​Five academics from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are pushing the boundaries of science, putting the Institution at the forefront of scientific development as they were among 31 of the country’s leading scholars and scientists recently inaugurated as members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), at the Academy’s annual awards ceremony held on Wednesday, 14 October 2020.

The new UJ members include Prof Marlize Lombard, (Director of the Palaeo-TrACKS Research Programme), Prof David Bilchitz, (Director of the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC), Linda Chisholm, (Professor in the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation), Prof Tien-Chien Jen, (Head of Department: Mechanical Engineering Science) and Prof Alan Cornell, (Deputy Head of Department: Research, Department of Physics). Through election to membership, ASSAf recognises the scholarly achievements of the individual/s.

Prof Dustin van der Haar (an Associate Professor in the Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering), was inaugurated as a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) at the same ceremony.

ASSAf is the official national academy of science and represents the country in the international community of science academies. As a collective resource, the Academy enables the generation of evidence-based solutions to national problems.

The strategic priorities of the Academy are closely matched to those of the nation, focusing particularly on the need for the greatly enhanced availability of high-level human capital and an increased use of the country’s best intellectual expertise in generating evidence-based policy advice that is practical and feasible. The ASSAf new members this year brings its membership to 571.

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