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PositionPaperon

ADecadalStrategyfor

HumanCapacityDevelopmentin

AstronomyandAstrophysicsinSouthAfrica

KrishBharuth‐Ram

UndercommissiontotheNationalResearchFoundation21August2009

Updatedandamendedbythe2010AstronomyWorkingGroup

28February2011

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TableofContents

1.ExecutiveSummary ....................................................................................................... 31.1Background ................................................................................................................................................................... 31.2Recommendations...................................................................................................................................................... 4

2.BackgroundandMandate ............................................................................................. 6

3.IssuesidentifiedinReviews .......................................................................................... 63.1InstitutionalReviewoftheNRFanditsNationalFacilities1999‐2004.............................................. 73.2TheAstronomyFrontiersProgramme .............................................................................................................. 7

4.OverviewofCurrentStatus ........................................................................................... 84.1CurrentsituationattheNationalFacilities .................................................................................................. 104.2CurrentsituationatUniversities....................................................................................................................... 204.3.HumanCapacityDevelopmentProgrammes.............................................................................................. 23

5.Issuestobeaddressed.................................................................................................285.1EstablishingaviableSouthAfricanastronomyresearchandtechnologycommunity ............. 285.2Organisationofastronomyresearcharoundkeysciencequestions ................................................ 315.3Well‐resourcedtechnicalsupportgroups .................................................................................................... 325.4Highperformanceinternetconnectivity ....................................................................................................... 325.5AnewgovernancestructureforastronomyintheSALT/MeerKATera ......................................... 32

6.Recommendations .......................................................................................................34Recommendation1:Coherentgovernancestructureforastronomy ..................................................... 34Recommendation2:Substantiallyincreaseinstitutionalcapacityinastronomy.............................. 35Recommendation3:Develophumancapacityinastronomybysubstantiallyincreasingthenumberofblackastronomystudentsandastronomers ................................................................................ 37Recommendation4:Supportingwell‐resourcedastronomytechnologygroups ............................... 38Recommendation5:Coordinatedandwell‐resourcedastronomyeducation,outreachandscienceawarenessprogramme................................................................................................................................. 39Recommendation6:Acontinuingdecadalstrategyforastronomy:prioritizationofresearchthemes.................................................................................................................................................................................. 40Recommendation7:Establishingcollaborativestructures......................................................................... 41Recommendation8:Adequateresourcestosupportastronomyresearchandteaching .............. 42Recommendation9:Nationalcentreforastronomyandastrophysics .................................................. 43

7.Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................44

ListofAcronyms...............................................................................................................44

Appendix:TheProcess .....................................................................................................46

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1.ExecutiveSummary1.1Background

Astronomy inSouthernAfrica ison the thresholdofoneof themostexcitingstages in itsdevelopment: the first stages of the installation of the SKA pathfinder infrastructure hasbegun, SALT is due to be (fully) operational early in 2011, and exciting infrastructureinvestments are being planned by the international high energy gamma ray astronomycommunity.ThisisanappropriatetimetoreviewthestateofastronomyinSouthAfricaandto chart a way forward for a comprehensive human capacity development approach forastronomy.The position expressed in this paper was arrived at after reviewing relevant documentsgenerated over the last 5‐10 years and the findings of various review panels during thisperiod, as well as taking into account the views of a number of national (and twointernational) stakeholderswhose opinionswere canvassed on the state of astronomy inSouthAfricaandonthedevelopmentofskilledhumanresourcesinastronomy.Two significant recent documentswere the International Panel Review of the Astro‐Geo‐Science Facilities, 1999‐20041, and the report that resulted from a series of meetingscoordinated in2005byNRFwithrepresentativesfromuniversitygroups(UCT,UKZN,UFS,UNISAandothers),theNationalFacilities(SAAO,HartRAO),SKASAandtheDepartmentofScience and Technology (The Astronomy Frontiers Programme (AFP)). The formerrecommended that radio‐astronomy capabilities remain coordinated, integrated andworking towards national priorities, with in particular HartRAO staff and resources beingintegratedfullyintoSKAactivitiesandSKAprojectoffice,andthenon–operationalscientific,technicalandadministrativecomponentsofHartRAObeingco‐locatedatacommoncentralsite.TheAFPadvocatesathematicapproachtoresearch,cross‐cuttingcollaborationsinscienceandtechnology,andasystematiccapacity‐drivenprogrammethatstimulatesthegrowthofhumancapitaltomatchtheavailablephysicalinfrastructure,withparticularattentionpaidtoexpansionofblackandfemaleSouthAfricanparticipation.Thekeyissuesthatneedtobeaddressedinadecadalstrategyforastronomyinclude

1Anewreview,coveringtheterm2005to2009,wasperformedsincethe firstversionofthisdocumentwasdrafted;itcontainspertinentrecentdataanddiscussion.

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1. Establishing a viable South African astronomy research and technology communitycriticaltowhicharei) Developingcriticalmassgroupsinuniversitiesandinregionsii) Attracting new students to the field and retaining postgraduate students up to

andbeyondthePhDleveliii) Increasing significantly the representation of black SouthAfricans in astronomy

andastrophysicsiv) Increasingresearchsupervisorycapacityatuniversitiesandnationalfacilitiesv) Strengthening the university‐national facility partnership in astronomy research,

researchplanningandhigh‐levelskillsdevelopment

2. Astronomyresearchtobeprioritizedaroundkeyscienceareasthatwillmakeoptimaluseofthenewmulti‐wavelengthfacilitiesinSouthAfrica

3. Establishingwell‐resourcedtechnicalsupportgroups4. Providinghighperformanceinternetconnectivity5. EstablishinganewgovernancestructureforastronomyintheSALT/MeerKATEra

1.2RecommendationsAsummaryoftherecommendationsforthedevelopmentofSouthAfricanhumancapacityinastronomyandastrophysicsarepresentedhere.MoredetailsoftheserecommendationscanbefoundinSection6.1.Coherentgovernancestructure:ThecentralrequirementforthedevelopmentandgrowthofastronomyinSouthAfricaisacoherentgovernancestructure forastronomy,whichmanagesSouthAfricanastronomicalfacilities in a coherent and holistic way, with astronomers playing a key part in thisstructure.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage34.2.Substantiallyincreaseinstitutionalcapacityinastronomy:ThesuccessofanyhumancapacitydevelopmentprogrammeforSouthAfricanastronomyisstrongly dependent on the development of critical‐mass capacity at several institutionsacross thecountry thatare involved inastronomy research, teachingandoutreach.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage35.3.Develophumancapacityinastronomybysubstantiallyincreasingthenumberofblackastronomystudentsandastronomers:Centraltothelong‐termsuccessofanyhumancapacitydevelopmentprogrammeforSouthAfricanastronomyisthetrainingofmanymoreblackastronomystudents.Itisalsovitaltoprovidecontinuingsupportfortheseyoungastronomersthroughthevariousstagesoftheir

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careerdevelopmentsothattheycanultimatelytakeuppostsasprofessionalastronomers.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage37.4.Supportingwell‐resourcedastronomytechnologygroups:Thereisaneedtoensurethattherearewell‐resourcedtechnicalgroupsinSouthAfricathatare working on cutting‐edge astronomical instrumentation, so that the South Africanastronomy community, in particular young and upcoming astronomers, remainsinternationally competitive by producing new and world‐class science with theseinstruments.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage38.5.Coordinatedandwell‐resourcedastronomyeducation,outreachandscienceawarenessprogramme:Awell‐coordinatedandwell‐resourcedastronomyeducationandoutreachprogrammewillplayaninvaluableroleincreatingawarenessofastronomyamongthepublic, inparticularhigh‐school learners, who could be attracted into studying astronomy at university andpursuingacareerinastronomy.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage39.6.Acontinuingdecadalstrategyforastronomy:prioritizationofresearchthemes:Akeystrategyforthegrowthofhumancapacityinastronomyistoidentifyandfocusonaprioritizedsetofresearchthemes,takingintoaccounttheastronomicalfacilitiesavailableinSouthAfrica,sothatSouthAfricanresearcherscanplayaleadinginternationalroleintheseareas of research and thereby increase their international reputation. This in turn willinspire young and upcoming South African astronomers, and give them the necessarytrainingandskillstosucceedinacompetitiveinternationalresearcharena.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage40.7.Establishingcollaborativestructures:Since the South African astronomy community is relatively small at present, significantbenefit in developing human capacity can be gained by combining skills and resourcesthrough collaborative programmes between different South African institutions, andwithinstitutionsinAfricaandfurtherabroad.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage41.8.Adequateresourcestosupportastronomyresearchandteaching:Abasic platformof resources to support astronomy research and teaching is required todevelopcapacityinthisarea.Moredetailscanbefoundonpage42.9.Nationalcentreforastronomyandastrophysics:Anationalcentreforastronomyandastrophysicsisrequiredtoprovideanenvironmentinwhich people engaged in astronomy (including astronomers, educators, instrumentscientists and engineers, and students) can interact and think about science with the

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minimumadministrativeor formal teachingresponsibilities.Moredetailscanbe foundonpage43.

2.BackgroundandMandate

TheDepartmentofScienceandTechnology (DST)has suggested that thevariouscapacitydevelopment programmes in astronomy should be incorporated within an overarchingstrategy in AGAP – the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Programme. During its recentnegotiationswiththeDSTforfundingfortheseprogrammes,theNRFagreedtocoordinateareviewonthestateofastronomyinSouthAfricaandtodevelopanationalstrategy,basedonthefindingsofthereview,tochartawayforwardforacomprehensivehumancapacitydevelopmentapproachforastronomy.InthiscontextthispositionpaperwascommissionedbytheNationalResearchFoundation“toaddress:

• Astrategicplanforastronomy• Humancapitalrequirements

coveringthethreeexistingfundingareas

• NationalAstronomyandSpaceScienceProgramme(NASSP)• Multi‐wavelengthAstronomy• Radio‐astronomy.”

Thepositionpaperwastobebasedonrelevantdocumentsgeneratedoverthelast10yearsand the findings of various reviews during this period, such as the SETI Review of theNational Facilities completed in 1998 and the NRF review of the SA Astro‐GeosciencesFacilities.

3.IssuesidentifiedinReviewsSeveralissuespertinenttothecurrentreviewwereidentifiedintheInstitutionalReviewofthe NRF and its National Facilities in 2004, and in the subsequent workshop of key roleplayers in astronomy that was convened by the NRF in 2005, and which resulted in thedevelopmentoftheAstronomyFrontiersProgramme.Theseissuesarepresentedbelow.

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3.1InstitutionalReviewoftheNRFanditsNationalFacilities1999‐20042The InstitutionalReviewof theNational Facilitiesmade findingsona) cross cutting issuesthatwereapplicabletoalltheNFs,andb)issuesrelevanttoNFsinacluster.Thecross‐cuttingissuesthatwereidentifiedincludedtheneed

i) toincreasehumanresourceswithintheNationalFacilities(NFs),andtoacceleratetransformationanddiversityintheworkforce

ii) toreplace/upgradeageingequipmentoracquireadditionalequipmentfortheNFsiii) fortheNFstoplayamajorroleininformingnationalpoliciesintheareaoftheir

expertiseiv) to continue to strengthen their role in developing human resources for the

countryv) tocontinuetostrengthenandimprovetheiroutreachprogrammesvi) to pursue/strengthen, in varying degrees, their presence/visibility in the

internationalarenathrough increasingpublications in internationalpeerreviewscientificjournals,and

vii) tostrengthennational,regionalandinternationalcollaborations

The major issue identified in the Astro‐Geo Facilities Review was the re‐positioning ofHartRAOtoparticipateinSKApathfinderdevelopment(KAT&MeerKAT).TheReviewPanelrecommendedthat

i) HartRAOstaffandresourcesbeintegratedfullyintoSKAactivities,particularlytheKAT/MeerKAToperations

ii) Radio‐astronomycapabilitiesremaincoordinated,integratedandworkingtowardsnationalpriorities,and

iii) SKAResearchandTechnologyCollaborationCentre(RTCC),SKAprojectofficeandthe non–operational scientific, technical and administrative components ofHartRAObeco‐locatedatacommon,centrallocation

iv) the NRF find ways of enhancing capacity‐building in the HEIs – to take fulladvantageofSALTandtheSKApathfinder

3.2TheAstronomyFrontiersProgrammeThe Astronomy Frontiers Programme (AFP) was the result of a series of meetingscoordinatedin2005bytheNRFofrepresentativesfromtheUniversities,SAAO,HartRAO,SASKAandtheDST.TheAFPidentifiedthemainfactorsthatwouldimpactonthesuccessofSALTandtheSKApathfindersas

i) thequalityofthescientificoutput

2Anewreview,coveringtheterm2005to2009,wasperformedsincethe firstversionofthisdocumentwasdrafted;itcontainspertinentrecentdataanddiscussion.

