. She says the Soweto office is in line with a UN-funded initiative to extend the reach of open source benefits to regions in the continent where the software has not yet made an impact.A similar endeavour
is at the i-Community centre
in the Mokgalakwena
district of Limpopo.
Through these satellite
offices,the aim is to
foster networks of open
source specialists capa-
ble of sharing their ex-
pertise with the
community.
Pumeza is currently
working on the Linux
Professional Institute
(LPI)certification
project,of which the
Meraka Institute is a
master affiliate.She says
that LPI certification is a
step in the right direction for
the country in efforts to produce
more open source qualifications.“My responsibilities include drafting the LPI
certification marketing plan;liaising with
the LPI headquarters in Toronto;establish-
ing networks with the technical media;and
networking with LPI training institutions,
government and tertiary institutions.”
The Meraka Institute will facilitate LPI
exams throughout the country.LPI training
institutions will train the candidates and
send them to the Meraka Institute for
ios7控制中心
exams,which will guarantee them certifi-
cates and possibly a job thereafter.“We
work with government departments,as
they employ a large pool of technologists
for numerous IT systems.LPI certification
will earn South African ICT global recog-
nition,”she enthuses.
“I like open source because it caters for
community development,unlike proprietary
software and its limitations,also in terms
of cost.Open source puts software within
financial reach,while also allowing32寸海信电视机
creativity:users can amend and edit
open source systems and use them for
their own work.”
Although Pumeza does not have a science
or an engineering background,she has
managed to fit in at the Meraka Institute,
where the speak is computer-based and
technical.“I have discovered that there is
a relationship between engineering and
social sciences,which makes for very
interesting subject matter,”says Pumeza.
“When I first joined the CSIR,it was easy
for me to find my way in an OSS environment. OSS has a social aspect to it,which makes
this environment the best place for me to
apply it.”
Pumeza Ceza,
OpenSpeak
researcher,
takes a moment
to consult a
FLOSS manual
“It is exciting to work in an environment
where I have become a witness to trans-
formation and development in the country.
It is fulfilling to see that South Africa is
working towards reaching the Millennium
Development Goals,”she says.
Pumeza is currently working towards an
Honours degree in social science through
the University of South Africa.
She is young and bright,and not at a loss
for words when it comes to describing her-
self and her profession.“Most of the time,
boffins battle to express themselves;they
are innovators with great inventions,but
someone has to translate the implications
of their work and advocate the benefits of
what they do.That’s me,”she concludes.
–Mzimasi Gcukumana