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ii) theabilityoftechnicalstafftomaintainthetelescopesinoptimalconditioniii) theextenttowhichthetelescopescanbeupgradedwithnewtechnologyandbekept

competitivewithotherlargetelescopesiv) thetrainingofscientiststoPhDlevelandbeyondtothebestinternationalstandardsv) linkingSALT,HESSandKAT(andMeerKAT)withtherestofAfricavi) using SALT, HESS and KAT (andMeerKAT) as icons to generate public interest and

attractingtheyoungintoscientificcareers

TheAFPadvocates• athematicapproachtoresearch• cross‐cuttingcollaborationsinscienceandtechnology• asystematiccapacity‐drivenprogrammethatstimulatesthegrowthofhumancapitalto match the available physical infrastructure, with particular attention paid toexpansionofblackandfemaleSouthAfricanparticipation

To respond to these challenges, the AFP proposed the establishment of an Institute ofAstronomy, a real and a virtual one centred in Cape Town and with nodes around thecountry,with theobjectiveofprovidinganenvironment inwhichstudentswillbeable tointeractwithexpertobservers, theoristsand instrumentscientists fromaroundtheworld,aswellaswiththeirpeers fromAfrica.The IoA,asproposed,wastofocusonsupport forPhDstudents,whileHonoursandMScstudentswouldcontinuetoreceivesupportthroughNASSP.

4.OverviewofCurrentStatusSouth Africa has distinct geographic advantages, which have the potential to make it amajorglobalplayer inastronomy. InordertoexploittheseadvantagestheDepartmentofScience and Technology (DST) has made huge investments in astronomy facilities andinfrastructure that offer opportunities for international class research and collaborations,the development of highly skilled scientific and technical human resources, technologytransferandscienceeducationandoutreach.Theseinvestmentsinclude

a) SALT:theSouthernAfricanLargeTelescope,thelargestsingleopticaltelescopeinthesouthern hemisphere, an international undertaking in which South Africa is themajorshareholder

b) SKAPathfindersKATandMeerKATSouthAfricaisoneofthetworemainingbidderstohosttheSquareKilometerArray(SKA)–aprojecttoconstructaradiotelescopewithacollectingareaofonemillionmeters.SKAisestimatedtocostapprox.US$2billionandwillinvolvemorethan34

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institutionsin16countries.DevelopmentworkontheSouthAfrica’sSKApathfindersKATandMeerKATarewellunderwayandlegislationhasbeenenactedtoprotectthemainsiteoftheproposedSKAintheradio‐quietNorthernCapeProvince.Becauseofthislegislationandtheavailablehi‐techinfrastructuretheKAT/MeerKATsiteiswellpositionedtobecomehosttoarangeofinternationalradio‐astronomyexperimentsandhasalreadyattractedPAPERandC‐BASS(seebelow)

c) South Africa has a small share in the ultra‐high energy gamma ray telescope, HighEnergy Stereoscopic System (HESS), in Namibia. DST/NRF support towards capitalcostsforHESSterminatedin2009.HESSIIisexpectedtobefullyoperationalbytheendof 2011andwill alsoprovide thenecessarybridge inenergybetweenNASA’sFermi LAT Space Telescope and HESS I. South Africa is expected to contributetowardsthecapitalinvestmentofHESSII

d) There are a variety of small telescopes at Sutherland. The older, South African,commonusertelescopesandthenewerinternationalprojects(mostlyrobotic)offerexciting possibilities for the local community in terms of student training andresearch.ItisinterestingtonotethegrowthofautomatedtelescopesatSutherlandoverthepastfewyears,allofwhichallowtheSAcommunitysomesortofaccesstotheir data on variable stars, planets, transients etc. These are a testament to thequalityofthesiteandtheinfrastructureatSAAO,buttheyalsoreflectaninterestingparadigm shift in the way that small telescopes are used; they havemoved fromgeneral purpose common‐user instruments to dedicated automated telescopes,oftenthoughnotalways,focusedonsomeparticularproblem

SALTisexpectedtobefullyoperationalin2011,constructionofKATandMeerKATarewellunder way, and HESS is operational. South Africa, hence, has access to three majorinternational astronomy instrumentswhich are new, are inwidely separatedwavelengthbands,andwillproducenewandexcitingscienceforatleastthenextdecade.SouthAfrica’sfull participation in this science requires that the leaders, research students and thetechnicalexpertsneededtooperate,maintainandupgradethefacilitiesareavailableattheappropriatelevelsandintherequisitenumbers.Thissectionthereforegivesbriefoverviewsof

• the current situation in key areas at the astronomy related NationalFacilities/Projectsandtheirfundingallocations

• thecurrentsituationinastronomyprogrammesatuniversities• Human Capacity Development (HCD) programmes, which lead on to the

identification of key issues that need to be addressed in a decadal strategy forastronomyinSouthAfrica.

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4.1CurrentsituationattheNationalFacilities4.1.1SAAO/SALTSAAO is thepremieroptical/infraredastronomyresearch facilityon theAfricancontinent.ItsheadquartersareinCapeTownandhouseitsresearchastronomersandtechnicalstaff,state‐of‐the‐art IT centre, laboratories,workshops, library, auditoriumandadministration.SAAO’s research telescopes are located 360km away in the Northern Cape on theSutherlandobservingplateau,togetherwitha lodgeforvisitingscientists,plushousingforsitestaff,workshops,visitorcentreandrecreationcentre.(SincetheinaugurationofSALT,theSutherlandtelescopeshavebeenreceivingover12,000visitorsperyear).TheSutherlandobserving station isakeypartofSA's strategic "geographicadvantage" inastronomy.Thisadvantagehas resulted inSAAOhostingnumerous international facilities,and the formation of collaborative relationships with a variety of overseas partners.Virtuallyallofthesearenew,i.e.startedsince1994,andthemajorityofthemareroboticinoperation, opening up new regions of parameter space for astronomical research,particularlyinthesearchforexo‐planetsandthestudyofthetransientsky.Over the years, SAAO has built a reputation for producing world class, cost‐effectiveresearch and astronomical instrumentation, and has a significant fraction of the SAastronomy PhD contingent on its staff, including postdoctoral researchers and SALTastronomy operations personnel. The established small telescopes are being used toprepare for SALT programmes, and also to serve as training platforms for the nextgeneration of astronomers. It is essential that, evenwhen SALT is fully operational, the1.9m and 1m telescopes at SAAO be upgraded and maintained appropriately. Bothinstruments play important roles in capacity development and supporting andcomplementingSALToperations.SAAO contributes to HCD through training of scientists, engineers and technicians, incollaborationwithanumberoflocalandinternationaltertiaryeducationalinstitutions.TheObservatoryhasspearheadedaninitiativetoproducelargenumbersofhighqualityPhDsonthe African continent via NASSP (see later). SAAO also provides training to engineeringstudentsinitsmechanicalandelectronicdepartments.SAAOisalsotheprimaryinstituteresponsibleformaintainingSutherland'sAAAstatus(asan“AstronomyAdvantageArea”)within theambitof theAstronomyGeographicAdvantages(AGA)Act,whichwaspassedinlate2007andsignedintolaw.SAAOplaysaleadingroleinthe promotion of science awareness and community development through a variety of

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scienceoutreachprogrammesdeliverednation‐widebytheSALTCollateralBenefitsDivisionof SAAO. These activities are regarded as part of the core functions of SAAO, and areresourced accordingly. The overarching goalwas to ensure that themaximum collateralbenefitsarederivedfromtheSALTprojecttoadvancetheeconomy,technology,andsocietyofAfrica.The SCBP focuses on 3 areas: education in mathematics and Science, Engineering &Technology(SET)tosupplythecountryandthecontinentwithwell‐trainedandmotivatedprofessionalsinsubstantiallyincreasednumbers;sciencecommunicationandawarenesstoeffectivelyengagewiththepublicinordertodisseminaterelevantinformationinthefieldsofastronomyandspacescience;andsocio‐economicdevelopmentinordertocontributetoabetterqualityoflifeforallpeople,especiallythedisadvantaged.TheObservatoryhasalsobeeninvolvedinthewidersocietalapplicationsofspacescienceandtechnology, in thesensethatweallnow live inaneraofglobal space‐basedservicesand utilities. Astronomy may be seen as one of the basic space sciences that underpinappliedspacesciences.Since2004,theSpaceScienceandTechnologyDivisionhasplayedaleadingroleinthedevelopmentofthespacearenainSouthAfricaandallthedevelopmentsthat led to the establishment of the new South African Space Agency inaugurated inDecember 2010. SAAO hosts the Space Secretariat, which has played a leading role incoordinatinginter‐Departmentalactivitiesanddiscussionsthathaveleduptotheplanstoestablish a South African Space Agency. The Secretariat has organized national andinternational conferences and has taken the lead in the organisation of the InternationalAstronautical Congress in Cape Town in 2011. The Secretariat has also been centrallyinvolvedinthedevelopmentoftheNationalSpacePolicy.SALTSAAO has the responsibility to operate the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) onbehalfoftheSALTFoundation,inwhichSouthAfricaisthelargestsingleshareholder(1/3).SALTisequippedwithstate‐of‐the‐artimaging,spectroscopicandpolarimetricinstruments,aspects ofwhich provide unique,world‐leading capabilities. SAAOhas contributed to thedevelopmentoftheSALTinstrumentationsuite,inparticularthedetectorsofSALTICAMandRSS.Withitsmuchgreaterlight‐gatheringpower,SALThasbroughtnewscientificinvestigationswithinreachofSouthAfricanastronomers. SALTisaconsortiumof internationalpartnersfrom South Africa, USA, Germany, India, Poland, UK and New Zealand that funded itsconstruction.This10m‐classtelescopealthoughverysimilartotheHobby‐EberlyTelescope(HET) inTexas,hasaredesignedopticalsystem,providinggreaterthroughput, largerfield‐of‐viewandimprovedimagequality.ThisSouthAfricanredesignwillsoonberetrofittedto

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HETbyourTexaspartners.SALTwas inauguratedbyPresidentMbeki in late2005,shortlyaftercompletionoftheinitialconstructionphase,sincewhenithasbeenundergoingtestingandcommissioning.SALTisapprox4yearsbehinditsoriginalschedule,whichisnowrecognisedashavingbeenhighly unrealistic in the light of the major changes and improvements that wereincorporatedintoitsdesigncomparedtotheHETprototype.Thisdelayisduetotwomajorproblems: (i) the main spectrograph (RSS) was found to have extremely poor UV/blueperformance,whichwaswellbelowspecification,and(ii) thetelescope imagequality (IQ)couldnotbemaintainedovermorethanaquarteroftheintendedfieldofview.The firstproblemwas identifiedasbeingduetoachemical reaction,whichcontaminatedthe lens coupling fluid, thereby changing its optical properties. Solution to this problementailedremovingRSSfromthetelescope,dismantlingtheopticsandreturningthemtotheUSmanufacturer for repair. Theproblem is now fully solved, theopticswere returned in2009,reinstalled,realignedandtested.TheSAAOInstrumentationDivisionledbyDarraghO'Donoghueundertookanextensivesetof IQ tests that allowed them to isolate the second problem as being in SALT’s SphericalAberration Corrector (SAC), showing that the mirrors in the SAC cannot be in theirmanufacturedand(supposedly)sealedpositions.Theproblemwasdominatedbythepoormechanical interfaceoftheSACwiththetelescope,whichleadstoseveremechanicalandthermal stresses being propagated into the relatively weak SAC, thereby distorting andmisaligningitssensitiveopticalcomponents.During2008/9O'Donoghue'steamcompletelyredesignedthemechanicalmountingfortheSAC; isolating it from any stresses occurring in the tracker. In April 2009, the SAC wasremovedfromSALTandthetelescopewasstooddown(it is inoperablewithoutaSAC) inorder to put this redesign into effect. Over the next 15 months the SAC was carefullydismantledandall theoptical components tested,verifying theiroptical condition (allareexcellent)andcleaningthemwherenecessary.TheSACmirrorswereallcarefullyrealignedandfinallytested.On‐skyimagesundergoodconditionswereobtainedonAugust28,2010anddemonstratedclearly that the IQproblemwas finally solved.Furthermore, this resultdemonstrated the considerable potential of the large spherical mirror HET/SALT design.HETitselfisbuildinganew,wide‐fieldinstrument(HETDEX),whichincorporatesamodifiedSACcloselybasedontheSALTdesign.WhiletheseproblemshavebeenveryfrustratingtoSAAOandSALTscientists,theremedialactionsundertakenbythetechnicalstaffrequiredanextensivecheckingofthetelescope’sentire optical system. Considerable effort has also been expended on optimising andcharacterising the CCD detectors, aswell as improving the instrument software. This has

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resulted in a much greater understanding of SALT and its sub‐systems, and provides anexcellentbasisforfutureupgradesofSALTinstruments.Despite the above problems, SAAO and university researchers have still managed toundertake a commendable number of science programmeswith SALTICAM togetherwiththe small telescopes, and achieved an impressive list of refereed publications during thepasttwocalendaryears(anaverageof2perscientist).ThisaugurswellfortheproductivitythatcanbeexpectedonceSALTisfinallyfullycommissioned.4.1.2 Radio‐AstronomyAt present the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is the NationalFacility for Radio astronomy. It has responsibility for the operations of the telescopes atHartebeesthoek, and has led research and research‐ and technical‐capacity developmentparticularlyinVLBI(verylongbaselineinterferometer)radioastronomy.The main observational instrument at HartRAO has been the 26m antenna with bothazimuthalandpolar trackingcapabilities. Inaddition to the spectroscopyundertakenasastand‐alone telescope, this instrument has been central to several VLBI astrophysical andgeodeticapplicationsinpartnershipswithseveralinternationalobservatories.Theastrophysicalapplicationsinclude

i) servingasan importantnode in longN‐SandE‐Wbaselines in collaborationswithEuropeanandAustralianpartners,respectively

ii) servingasapartnerine‐VLBIat1.6–22GHzinreal‐timethroughtheinternet,iii) couplingwithradiotelescopesorbitingtheEarth,toprovidebaselinesmuchlonger

thantheEarth'sdiameter–thelimitforterrestrialVLBI‐andsohigherangularresolution

iv) maintaining and extending the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF)throughastrometricandgeodeticVLBI'smanagedbyInternationalVLBIService(IVS).TheICRFisusedtoobtaintheabsolutepositionsofobjectsobservedbytelescopesandiscrucialtomulti‐wavelengthastronomyasitisusedtoalignimagesobtainedatdifferentwavelengths

The 26m telescope has also been an important reference point for national andinternationalgeodeticsurveys.Theseinclude

i) Hartebeesthoek94datum–referencepointforSAsurveysystemii) InternationalTerrestrialReferenceFrame(ITRF)fiducialpointwithco‐located

precisepositionmeasuringsystemsiii) Stationlocationdeterminationandchangewithtimefromplatetectonicmotion

‐theHart26mtelescopewasusedtomakethefirstmeasurementofthe

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present‐daymotionoftheAfricanTectonicplateiv) EarthrotationandorientationparameterdeterminationbytheInternational

EarthRotationService(IERS)v) Absolutereferencepointforco‐locatedNASAMOBLAS‐6SatelliteLaserRanger

(SLR)thatisoperatedbyHartRAOonbehalfofNASAandtheInternationalLaserRangingService(ILRS)throughaninter‐governmentalagreement

vi) Absolutereferencepointforco‐locatedbasestationsforGlobalNavigationSatelliteSystems

vii) Absolutereferencepointforco‐locatedDORIS(DopplerOrbitographyandRadio‐positioningIntegratedbySatellite)(basedattheadjacentCSIRSatelliteApplicationCentre)

Thetelescopehasalsobeeninextensiveuseinthetrainingofradio‐astronomersskilledinVLBI, of KAT development teams and operations teams, and for BSc Hons,MSc and PhDprojects. The bearing failure on the telescope inOctober 2008was amajor setback for the aboveactivities.ThebearingwasreplacedandthetelescopereturnedtoserviceinJuly2010andisnowworkingwell.TheSKAProjectThe internationalastronomycommunity isdevelopingproposals foramajor (US$2billion)investmentinanewradiotelescopecalledtheSquareKilometreArray(SKA).Anumberofresearch and development projects are now underway around theworld to develop thescopeoftheSKAandtodemonstratesomeofthetechnologytheSKAcouldexploit.

South Africa and Australia have been shortlisted as potential host sites for the SquareKilometre Array Project. To lead the South African bid, the Department of Science andTechnologysetuptheSKASAProjectin2004,whoseprimarypurposeistodemonstratetothe international SKApartners that, in addition toourobvious geographic advantages forobservational astronomy, we have the scientific and technical competence necessary tosuccessfullyconstructandoperateatelescopeofthiscalibre.TheSKASAprojecthasfourcomponents:

1. Thedesignandconstructionofacosteffective,competitiveSKAprecursor,whichwilldemonstratethatSouthAfricahasthecompetence,capacity,andthecommitment,tohandlea“Mega‐Science”projectofthisnature.

TheSouthAfricanSKApathfinderprojectincludestheconstructionoftheKAT‐7andMeerKATradiotelescopesintheKaroo.OnceoperatingMeerKATwillbetheoneof

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thelargestradiotelescopesintheSouthernhemisphere,andwillbeabletoproducebreakthroughscience.Ithasalreadyattractedworld‐leadingscientistandengineersinresponsetoacallforLargeSurveysProposals,inwhichtheywillworkwithSouthAfricanscientistsandengineers.

2. Theestablishmentofaradio‐quietastronomyreserveintheKaroowhichwillbethesitefortheMeerKATtelescopeandpossiblytheSKA(whenitisbuilt)andforotherexperimentswhichrequireradioquietness,e.g.C‐BASS,(aC‐bandAll‐SkySurvey,tomeasure Galactic foreground in order to correct the satellite‐borne CosmicBackground surveys; for this work, South Africa has renovated a 7m Telkomantenna), PAPER (a low‐frequency arraywithwhich to detect low‐frequency radioemission in the Epoch of Re‐ionisation), and possibly attracting NASA to locate acomponentofitsDeepSpaceArray.

3. AHumanCapitalDevelopmentprogrammei) TocreatethehighlyskilledindividualswhowillbecandidatesforthejobscreatedbytheMeerKAToverthe30to50‐yearlifeoftheproject.ii) TocreateausercommunityofpostgraduatesstudentsandresearchersatHigherEducationFacilitieswhowillbeabletouseMeerKATiii) TocontributetothenationalobjectiveofaknowledgebasedeconomybyincreasingthenumberofqualityPhDscreatedwithinAfricaiv) ToincreasethenumberofSETprofessionalsonthecontinentasawhole.

4. Mission‐driveninnovationwithintheNSI

MeerKAT when fully operational would serve as an exemplary model of mission‐driven innovation that has developed new skills and expertise, generated newscientificknowledgeand intellectualpropertyandcontributed tobuildingacriticalmassofveryhigh‐levelexpertiseincutting‐edgetechnologieswhicharegeneric(i.e.notlimitedtoradioastronomy).ThetechnologydevelopmentavenuesofferedbytheSKApathfinderprojectsincludei) systemsengineering, ii)antennaand feeddesign, iii)digital signalprocessing, iv)very fast computing, v) very fast data transport, v) protection against radiofrequencyinterference,andvi)opticalfibrenetworksanddarkfibretechnology.A number of local companies have been involved with the project specificallyworkingonthedemonstratorantennaXDM,andKAT‐7.Theinnovationproducedbythe companies has been effective and has placed them in a position to competeinternationally on SKA contracts and in industry sectors, which require relatedexpertise.Atthesametime,substantialexpertiseisbeinggainedbySETresearchersatuniversities,whichwillbeavailabletoindustry.

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The proposed core site to host the Square KilometreArray is located close to thetownsofCarnarvonandWillistonintheNorthernCape.TheconstructionofKAT‐7and MeerKAT will bring investment into the area through the establishment ofinfrastructure,whichincludesroads,gridpower,anoptic‐fibrenetworkandfacilitiesfor theoperationsandmaintenanceof the telescope. Inaddition to this, short tomedium term jobs will be created through construction and long‐term jobs foroperations andmaintenance. Other investments are being planned in associatedfacilities, such as a computer centre, an operations centre, a science centre andtraining facilities. The Astronomy Park will be a protected area in terms of theAstronomyGeographicalAdvantageAct.

Progress in existing and proposed assets in the South African SKA project are describedbelow:

i) KAT‐XDM,aprototype/demonstratorforKAT,itconsistsofa15mantennalocatedatHartRAO. Collected first light in 2007, operating at 1.4‐1.6GHz but can potentiallyoperateat1‐10GHz.Itwastestedat12GHz,whereefficiencyisdowntohalfthatatlongwavelengths owing to the surface roughness. Its KAT‐related test programmecompleted in 2010 with the testing of a microwave holography receiver built byHartRAOformeasuringthesurfaceofKATantennas.Thereafteritwillbefittedwitha dual‐frequency cryogenic receiver being built by HartRAO to permit it to dogeodeticVLBItooffloadandbackupthe26mtelescope.

ii) KAT‐7,isanarrayofseven12mantennasdesignedtooperateat1‐2GHz,with1mmrms surface accuracy. The array was constructed at a site near Carnavon in theNorthernCape–installationofallsevendisheswascompletedin2010.Theantennasareundercommissioning, cooled receiversarebeing installedand thearray shouldbeoperationalbymid2012.

iii) MeerKATconsistof64x13.5moffsetGregorianantennasandthedesignatthetimeofwritinginvolvesthefollowingfrequencybands:1.0–1.75GHz,0.58–1.0Ghzand8‐14.5GHz .TheMeerKATmaximumbaselineswill be about 8 km; a suggestion toincludeaspurwithlongerbaselinesmayprovetooexpensive,althoughseveraloftheLargeSurveyProjectsrequirethehighresolution itwillprovide.Thetotalcollectingareaasatiedarrayisequivalenttoa100msingle‐dish,andthis,orasubsetthereofwillbeavailableforusewiththelongbaselinearraysforVLBI.

MeerKATisdesignedtobeafullyoperationalradiotelescopeandaprototypeforSKA.Itwillbeamongthelargestmid‐rangeradiotelescopes,withanarearoughly1%ofSKA.Firstlightisexpectedinlate2015.

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iv) SquareKilometreArray(SKA)TheproposedSquareKilometerArray(SKA)telescopeembodyingnewtechnologiesunderdevelopmentisdesignedtoprovideordersofmagnitudeimprovementinperformanceoverexistingradiotelescopesandwillbeatleast50timesassensitiveasMeerKATortheEVLA.Finalsiteselectionisonschedulefortheendof2012,althoughfundingprospectsmaybeimpactedbytheglobalfinancialcrisisandnew50m‐classopticaltelescopesbeingproposed.Constructioncouldbegin10yearsfromnow,assumingthattherequisitetechnologydemonstrationshavebeensuccessful.

As statedabove,up tonowHartRAOhas led radio‐astronomyresearch,andresearchandtechnicalcapacitydevelopmentfortheoperationsofthetelescopesatHartebeesthoek.ThelatterincludesXDM,theexperimentalKATprototypetestinstrument.TheSouthAfricanSKAteam,ontheotherhand,istaskedwithtechnologyresearchdirectedtotheSKAantennasand the building of the telescopes and associated infrastructure for the SKA pathfinders,KATandMeerKAT.Ifthetechnologyissuesofthemedium/highfrequencySKAcomponentscanbesolvedaffordablyandSouthAfricaisselectedasthehostsite,thenSKAwillhavetobe funded as the long‐term new frontier radio astronomy instrument. However, it is notexpected to become operational until some 20 years into the future. In the interimMeerKAT will be the telescope array with which most science will be done, althoughHartRAOislikelytoremainimportantforsometimetocomebecauseofitscriticalpositionwithintheVLBInetwork,itsimportanceforgeodesyanditslocationinGauteng.ThereisatpresentagoodworkingrelationshipbetweenHartRAOandtheSKAteams,withtwo recently appointed (HartRAO) scientific operators located at the KAT operations siteand working closely with the KAT technical team on antenna design considerations andrelated technical issues.However,attentionneeds tobegiven to the recommendationoftheInternationalReviewPanelontheintegrationofHartRAOandSKASAtocreatealong‐termsustainable radio‐astronomyprogramme,and the rolesof thedifferent componentsneed to be clearly defined with respect to design and construction of the telescopes,undertaking the science, building capacity to operate and maintain the telescopes, andbuildingresearchcapacity.4.1.3 HESSThrough the University of NorthWest (Potchefstroom campus) South Africa has a smallshare in thehigh‐energygamma‐rayastronomy facilityHESS I (the firstarrayof fourHighEnergyStereoscopicSystemtelescopes)locatedinNamibia.HESSispartofthenetworkoflargeresearchinfrastructureoftheASPERAnetwork(AStroParticleERAnet),anetworkof17agencies from 12 different European countries. Following the success of ASPERA‐1, theEuropean Commission launched ASPERA‐2 on 7 July 2009. Its roadmap for the next two

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decadesdefines theresearchneedsandstrategies,and inparticularproposesseven largeinfrastructures(“MagnificientSeven”)designedtoanswerthesevenfundamentalquestionsofAstro‐ParticlePhysics.Oneoftheproposedlargearraysconsistsofmorethan80HESS‐type Cerenkov detector telescopes. Southern Africa is listed as a possible site for theCerenkovTelescopeArray(CTA).Thisopensopportunitiesforsynergiestobedevelopedinresearchprogrammesinastrophysics(optical,radioandgamma‐rayastronomy)aswellasinelectronic engineering and software development with the SKA‐MeerKAT team. We canthendefinethreestagesofparticipation

• HESS I:Thiswas theverysuccessfulexploratoryphase,which ledto theHESS ICollaboration winning the Descartes Prize of the European Union(http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=newsalert&lg=en&year=2007&na=na‐070307‐2). FromSouthAfricaonly theNWUwas involved in theHESSProject, thereasonbeingitshistoricalinvolvementingroundbasedgamma‐rayastronomysince1984.TheDST/NRFcontributiontowardsthecapitalfunding(R200,000p/a)ceasedin2009andnewfundsmustbesecuredforthefuture.

• HESSII:This30‐meterclasstelescopewilllowerthethresholdenergyofHESStooverlapNASA’sFermi/LatSpaceTelescope,butwithgreatersensitivity.The lackofintergalactic absorption at these energies (below 100 GeV) is also expected toincrease the cosmological horizon formulti‐wavelength radio, optical and gamma‐raystudies.MoreSouthAfricanpartiesoutsideNWU indicated theirwillingness toparticipateinthejointHESSIandIICollaboration.

• CTAasdiscussedabove(atacostequivalenttoMeerKATormore)isnowintheFP7PP(prep)phase.AtthemomentNWUisrepresentinganumberofSouthAfricanuniversities,andSAAOisasignatorytothisphase,untilthetimehasarrivedtowriteamoredetailedMoUdocument.ThesensitivityofCTAisexpectedtobeatleasttentimesbetter thanHESS I/II.One interestingspin‐offof thisgamma‐raytelescope istheabilitytodoopticalinterferometryoverafewkmbaselinewithahighdensityoftelescopes,whichwillallowustoresolvethesurfacesofbrightstarsatthemilliarcsecondlevelforthefirsttime.Thiswillbethe“SKA”ofgamma‐rayastronomy.ApartfromtheinteresttoplacethistelescopeinSouthAfrica,thereisalso interestfromArgentinatohostCTA.Forthispurposetheyhavemadeabidof10millionEurostohave CTA in Argentina. Since South Africa is closer to the main body of theCollaboration(Europe),thespokespersonofCTAaskedifDST/NRFisalsointerestedin having CTA in the Karoo where conditions are favourable. This project andMeerKATareexpectedtobecomeoperationalatnearly thesametimeandshouldbe excellent multi‐wavelength partners, probing time variability simultaneously insourcesifCTAislocatedinSouthAfrica.

SALT, MeerKAT and HESS/CTA offer a unique triumvirate of international telescopes, allavailable in theone regionof SouthernAfrica, allowing scientists toexploreastrophysicalphenomenaovera verywidemulti‐wave length regimeof theelectromagnetic spectrum.

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4.1.4FundingAllocations

TheDSTfundingallocationsperfinancialyearfortheperiod2005–2012fortheastronomynationalfacilities(SAAOandHartRAO),SALTandtheSKASAprojectarelistedinTables1a,bandc,respectively.Thefiguresfor2011/12areprojected,whilethoseforearlieryearsareactual.Fundingfortheastronomyfacilities,SALTandtheSKASAprojectisallocatedinsomewhatdifferentways,whichmeansthatadirectcomparisonofthenumbersisnotentirelystraightforward.ThecoreParliamentary‐grantallocations,aspertheMTEF,forHartRAOandSAAOaretheprimaryincomefromgovernment,butitisimportanttonotethatadditionalfundingforthesefacilitiesisprovidedthroughNRFasad‐hocanddiscretionarygrantsandallocationsforcapitalprojects.

Table1a:MTEFallocations(inkR)forSAAOandHartRAOperfinancialyear(FY).

Source/FY 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

a)SAAO 21152 21951 23926 25122 26479 28597 30724 32567

ΔF(%)(a) ‐ 3.78 9.00 5.00 5.32 8.00 7.44 6.0

b)HartRAO 11864 12631 13768 15011 17345 18733 19886 21079

ΔF(%)(a) ‐ 8.10 8.29 9.03 15.55 8.00 6.16 6.00

(a)AlsopresentedinthetablearethepercentageincreasesoverthepreviousFYallocations(ΔF (%)) for SAAO and HartRAO, which over a seven‐year period averages to 6.36% and

8.73%,respectively;themeanCPIfrom2005to2010was7.12%Table1bshowstheoperationalcostsofSALT,aspaidbytheinternationalconsortiumthatownsthetelescope.TheportionoftheoperationslevywhichispaidbyDSTthroughNRFasacontributiontothesecostsisshownasaseparateline;itisapproximatelyonethirdofthetotalasthisisSouthAfrica'sshareofthetelescope.

Table1bSALToperations(inkR).

2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

SALTOperations 9784 12340 14052 16342 17664 21260 23000

NRFcontribution 3239 3949 4671 4254 5879 5879 7209

Table 1c reflects the total finance going into the SKA SA project, most of which comesdirectlyfromDST,althoughsomecomes,e.g.throughtheInnovationFund.ThemajorcostfortheSKASAProjectistheconstructionofKAT‐7andMeerKAT.Thusitsfundingprofileisvery different from those of the national facilities where the MTEF allocation describedaboveislargelyforsalariesandrunningcosts.

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At31March2010,SKASAhadarolloverofR627million.Inordertoremedythesurplusposition,theprojectandtheNRFworkedwiththeDSTtorefinetheSKASAcashflow.Itwasalsoagreedthattheprojectwouldnotreceivefundsascommittedforthe2011and2012financialyears.ThisisreflectedaspertheEstimatesofNationalExpenditurepublishedinFebruary2011.ThefollowingchangestotheSKASAfundingcommitmentshavebeennotedasfollows:1. TheR508millioncommitmentforthe2011financialyearhasbeendeclaredacost

savingandreprioritised.2. TheR546millioncommitmentinthe2012financialyearhasbeensplitandwillbe

receivedintwotranchesofR218millionandR328millioninthe2013and2014financialyearsrespectively.

3. TheR508millionthatwasreprioritisedinthecurrentfinancialyearwillbereturnedtoSKASAinandouteryear(outsidethecurrentMTEFcycle).

Table1cSKASAfinances(kR).

Year 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

SKA 25000 24810 24569 120511 290225 502293 12600 38217

4.2CurrentsituationatUniversities

Byfarthemostactiveandvibrantoftheuniversitiesinvolvedinastronomyandastrophysicsis theUniversityofCapeTown (UCT)where theuniversity’sResearchOfficehas recentlyapprovedtheestablishmentofaResearchCentre forAstrophysics,CosmologyandGravity(ACGC) bringing together researchers from the Departments of Astronomy andMathematics and Applied Mathematics. In September 2010 the ACGC had 17 academicstaff, including three emeritus professors and one SARChI chair in radio astronomy (asecond SARChI SKA chair has been allocated and will be filled in 2011). There are 13postdocs, 15 PhD students (7 are South African and 2 of those are black) and 23 MScstudents (supervised/co‐supervised by ACGC staff not including NASSP courseworkstudents;14areSouthAfricansand4ofthoseareblack).TheUniversity of Cape Town (UCT) is oneof the twouniversities in SouthAfrica offeringundergraduate programmes in astrophysics; the other is the University of South Africa(UNISA).UCT studentsgraduatingwithamajor inastrophysicsareoptimallyprepared forNASSP,andaregenerallyamongthetopperformers. In2009UCThad42undergraduatesregisteredforastronomy(76%black,38%female)andin2010 the number was 45 (69% black, 36% female); all of these are South African. Note that many more students are taking courses in astronomy, the numbers above reflect only students taking astronomy as a major.

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Research in the ACGC is organised around various themes (mass-transferring compact binaries, distance scale of the Universe, large-scale structures in the Universe,early universe physics, string theory and cosmology, non-linear problems in astrophysics and cosmology, modelling inhomogeneity, gravitational wave physics and observational cosmology). Motivated by the opening of SALT and construction ofMeerKAT,newresearchareashavebeeninitiatedingalaxyevolution,relationbetweendarkand visible matter in nearby galaxies, search for intermediate mass black holes, theevolutionofthehydrogencontentoftheuniverse,thenatureofdarkenergyandmodifiedgravity.ThestrengthofthisgroupisillustratedbythefactthatUCTastronomersleadfourofthebiginternationalkeyprojectsthathavebeensubmittedtoMeerKAT.TheACGCplaysaleadingroleintheofferingoftheNASSPprogramme.TheNASSP extended honours programme (EHP – see below) is led fromUCT’s AcademicDevelopment Programme (ADP) by a physicist, A/Prof Saalih Allie, who also is alsosupervising education‐research students who are studying the effectiveness of the EHPitself.TheNorthwestUniversity(NWU)hasjustdeclaredanewCentreofExcellencenamedtheCentre for Space Research which involves both astrophysics and space physics research.Apart from the space physicists there are 5 permanent PhD astronomers at thePotchefstroom Campus (of whom one holds a SARCHI Research Chair) and one at theMafeking Campus. The distribution of research interests are as follows: High EnergyAstrophysics (2), Star Formation (1), Galaxies (1), Stellar Structure (1), ComputationalAstrophysics(MHD)(1).Thestaffareinvolvedinresearch,teaching,andsupervisinghonours,mastersandPhDlevel.Forexample,athonoursleveltherewere8studentsenrolledfor2010,ofwhich4areblack.All students are SouthAfrican citizens. There is alsoa 16‐inch telescopewithhighopticalqualityandinstrumentationforbothtrainingandresearchfocussedonthecoresofactivegalactic nuclei (Blazars) to complement the gamma‐raywork. The training is of very highstandard. For example, one PhDwho finished in 2008 on pulsars (rotating neutron stars)wasawardedtheprestigiousNASAPost‐doctoralAwardfor2010.Onlyalimitednumberofsuchawardsaremadeavailableannuallyonacompetitivebasis.TheresultofthesesuccessespromptedtheNWUtocreateanewpermanentfullprofessorposition in High Energy Astrophysics. Competitive applications from Europe and the USAwerereceived.TheUniversityofWesternCape(UWC)hasseenrapidgrowthinastronomysince2007andnow includes 8 staff with PhDs, including a SARChI professor who started on 1 October

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2010.Whenfournewpostdoctoralresearcherpositionsarefilledthetotalwillgrowto12staff.Inthelast3yearspostgraduateenrolmenthasgonefrom0to4to8,with4studentsgraduating.Researchisfocusedongalaxyevolutionandcosmology,butalsoincludesstellarevolution,andinvolvestheory,simulationsandobservations.ExploitationofMeerKAT/SKAdataiscentraltothenewresearchchair'splansforthefuture.Anundergraduateprogrammehasalsobeendevelopedwhichallowsstudentstoenrollforformal courses in astronomy in their second and third years and to participate in anadditional research‐training programme. Enrolment in the 2nd year course reached 60 in2010 (all black students).While students are enthusiastic about continuing in astronomy,thelackofanHonoursprogrammeinastronomyatUWC,meansthatstudentsarelikelytofollowtheMaterialsandNuclearScienceprogramme.AttheUniversityofKwaZulu‐Natal,theAstrophysicsandCosmologyResearchUnit(ACRU)wasestablishedin2004.InOctober2010ithad5academicstaffand3postdoctoralresearchersworkinginastrophysics,relativityandcosmology,includingaSARCHIChairinGravitatingSystems.Therearecurrently11postgraduatestudentsand6undergraduatestudentsinastrophysicsandcosmologyatUKZN.Research programmes in astrophysics/cosmology are also offered at the Universities ofSouthAfrica,FreeState,Johannesburg,RhodesandtheWitwatersrand.Theobservationalprojectsareundertakenincollaborationwithscientistsatthenationalresearchfacilities.InOctober2010,therewere101PhDastronomersinSouthAfrica,distributedasshowninthetablebelow(notethat66ofthemarebasedintheWesternCape).

Table2.DistributionofPhDastronomersinSouthAfricaason1October2010

Institution Number Institution Number

SAAO 25 HartRAO 7

UCT 29 Wits 4

KAT 6 UKZN 6

Rhodes 1 UJ 3

UWC 8 UFS 2

UNW 7 UNISA 1

UniZul 1

Note that the numbers given above include theoretical cosmologists and particlecosmologists; theydonot includepeopleworking in the closely related fieldsof relativitytheoryorspacephysicsandwhooftenworkwithinthesameschool/department/research‐groupasastronomers.

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4.3.HumanCapacityDevelopmentProgrammes4.3.1OutreachProgrammesOutreachprogrammesdirectedatcommunities,learnersandeducatorsinhighschoolsandamongstundergraduate studentsatuniversitiesarevigorouslypursuedatall thenationalfacilities(SAAO/SALT,HartRAO,HMO),andareprovingquiteattractivetotheparticipants.Theprogrammesincludesupervisedvisitstothenationalobservatories.Theprogrammeateachfacilityisnotfacilityspecific,but,commendably,isinclusiveofastronomy/astrophysicsandspacescience.The activities of the SAAO/SALT Collateral Benefits Programme, lead by a dedicatedmanager and team, is particularly impressive and provide a sound basis of a nationaloutreachprogrammeinastronomy.TheirworkleddirectlytoSAAObeingaskedtohosttheIAU’s Global Office of Astronomy for Development (GOAD). This, in turn, offers hugepotential to South Africa to influence the global science development agenda andparticularlytheuseofastronomyfordevelopmentinAfrica.4.3.2TheNationalAstrophysicsandSpaceScienceProgramme(NASSP)The National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP) is a joint venture ofresearchers from around SouthAfrica and the national facilities. Itwas launched in 2003with funding from the Ford and subsequently Mellon Foundations, and is now directlyfundedbytheDepartmentofScienceandTechnology.

NASSP isacooperative,combinedgraduateprogrammeaimedataddressing the researchand technical human capacity needs of the astrophysics and space science researchcommunity.TheprogrammeishostedattheUniversityofCapeTownwhereSouthAfricanstudents and students from around Africa and the rest of the world study under theguidanceofsomeofSouthAfrica'sleadingscientists.Twoprogrammesareonoffer,whichleadtothefollowingdegrees:

• HonoursinAstrophysicsandSpaceScience• MastersinAstrophysicsandSpaceScience

Lectures are given by staff in the NASSP consortium and cover most areas of modernAstronomy,AstrophysicsandCosmology,andSpacePhysics.Inadditiontolecturecourses,students take substantial practical components, which involve field trips to telescopefacilities at SAAO/SALT in Cape Town and Sutherland, HartRAO, the HermanusMagneticObservatoryand(onoccasions)BoydenObservatoryat theUniversityof theFreeState,or

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NorthWestUniversityatPotchefstroom.TheProgrammeaimstoequipgraduatingstudentswith the necessary skills to undertake research at the cutting edge of Astrophysics andSpaceScienceandhavethebroadscienceskillsneededinanymoderntechnologicalsociety.

Over 65%of theNASSPMSc students have goneon todoPhDs either in SouthAfrica orabroad;ofcoursesomeoftheseareinspacephysicsratherthanastrophysicsorcosmology.PhD funding fromNASSP for PhD studies is very limited and is providedonly to studentswho have obtained a NASSP honours and/or Masters degree and who will register at aSouthAfricanuniversity(financedviatheFordFoundation).ThemajorityofNASSPstudentsgoingon todoaPhDare funded inotherways,e.g. scarce skillsor SKA.This is a seriousbottleneck;fundsareavailableviatheSA‐SKAinitiativeforstudentsdoingradioastronomy,butitremainsdifficulttofundPhDsinotherareas.

To increase the intake of black South Africans, an extended Honours programme wasinitiated in 2008. Intake into this programme is restricted to students from formerlydisadvantagedinstitutions. Inadditiontointroductorycoursesonastronomyandscientificliteracy students are offered directed physics and mathematics courses and training inrequisitecomputerskillsinthe1styear,andthenproceedtothefullHonoursprogrammeinthe2ndyear.

TheprogrammesarefullyfundedbytheDST,underaNASSPallocationfortheHonoursandMSc degree programmes, and partly supported under a Multi‐Wavelength Astronomy(MWA)allocationforthePhD(andpost‐doctoral)programmes–althoughata lower levelthan the SKA bursaries. The funds allocated for NASSP and MWL programmes for thefinancialyears2003–2011arelistedinTable3abelow.

Table3a:NASSP/MWLFunding(inkR)aspersourceandFinancialYear(FY)

Source/FY 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

a)NASSP

FordFound. 700 700 400 500 500

MellonFound. 900 900

UCT♠ 440 479 301 284 285 109 426 539

NRF(PD*–grant) 164 164 164 164 164

DST 2000 3843 5367 5838 6432

NASSPTOTAL 1140 700 900 1464 2664 4507 5531 6002 6432

b)MWL(DST) 4000 1465 3154 3100 3410 3751

TOTAL 1140 700 900 5464 4129 7661 8631 9412 10183

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♠ thesenumbersareonlythedirectfinancialcontributionanddonot include,e.g., theoverheads

suchascostsofspace(lecturerooms,offices,computer labetc),northesalariesoftheacademicsinvolved,includingtheDirector.

*PeterDunsbygrant;ThestudentintakeintotheNASSPHonoursandMastersprogrammesispresentedinTable3bbelow.

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Honours 13 14 12 19 13 11 17 20

Masters 5 15 9 8 12 15 15 18

Table3b:BSchonoursandmastersstudentsparticipatinginNASSP

Thenumberofapplicantshasincreaseddramaticallyinrecentyears,e.g.in2009and2010therewere50and83applications,respectively,todoanMScwithNASSP.ThenumberofSouthAfricanstudentsenteringtheprogrammes isalsonowincreasingdue inpart totheintroductionofAstronomyUndergraduateprogrammesattheUniversityofCapeTownandprobably the increased awareness of astronomy in the country through the variousPR/outreachactivities.TherecentexpansionofastronomyatUWCisexpectedtocontributeinfuture.IncreasingthenumberofblackSouthAfricangraduatesinastronomyhasbeenrecognisedasoneofthemainchallenges,andinitiativestoaddressthesituationincludetheExtendedHonoursProgramme(EHP)mentionedaboveaswellaswinterschoolstargetedatstudentsfrom thehistoricallydisadvantageduniversities (HDUs), fromwhich the studentsenteringtheEHPareselected. The firstwinterschoolwasheld in2007and in2008 fourstudentsstartedtheEHPofwhichthreewentintothemainhonoursprogrammein2009.Subsequentwinterschoolshaveaccommodated20to30studentswiththeaimofselecting10tostarttheEHPinthefollowingyear. In2009,therewere7students intheEHPwhoenteredthefullhonoursprogrammein2010,while9newstudentsenteredtheEHPthatyear.MoresupportisneededtocontinuetobeabletocaterfortheincreasingnumberofSouthAfrican students while at the same time continue the involvement of students fromelsewhere in Africa. It is particularly difficult to hold on to studentsfrom other Africancountries thathavegonethroughNASSP,becausesuchasmallnumberscanbenefit fromNRFgrants.

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ThereisgeneralhappinesswiththecoursecontentoftheNASSPprogrammes,althoughitisacknowledgedthattheprogrammeistoughforstudentsenteringtheprogrammewithoutexposuretoastrophysics/astronomymodulesintheirundergraduatedegree.Thanks to a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, the first African‐American lecturersparticipated inNASSP in 2008and the firstAfrican‐American students in 2009. ThesewillprovideAfricanstudentswithimportantlinkstothelargecommunityofastronomersintheUSA.SomeareasofunhappinessoverNASSPrelatedtothefollowing:

i) allstudentsfortheHonoursdegreeareregisteredatUCT,whichdeprivestheirhomeinstitutionsofmuchneededLEpoints;thisraisesthepossibilitythatsomeHEIsmaydiscouragestudentsfromtheprogrammeforfearoflosingtheirgoodstudentsandof loosing income – which could ultimately lead to the loss of posts in thedepartment.

ii) themajorityofstudentsintheprogrammewerenon‐SouthAfricanstudents,butthissituationhasgraduallychanged(12outof19honoursstudents,financedbytheDSTgrant,whostartedin2010wereSouthAfricansand8oftheseareblack).

iii) apass intheNASSPHonoursprogrammedoesnotassureastudentadmission intotheNASSPMScprogramme.

iv) thelackofaccreditationfortheorganisationoftheprogrammeofferedbytheUCTAdministration(FacultyOffice).

v) LecturersfromoutsidetheWesternCapefinditdifficulttospendawholesemesterinCapeTowniftheyalsohaveteachingdutieselsewhereinSouthAfrica.Thesituationmay, however, be better for Research Professors who have less teachingresponsibilitiesandwhoaremoremobiletotravelaround.

4.3.3CapacityDevelopmentProgrammewithinSKASASince2004,SKASAhasengaged inavigorouscapacitydevelopment initiativeandofferedbursaries to MSc (engineering and astronomy), PhD and Post‐Doctoral Fellow (PDF)bursaries. In order to attract black and female students to Science, Engineering andTechnology study at university the programme has introduced an undergraduate bursaryschemein2008,andbursarieswereawardedto16undergraduatephysicsandengineeringstudents.Table4belowlistsstatisticsintermsofnumberofbursariesofferedbyacademicyear,bydiscipline,bygender,andintermsofSAdemographics:

Table4a.Numberofbursariesofferedperyear.

Year Number

2005 9

2006 14

27

2007 29

2008 48

2009 45

TOTAL 145

Table4b.Numberofbursariesawardedperacademicyear/level

Academiclevel/year Number

Intern 5

1styearundergrad 12

2ndyearundergrad 10

3rdyearundergrad 7

Hons 7

MSc 55

PhD 27

PDF 11

Lecturer 3

Table4c.DemographicsofSouthAfricanBursars

BlackFemale BlackMale WhiteFemale WhiteMale

8 36 27 29

Of the 145 bursaries awarded, 96 have been to science/astronomy students and 49 toEngineering students (NB a large fraction of the 96 Science students are honours andmastersstudentsandmostofthosehavecomethroughNASSP).NumberofPhDsrequiredMeerKATwill bea large facilityby international standardsand theSKASA teamestimatethat40‐60PhDgraduateswillberequiredinordertoutilisethefacilitytoitsfullpotential.Assuming that on average 50% of the South African science PhDs that qualifywill eithermoveabroadormoveintootherindustries,suggeststhatitwillbenecessarytocreate80to100PhDsby2012,i.e.25‐30radio‐astronomyPhDsperyearoverthenextthreeyears.To thisestimateweneed toadd3‐4peryear for SAAO/SALT scienceand1‐2peryear toutiliseHESS.OurcurrentrateofPhDproductionis4‐5peryear;avastimprovementonthe1/yearpriorto 2005, but in clear need of further growth. Those returning from training outside thecountrywillofcourse,augmentthis,althoughthenumbersarestillsmalltheretoo.

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Theexistingsupervisorycapacity,withinSouthAfricanuniversitiesandfacilities,isacriticalfactorlimitingthegrowthofPhDtrainingwithinthiscountry.

5.Issuestobeaddressed

5.1 Establishing a viable South African astronomy research and technologycommunityThemainchallengefacingastronomyinSouthAfricaistheestablishmentofaviableSouthAfricanastronomyresearchcommunity,includingthecreationofsignificanthumancapacityin the fields of engineering and IT related to astronomy, in order to fully utilise theinstrumentsmentionedabove.Centraltothisare:

1. ThedevelopmentofcriticalmassgroupsinuniversitiesTheWesternCapeisalreadydevelopingacriticalmassofastronomyscientistsandtechnologist, between universities (UCT, UWC), industry and national facilities(SAAO,MeerKATandtheHighPerformanceComputingCentre).Gauteng could also develop a criticalmass, particularly when the initiative to getastronomy started at Wits, in collaboration with HartRAO, really gets going; therepairandreturntoserviceofthe26matHartRAOwillimpactpositivelyonthat.TheactivitiesatUKZNaretobeencouraged,astheytoohavegreatpotentialtodevelopasalocalcentre.Otheruniversities that are supportedmust, togetherwithextensive collaborationswiththenationalfacilities,beabletodevelopacriticalmassinafairlyfocusedareaofwork.

2. Attractingnewstudentstothefieldandretainingpostgraduatestudentsuptoand

beyondthePhDlevel.Thisrequiresanenthusiasticoutreachprogramme,attractivebursariesattheundergraduateandpostgraduatelevels,careerpathsforgraduatesandpostdoctoralfellowsinresearchandrelatedindustries.

3. IncreasingrepresentationofblackSouthAfricansinAstronomy/Astrophysics.Theunder representationofblack SouthAfricans in theastronomyprofession is amajorchallengerecognisedbyall,andwhich is sharedbyothersciences.Asimilarchallenge faces astronomy in theUSAwhere theAASCommitteeon the StatusofEthnicMinorities in Astronomy, estimates that to achieve parity with the generalpopulation within one generation (~30 years), the number of underrepresentedminoritiesearninggraduatedegreesinastronomyandastrophysicsmustincreaseinthe comingdecadebyat least a factorof five. TheCommitteeadvocates vigorous

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outreach programmes at schools and universities, and at the higher levelrecommends:“…theprofessionmustdevelopandinvestinmechanismstomoreeffectivelymoveindividuals across critical educational junctures to the PhD and beyond. Early andcontinuous research engagement starting in the undergraduate years is critical tothisvision, inwhichthefederallyfundedresearchinternshipprogrammes(e.g.NSFREU, NASA GSRP) and national centres/observatories play a vital role. Regionallybasedpartnershipswithminority‐serving institutions (MSIs) are crucial for tappingextant pools of minority talent, as are post‐baccalaurate and/or masters degree“bridging”programmesthatprovidecriticalsteppingstonestothePhD.”SeveralHMU’s(HistoricallyMinorityUniversities)intheUSAhaveexcellentbridgingprogrammes in place in partnerships with national observatories – examples wecouldwellemulateinSouthAfrica.Teachers are of vital importance to the development of science in SouthAfrica ingeneral, including the furthereducationandcareerchoicesof thepupils theydealwith.Itisthereforeimportantthatthevariousastronomyprogrammesexaminehowbesttheycaninteractwithandsupportteachers–astheytrainandlaterastheyarein‐service.It is also important to pay attention to the broader educational aspects thatunderpinthemainthrustofproducingastronomersandastrophysicists.Whilemanyof the findings relating to the areas of teaching, learning and understanding ofscience in general, and physics in particular, are pertinent to astronomy it hasbecomeclearthatamorefocusedapproachisessentialifsubstantialprogressistobemade.Thus,ScienceEducationResearchthatisspecificallytargetedatissuesthatrelate toastronomyandastrophysicsmustbeactivelyencouragedand supported.TheCentreforAstronomyEducationattheUniversityofArizonaoffersalarge‐scaleexample of how a research based approach to astronomy is used to drive severalagendas including outreach and education and they are very interested incollaborating in similar investigations in South Africa. The establishment of aNational Physics and Astronomy Education Research Unit is currently underconsideration at UCT/SAAO, which could be the driver of directed bridgingprogrammesinastronomy.

4. IncreasingresearchsupervisorycapacityatUniversities:

Supervisorycapacityatuniversitiesiscurrentlysaturatedduetothelownumbersofsupervisors inSAuniversitieswhoareable to superviseastronomyandastronomyengineering research. For long‐term sustainability, the universities should be ableandcommittedtotakingovertheadditionalresearchstudents,whicharesubsidized

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throughhumancapacitydevelopmentsupportpackagesofthenationalfacilitiesandSKA SA. At present, the universities generally do not have funds to support newprogrammes, nor growth in staff.Mostuniversity posts havebeen frozennow forseveral years. This situation has to be changed if astronomy is to grow withoutprejudicingtheothersciences.

5. Increasing University – National Facilities collaborations in research, researchplanningandresearchsupervision

Theuniversityresearchgroupsshouldregardthenationalfacilitiesasextensionsoftheir research infrastructure, and play a large role in research and researchinfrastructureplanning.Thiscanbestrengthenedbyjointappointmentsofkeystaff,appointment of NF staff to associate positions at the universities (as is alreadyhappening at SAAO, KAT and universities in the Western Cape), and theestablishmentofUserandProgrammeAdvisoryCommitteesonwhichtheuniversityusers are well represented. Good examples of these are the User Committee,Programme Advisory Committee and the Director’s Advisory Council at iThembaLABS.Although itmustbenotedthatthenatureof theactivitiesat theastronomyfacilitiesdemandsinternationalrepresentationonsuchcommittees.A focus of any capacity development programme must be the strengthening ofresearch and research support capacity at the universities (including someuniversities in partner countries such as Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique,Namibia and Botswana). To create critical mass in a specific area, a universityresearch group should if possible start with the minimal viable unit of threeresearchers. This could be a core group consisting of a professor (including forinstance an NRF Research Chair) senior and junior postdoctoral fellows who cancarryoutlimitedteaching,assistinsupervisingpostgraduatestudentsandcarryoutresearch. This model ensures two essential elements for capacity development,dynamic leadershipandtheavailabilityofsupervisioncapacity,whichcanmotivateboth students and established researchers to become involved in globallycompetitiveastronomyresearch.This process has to be carefully managed, however. How do we decide to whichuniversities additional resources should be directed? Those that are alreadysuccessfulatPhDtraining?ThedataonstudentintakeandthroughputintheNASSPprogrammepresentedaboveshowthatthere is limitedprogress inopeningaccessto post graduate studies in astronomy to South African black students. Shouldinterventionfocusonselectedprogrammesatselecteduniversities?TheDSTandtheDepartment of Higher Education need to engage in discussions and arrive at anacceptablemediumtermstrategytoaddressthisissue.Weareatriskoffailingboth

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tofullyutiliseourinvestmentinresearchinfrastructureanduniversityeducationaswellastofullyexploittheroleofsuchinvestmentasameansofsocialadvancementandmobility.

5.2 OrganisationofAstronomyResearcharoundKeyScienceQuestions

AstronomyresearchinSAhasuptonowconsistedinsomecasesofsmallisolatedpocketsofastronomerscomingtogetherinanadhocmanner,carryingoutresearchinareaslimitedin scope. (Some reviewees commented on a lack of research leadership!). The newleadership in the universities and national facilitiesmust be able to identify the researchquestions which the South African facilities are best suited to tackle, so as to makesignificant advances in astrophysics that will be recognized as such by the internationalcommunity. This process is well‐established amongst the SALT partnership, as it mustexploititsuniqueorenhancedcapabilities.The Astronomy Frontiers Programme also advocates the organisation of the astronomyresearchprogrammearound5keyresearchthemes.Mostrelevantisthemotivationforthebuilding of the SKA, which lists the following Fundamental Questions in physics andastronomywhichwillguidethemajorpartoftheresearcheffort:

• Whatarethebasicpropertiesofthefundamentalparticlesandforces?• Whatconstitutesthemissingmassoftheuniverse?• WhatistheoriginoftheUniverseandtheobservedstructureandhowdiditevolve?• Howdoplanetarysystemsformandevolve?• HaslifeexistedelsewhereintheUniverse,anddoesitexistelsewherenow?

A national astronomy strategymust identify the key growth areas in which South Africawantstobeamajorplayer.Onewaytopushastronomyresearch inSAtowardsthemostpromising and exciting areas of research is to introduce a problem‐based approach toresearch, which combinesmulti‐wavelength observations to come up with answers. Thisapproachalsomeansthatnoteveryonehastohaveaccesstoaspecificinstrument.Thereisa large volume of important data accessible through international observatories and thevirtualobservatory.It isessential toensure thatSA researchgroupsworkwith internationalastronomersandtechnologists.ThiswillgreatlyenhancethecapacityandthereachofresearchinSAandwillhelp us to overcome the lack of experience and expertise in many groups. It will alsoencouragetheinternationalexchangeofresearchersandgetexcellentresearcherstocometoworkandliveinSA.

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5.3Well‐resourcedtechnicalsupportgroups

Together with the necessity of establishing astronomy research groups of the requisitecriticalmass there is theneed toensure that therearewell‐resourcedgroups focusedontheinstrumentswhoseobjectiveistoensurethattheinstrumentsproducethebestpossibleresults and remain cutting edge, competitive and capable of producing new science. TheNRAOintheUSAfocusesonmakingtheVLAandtheirothertelescopesthebestandmostproductive in the world.We need to have similar priorities. The instrument groups alsoneeddynamicand forward‐looking leadersandadequate supportand resources fromtheNRFandtheDST.

5.4Highperformanceinternetconnectivity

Significantcapacityneedstobecreatedindatamanagement;intermsofstoragecapacity,dataprocessingcapacity,andtransmissioncapacity. MultipleGb/sconnectivitytoEuropeand the restof theworld is required toenable internationalaccess to theexpected largevolumesofdatafromSALTandMeerKAT,toparticipateininternationalastronomyprojectssuch as the eVLBI network and to make use of the huge amount of very useful andimportantdataavailablethroughtheVirtualObservatory.

ThedevelopmentofaSouthAfricanVirtualObservatorywasstartedwithDST funding formulti‐wavelength astronomy and has been continued at SAAO. This should be expandedparticularlywithaviewtothefutureneedsoftheradioastronomers.In addition, quick access to research literature via the Internet and Internet connectivitythatisfastandreliabletodownloaddata,andtomanipulatedataon‐andofflineisamongthebasiclevelofacademicinfrastructurerequiredatuniversities.Hence the recent news of the completion of undersea optical cable terabyte/s internetconnectivity to East Africa comes at an appropriate time, and offers the opportunity toexploit high performance dark fibre networking, i.e. installing extra capacity on existingnetworks that is not ‘lit’, but lit (by adding front end and back end components) as andwhenrequired.(SANReN itself will consist to a large degree of dark fibre, since it is a high‐performancenetworkandneeds tobeable toprovideon‐demandcapacity,which isessential forSALTandthelargedistributedarraytelescopes.Thishasbegunasof2010,butmuchremainstobedonetomakethisavailabletotheentireSAastronomicalcommunity).

5.5AnewgovernancestructureforastronomyintheSALT/MeerKATera

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Theissues identifiedinthereviewsanddocumentsgeneratedoverthepast5‐6yearsandtheviewsexpressed in thecurrent interviewsallpoint to theneed foranewgovernancestructureforastronomyunderwhoseumbrellatheentirespectrumofourastronomyandastrophysics activities (research, human capacity development, science awareness andoutreach, strengthening of research capacity in the universities and national facilities,strengthening the technical support base) would be managed. A board that includesastronomers from SA universities and national facilities, as well as key internationalastronomyexperts,wouldoverseethegovernancebody.AsnotedintheFrontiersReportandspecificallyintheKPMG/DSTReport:AReviewoftheCurrentStateofAstronomyinSouthAfrica(Report2of3):

“Strategic Management of Astronomy: Astronomy resides in a number of discreteinstitutions and universities, at present. Notwithstanding the goodwill within thecommunity of astronomers, collaboration between institutions and wavelengthspecialitiesare,atbest,episodal.Fundingissimilarlyfragmented,asitflowsthroughtheinstitutions, or occurs ad‐hoc, typically for research projects.Ownership is strong, butfocusedwithin the separate domains; no single body has beenmandated tomanageastronomyatastrategiclevel.Giventhenatureoftheimmediatefutureinastronomy,dominated by international collaborations on new instruments, multiple shareholdersandlargecapitalinvestments,thecurrentabsenceofamandatedgovernancebodyforSA astronomy will be a major weakness. The requirement to build human capital inastronomy and related fields, to compete strategically for new flagship projects, tocommunicate a consistent message of strategic intent to stakeholders locally andabroad,andtocontractwithglobalpartnersonamajorscale,all indicatetheneedforanintegratedgovernanceentityforastronomy.Decision‐makingpertainingtoresourceallocation,strategicinitiatives,investmentpriorities,researchdirectionandpartnershipsrequire an intimate understanding of astronomy, a greater degree of autonomy infinancialresourceallocation,andahighdegreeofgovernancematurity.“

InAustralia, theDecadal Plan forAstronomy shows that significant investments inworld‐classresearchinfrastructureinastronomyhavebeenmadesincethe1960s.TheinvestmentinastronomyinAustraliahasincreaseddramaticallyinthelastthreeyears.Thisyear,majorinvestmentshavebeenmadeinestablishingaCentreofExcellenceforAll‐SkyAstrophysics(CAASTRO), with A$ 28 million new funding for optical and radio astronomy. Spanningseventeen partner organisations, it aims to hire 25 scientific staff and nine support andadministration staff in the first year, making CAASTRO a group of around 65 staff, plusstudents. TheAustralian government Super Scienceprogrammehas alsomade significantinvestments of A$ 80 million towards establishing an Australian Centre for SKA Science,hostinghigh‐performancecomputingfacilities.Theseprogrammeswill leadtoasignificantincrease in permanent staff and postdoctoral positions. For example, the Super Science

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programmeswanttohireover33newpostdocs inSKAscienceoverthenext5years.Theestablishment of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth, a jointresearchcentreoftheUniversityofWesternAustraliaandCurtinUniversity,alsorepresentsaA$100million investmentover5yearsby theWesternAustralianStategovernmentaswellastheAustralianFederalgovernment.Significant investments in optical astronomy have also been made: the Australiangovernment has awarded A$ 88.4million for Australia's participation in the constructionphase of the international Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project. The new fundingincludes $23 million for Australian infrastructure and instruments at the ANU’s MountStromloObservatoryinCanberra,and$65millionforconstructionofthetelescopeitself.Another model of a centre to consider is offered by the Inter University Centre forAstronomyandAstrophysics (IUCAA) in India. IUCAAhasa small complementof scientificstaff (14), which includes the Director and two Deputy Directors who oversee the Coreprogrammesand theVisitorsProgrammesof theCentre,10PDFpositionsand24 fundedResearch Scholar positions. The Core Programmes include research, the PhDprogramme,and Advanced Research Workshops and Schools. The Visitors Programmes include i)internationalandnationalvisitorsonshorttermvisits,ii)theAssociateshipProgramme(foruniversity academics to spend 6 months to 3 years at IUCAA), iii) refresher courses foruniversitylecturersandschoolteachers–allaimedatnucleationandgrowthofastronomyand astrophysics at universities. All programmes are fully funded by IUCAA (and theUniversityGrantsDivision).

6.RecommendationsIn this section we present the recommendations for the development of South Africanhumancapacityinastronomyandastrophysics.Whiletherecommendationspresentedherehave been placed in different categories it should be understood thatmany of them areinterlinkedandshouldthereforebedealtwithsimultaneously.

Recommendation1:CoherentgovernancestructureforastronomyThecentralrequirementforthedevelopmentandgrowthofastronomyinSouthAfricaisacoherentgovernancestructure forastronomy,withastronomersplayingakeypart in thisstructure.Theroleofthegovernancestructurewouldbeto[R1‐Role]

1. ManageSAastronomicalfacilitiescoherentlyandholistically2. Provideinputandguidancetobodiesthatareinvolvedinthefundingof

astronomyresearch

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3. ProvideadministrativeandgovernancestructuresthatstrengthenandenhanceinternationalinterestinSouthAfricanastronomy

4. MakeSouthAfricanastronomyinternationallycompetitive,sothatSouthAfricabecomesthedestinationofchoicebothforinternationalprojectsandforinternationalscientistsandengineers

Theactionsthatarerequiredtoestablishanastronomygovernancestructureinclude[R1‐Actions]

1. EstablishmentofanAstronomyDeskthatwillmakekeyrecommendationstogovernmentregardingtheestablishmentofanastronomygovernancestructure.TheAstronomyDeskshouldundertakeabroadbasedinvestigationintointernationalbestpracticeforthegovernancestructure,aswellasconsidertherequirementsoftheSouthAfricanastronomycommunityandotherkeyroleplayers

2. ImplementationbygovernmentofrecommendationsfortheastronomygovernancestructuremadebytheAstronomyDesk.Governmentshouldalsotakeintoconsiderationtherecommendationsmadebyotherrecentpanelse.g.,thereviewsoftheNRFandtheAstronomyNationalFacilities,todeliveracoherentastronomystrategy

Oncetheastronomygovernancestructureisestablishedthisbodyshouldmaintainongoingconsultationwithastronomers,includingkeyinternationalpartners,onmattersthatrelateto the organization and governance of astronomy. A selection of local and internationalastronomers should serveasmembersof theastronomygovernance structureandplayacentralroleinthisbody.Sufficient funding shouldbeprovided toestablish and sustain theastronomygovernancestructure,asfollows[R1‐Funding]

1. InterimfundingoftheAstronomyDesk2. Fullfundingforthesmoothfunctioningoftheastronomygovernancestructure

Recommendation 2: Substantially increase institutional capacity inastronomyThesuccessofanyhumancapacitydevelopmentprogrammeforSouthAfricanastronomyisstrongly dependent on the development of critical‐mass capacity at several institutionsacross the country that are involved in astronomy research, teaching and outreach. Thegoalsoftheinstitutionalcapacityprogrammewouldbeto[R2‐Goals]

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1. EstablishcriticalmassesofastronomersinvariousregionsacrossSouthAfricabyfocusingoninstitutionswhereinterestandsomecapacityexist

2. Aimtoachievetheminimumviableunitof3researchersinestablishmentsthatarecurrentlybelowthisstaffinglevelassoonaspossible

3. Developastronomyresearchandteachingprogrammesattheseinstitutions,incorporatingacutting‐edgeresearchprogramme,anundergraduateteachingprogramme,apostgraduateteachingprogramme,apostdoctoralfellowshipprogramme,andanundergraduateresearchinternshipprogramme

4. Buildtheseprogrammes,initiallythroughsupportfromintra‐regionalcollaborations,witheveryeffortmadetosupporttheseregionalcollaborations

5. Provideacareerpathforastronomybyestablishingfacultypositions,initiallytargetedatjuniorfaculty

6. ProvideamentoringsystemforpostdoctoralfellowsandjuniorfacultyThesegoalscanbeachievethroughthefollowingactions[R2‐Actions]

1. Developabusinessmodeltomotivateuniversitiestobuyintomakingfacultyappointments,focusedonjuniorfaculty,sothatcriticalmassgroupsinastronomyareestablished

2. RunajointDST‐DHET‐UniversityExecutiveAstronomyworkshoptoratifybusinessmodelandsignmemorandaofunderstanding

3. Creationofastronomyfacultypositions,inadditiontocurrentSARChIprogramme,andhiringofastronomersatSAuniversitieswhereinterestandcapacityinastronomyexists

4. Criticalmassastronomygroupstodevelopagrowthplanfortheirastronomyundergraduateandpostgraduateteachingandresearchprogrammes,andamentoringsystem.TostartimplementingtheseplansandsystemswithsupportfromtheinstitutionandDSTviatheastronomygovernancestructure

5. Facilitatelocalcollaborationssothat,e.g.studentscanattendmathsandphysicscoursesattheirhomeinstitution,butattendastronomycoursesatanotherinstitution,orregisterforUNISAastronomycourses

The following funding instruments should be established to ensure adequate financialsupportforthesegoalstobemet[R2‐Funding]

1. Astronomyjuniorfacultyprogramme2. Programmeofjuniorandseniorlong‐termfellowshipsforastronomyfaculty

members3. Mobilityfundingprogramme,especiallyforfledglingastronomyresearchgroups4. Visitorsfundingprogramme5. Astronomyresearchchairsprogramme(asacontinuation/extensionoftheSARChI

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programme)6. Mentoringsupportprogrammeforpostdoctoralresearchersandjuniorfaculty

Recommendation3:DevelophumancapacityinastronomybysubstantiallyincreasingthenumberofblackastronomystudentsandastronomersCentraltothelong‐termsuccessofanyhumancapacitydevelopmentprogrammeforSouthAfricanastronomyisthetrainingofmanymoreblackastronomystudents.Itisalsovitaltoprovidecontinuingsupportfortheseyoungastronomersthroughthevariousstagesoftheircareerdevelopmentsothattheycanultimatelytakeuppostsasprofessionalastronomers.Thespecificgoalsofsuchafocusedprogrammewouldbeto[R3‐Goals]

1. Significantlyincreasethenumberofblacklearnerswithacademicpotentialthattakeupafirstdegreewithastronomy

2. Establishsupportstructuresincriticalmassastronomygroups,suchasamentoringsystemandatutoringsystem,toensurethatstudentseasilypassthroughcriticaljuncturesintheirpathtoaPhDandintotheirpostdoctoralresearchphase

3. Engagestudentsinearlyandcontinuousresearchactivitiesstartingintheirundergraduateyears

4. Provideamentoringsystemforundergraduateandpostgraduatestudents5. Increasetheoverallnumberofundergraduates,postgraduatesandpostdoctoral

researchersinastronomyThesegoalscanbeachievethroughthefollowingactions[R3‐Actions]

1. Developandimplementanintensiveastronomyoutreachandcareerpopularizationprogrammetofocusonblacklearnersatalargenumberofschools

2. Provideasufficientnumberofundergraduatebursariesforblacklearners3. Setupanintensivementoringandacademicsupportprogramme4. Setupanundergraduateresearchinternshipprogrammeforundergraduateand

honoursstudentsthatcouldberunduringtheacademicsemesterandoveruniversityvacations

5. Ensureparticipationofundergraduatesinnationalastronomyactivitiessuchasanannualnationalastronomyconference

6. SetupbridgingprogrammesbetweenHDUsandnationalfacilitiesand/orcritical‐massastronomygroups

7. Makeavailableexcellentbursariesforpostgraduatestudents,includingequipmentfunding,andtravelfundingfornationalandinternationalexposure

8. Provideexcellentsupportforearlycareerphasepostdoctoralresearchersandacademicsintheformofresearchsupport–suppliesandequipment,student

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funding,conferencetravel;teachingandadministrationrelief;mentorship;sabbaticalandstudyvisitsforcriticalnationalandinternationalexposure

To achieve the above goals and support the above actions the following fundinginstrumentsshouldbeestablished[R3‐Funding]

1. Anastronomyoutreachprogrammewithafocusonattractingblacklearnersintoastronomy

2. Anundergraduatebursaryprogrammewithattractivelevelsofsupport,primarilytargetedatblackstudents(andrecognisingtheneedtocompetewithindustrialandengineeringprogrammes)

3. Anundergraduateresearchinternshipprogramme4. Amentoringsupportprogrammeforundergraduateandpostgraduatestudents5. Anastronomybridgingsupportprogramme6. Apostgraduatestudentfundingprogrammewithattractivelevelsofsupport7. Apostdoctoralfundingprogrammeforjuniorandseniorpostdoctoralresearchers,

includingbothshort‐termandlong‐termfellowships8. A“Thuthuka‐like”programmeforastronomythatwillsupportprofessionalblack

astronomers

Recommendation 4: Supporting well‐resourced astronomy technologygroupsThereisaneedtoensurethattherearewell‐resourcedtechnicalgroupsinSouthAfricathatare working on cutting‐edge astronomical instrumentation, so that the South Africanastronomy community, in particular young and upcoming astronomers, remainsinternationally competitive by producing new and world‐class science with theseinstruments. A dedicated programme to fund astronomy technology development shouldbeestablishedwiththegoalto[R4‐Goals]

1. Developnewandcutting‐edgeastronomicalinstrumentationonanongoingbasistoremaininternationallycompetitive

2. Growactiveastronomytechnologygroupsbasedatnationalfacilitiesandconnectedwithuniversities

3. Advertisetheopportunitiesthatastronomyoffersforaverywidevarietyofengineersandpeoplewithtechnicalskills

Theactionsrequiredtodrivetheastronomytechnologyprogrammeinclude[R4‐Actions]

1. Newappointmentsofengineersandexperimentaliststogrowastronomytechnologyresearchgroups

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2. Regularastronomytechnologyreviewsandstrategicworkshops3. Developmentofcoursestotrainstudentsandyoungresearchersinastronomy

technologyThefundinginstrumentsrequiredtomakethisasuccessfulprogrammeinclude[R4‐Funding]

1. Anastronomytechnologyhumancapacitydevelopmentprogrammetofundstaffpositions,postdoctoralfellowshipsandstudentbursaries

2. Anastronomytechnologyresourcesfundingprogrammetofundtheresourcesrequiredbycutting‐edgeinstrumentationprojects

3. Appropriatelong‐terminvestmentinthenationalfacilities'instrumentationgroupswhichsupportandmaintainexistingequipmentandarecrucialintheidentification,developmentandimplementationoffuturestate‐of‐the‐artinstrumentsinordertokeepSAfacilitiesattheforefrontofastronomicalresearch

Recommendation5: Coordinatedandwell‐resourcedastronomyeducation,outreachandscienceawarenessprogrammeAwell‐coordinatedandwell‐resourcedastronomyeducationandoutreachprogrammewillplayaninvaluableroleincreatingawarenessofastronomyamongthepublic, inparticularhigh‐school learners, who could be attracted into studying astronomy at university andpursuing a career in astronomy. The goals of the astronomy education and outreachprogrammewouldbeto[R5‐Goals]

1. Strengthentheteachingofmathematicsandphysicalscienceinschools,throughtheuseofastronomy

2. Makescience,engineeringandtechnologycareers,particularlythoserelatedtoastronomy,attractivetoyoungpeople

3. Improvepublicappreciationofgovernmentpolicyonscienceandtechnologyandencouragesupportforinternationalastronomyprojects,suchasSKA

4. Stimulateglobalcitizenshipandtolerancethroughanappreciationofourplaceintheuniverse

5. Setupintensivecollaborationswiththemediatopromoteastronomyanddevelopmediaskillsinastronomy,forexample,throughanastronomyjournalismprogrammeinvolvingworkshops,shortcourses,electroniccourses

6. Setupandmaintainanastronomywebsiteportalforthemedia,schoolsandthegeneralpublic.Thiswebsiteshouldtakeadvantageofnewtechnologiese.g.facebookandtwittertoengagewiththeastronomyaudience

7. EmphasisethefactthataPhDinastronomyprovideshighlydesirableskillsthatexpandcareerchoicesbeyondastronomyjobs

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Theactionsrequiredtoachievethesegoalsinclude[R5‐Actions]

1. Immediatelyengagingkeyrole‐playerscurrentlyinvolvedinastronomyoutreachandastronomyeducation(e.g.SKA‐SAprogramme,HartRAOprogramme,SAAO/SCBprogrammes,universitygroups,planetariums,sciencecentres,SAASTA,IAU‐GOAD)todevelopacoherentandcoordinatedastronomyoutreach,educationandscienceawarenessstrategy.Thisstrategycaninitiallybedevelopedata1‐dayworkshop,whereaworkinggroupcanalsobeestablishedtodevelopgoals,actionsandinstruments,whichwillexpandonthoselistedhere

2. Gettingallrole‐playersinastronomyoutreachandeducationtoworktogethertoensuremaximumimpact

3. Engagingextensivelywithschoolteachersandlearners4. Engagingextensivelywiththepublicviaallformsofthemediaandactivitiesatall

astronomyoutreachinstitutions5. Makingavailableuniversity‐levelteachingmaterials,andcoordinatingastronomy‐

teachingresources6. WorkingwiththeIAU‐GOADtobringinfinanceandexpertisefromoutsidethe

country7. Involvingamateurastronomersaroundthecountrythroughlocalastronomy

amateurassociations8. Settingupaprogrammetoinspireyoungchildrenfromunderprivileged

environments,e.g.UNAWE9. SupportingUNISAindevelopingcoursesthatarespecificallyaimedateducators,

andthatbuildonthatanetworkinvolvingnationalobservatoriesandamateurastronomerstosupportthepracticaltuition

10. Supportviablebridgingprogrammesatalllevels,withemphasisgiventoimprovingaccessofhighschoolstudentstouniversity,particularlyinremoteareas

The optimal funding instruments required to support this programme would be bestdecidedbyanastronomyeducationandoutreachprogrammeworkinggroup,neverthelessitisclearthatafree‐standingastronomyoutreachfundingprogrammeisrequiredtoensurecontinuedsupportoftheseimportantactivities.[R5‐Funding]

Recommendation 6: A continuing decadal strategy for astronomy:prioritizationofresearchthemesAkeystrategyforthegrowthofhumancapacityinastronomyistoidentifyandfocusonaprioritizedsetofresearchthemes,takingintoaccounttheastronomicalfacilitiesavailablein

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SouthAfrica,sothatSouthAfricanresearcherscanplayaleadinginternationalroleintheseareas of research and thereby increase their international reputation. This in turn willinspire young and upcoming South African astronomers, and give them the necessarytrainingandskillstosucceedinacompetitiveinternationalresearcharena.Thegoalsofsuchastrategywouldbeto[R6‐Goals]

1. IdentifyasetofastronomyresearchthemesinwhichSouthAfricanastronomerscanplayamajorroleinternationally,andregularlyupdatetheseresearchthemes,forexample,everytenyearswithapossibleinterimreview,bytakingintoaccountnationalcapacityandresources,andinternationaltrends

2. Prioritizetheallocationofastronomyresources,basedonthedecadalreview,tosupportfutureobservational,theoretical,andtechnologicalastronomyprojects

Theactionsrequiredtoachievethesegoalsinclude[R6‐Actions]

1. Settingupapaneloflocalandinternationalastronomerstodevelopanationalastronomyscienceandtechnologystrategy

2. SettingupadecadalreviewpaneltoregularlyproviderecommendationsonSouthAfricanastronomyresearchpriorities

Funding should exist to support the decadal review and strategy programme, with thenational astronomy research‐funding programme being informed by the decadal strategydocument.Whilethefundingformajorprojectsshouldbedecidedinthisway,thisshouldnotprevent individualsandsmall collaborationsdoing researchoutside thepriorityareas.[R6‐Funding]

Recommendation7:EstablishingcollaborativestructuresSince the South African astronomy community is relatively small at present, significantbenefit in developing human capacity can be gained by combining skills and resourcesthrough collaborative programmes between different South African institutions, andwithinstitutionsinAfricaandfurtherabroad.Thegoalsofsuchaninitiativewouldbeto[R7‐Goals]

1. Growcollaborationsbetweennationalfacilitiesanduniversitygroupsonresearchprojects,jointappointments,studentandstaffexchange,andjointsupervisionofstudents

2. GrowastronomylinkswithastronomersfromotherAfricancountries,inparticularexploitingtheIAU‐GOADstructure

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3. GrowastronomylinkswithinternationalresearchgroupsThesegoalscanberealisedthroughthefollowingactions[R7‐Actions]

1. EncouragingtheDepartmentofHigherEducationtoreviewtheinherentlycompetitiveframeworkwithinwhichuniversitiesoperateandwhichstronglyinhibitteachingcollaborationsbetweenuniversities,i.e.collaborationssuchasNASSP

2. IfpossiblemodifyNASSP,afterreview,sothatitfacilitatesgrowthinitspartneruniversitiesandstrengthensitscollaborativecharacter

3. RegularmeetingsoftheSouthAfricanastronomycommunitye.g.,anationalastronomyconference

4. Settingupaninternationalvisitorsprogramme5. Usingvirtualtechnologye.g.,video‐conferencing,topromotecollaboration

betweenphysicallyseparatedastronomygroups6. Settingupuserandprogrammeadvisorycommitteesatthenationalfacilities

Supportforthesecollaborativestructurescanexistthroughfundinginstrumentssuchas[R7‐Funding]

1. Aprogrammeforjointuniversityanduniversity‐nationalfacilityappointments2. Aninternationalvisitorsfundingprogramme3. Anationalastronomyconferenceprogramme4. A“virtualtechnologyforresearchcollaboration”programmethatfundsvideo‐

conferencingandotherweb‐basedconferencetechnologies5. Abursaryprogrammeandpostdoctoralfellowshipprogrammeforstudentsfrom

Africancountries6. BilateralprogrammeswithastronomersfromAfricancountries,andleading

astronomygroupsinothercountries

Recommendation8:AdequateresourcestosupportastronomyresearchandteachingAbasic platformof resources to support astronomy research and teaching is required todevelop capacity in this area. An astronomy resources programme should be set up toensuretheseresourcesareavailable,withagoalto[R8‐Goals]

1. Providemobilitysupportforobservingtripstotelescopefacilitiesandresearchvisitstocentreswithsignificantastronomyresources

2. Ensurehigh‐performanceinternetconnectivityforallinstitutionsengagedwithastronomyresearchandteaching

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3. ProvideaccesstolibraryresourcesincludingbooksandjournalarticlesThesegoalscanbeachievedthroughthefollowingactions[R8‐Actions]

1. Establishanastronomymobilityprogramme2. CompletetheSouthAfricanNationalResearchNetwork(SANReN)assoonas

possibleandensurethatitisavailabletoallastronomygroupsacrossSouthAfrica

3. Developaframeworkforsharinglibraryandothereducationalresourcesorsetupacentralstructurewheresuchresourcescanbeaccessed

Thefundingoftheseresourcesshouldbeestablishedthrough[R8‐Funding]

1. Anastronomymobility‐fundingprogramme2. DST(throughtheMerakaInstitute)fundingofSANReN,inparticularforthe

currentSKAbid3. Anastronomylibraryandelectronicresourcesprogramme

Recommendation9:NationalcentreforastronomyandastrophysicsAnationalcentreforastronomyandastrophysicsisrequiredtoprovideanenvironmentinwhich people engaged in astronomy (including astronomers, educators, instrumentscientists and engineers, and students) can interact and think about science with theminimumadministrativeorformalteachingresponsibilities.Thegoalsofthenationalcentrewouldbeto[R9‐Goals]

1. HostSouthAfricanastronomersforshortorextendedvisitstherebysupportingtheirresearch

2. Hostinternationalhighprofilevisitors3. ProvideanenvironmentwhereresearchcollaborationcanoccurbetweenSouth

Africanandinternationalastronomers4. Provideanenvironmentwheremulti‐skilledandmulti‐disciplinaryresearch

collaborationcanoccur,forexample,betweenobserversandtheorists,andbetweenastronomersandbiologists

5. HostnationalandinternationalastronomyconferencesandworkshopsThenational astronomycentre shouldhave thenecessary infrastructure to support thesegoals,forexample,meetingroomsofvarioussizesincludingalecturetheatre,andlowcostaccommodation, and should provide an attractive environment so that it appeals toresearcherstospendtheirtimethere.Thenationalcentrecantakeadvantageofresearch

44

capacity in astronomy across South Africa by adopting a regional structure. Astronomersbased at South African universities and national facilities should play a key role in thegovernanceofthenationalastronomycentre.

Theactionsrequiredtoestablishthenationalcentreforastronomyandastrophysicsinclude[R9‐Actions]

1. Settingupacomprehensivebusinessandoperationsplanforthenationalcentre2. Embarkingoninternationalfundraisingeffortsincollaborationwithinternational

partners

The funding required to set up the national centre will come primarily from non‐government sources, with fund raising efforts able to start once a viable governancestructureforSouthAfricanmulti‐wavelengthastronomyisestablished.[R9‐Funding]

7.Acknowledgements

ThefirstworkingversionofthisdocumentwasproducedbyProfKrishBharuth-Ram

who gratefully thanks all colleagues who readily agreed to meetings and provideddocumentswhichprovedvaluableinarrivingatthepositionpresentedinthispaper.

Specialthanks,inparticular,aredueto:

Peter Dunsby and Patricia Whitelock for providing details of the NASSP and MWLprogrammesandtheirfundingprojections,

PatriciaWhitelockfordocumentsrelatingtotheAstronomyFrontiersProgramme,

KimdeBoerfordetailsoftheSKASAHumanCapacityDevelopmentProgrammeanditsfundingprojection,

MikeGaylardforadetailedreportonativitiesatHartRAO,and

RenéeKraan‐KortewegforacomprehensivereportonAstronomyatUCT.

ListofAcronyms

AAA AstronomyAdvantageAreaAGAPAstronomyGeographicAdvantagesProgrammeCSIR CouncilforScientificandIndustrialResearchCTACerenkovTelescopeArrayDHETDepartmentofHigherEducationandTrainingDORISDopplerOrbitographyandRadio‐positioningIntegratedbySatelliteDSTDepartmentofScienceandTechnology

45

EHPExtendedHonoursProgrammeHartRAOHartebeesthoekRadioAstronomyObservatoryHCD HumanCapacityDevelopmentHDUHistoricallyDisadvantagedUniversityHEI HigherEducationInstitutionHESSHighEnergyStereoscopicSystemHMO HermanusMagneticObservatoryIAU‐GOAD International Astronomical Union Global Office of Astronomy for

DevelopmentICRF InternationalCelestialReferenceFrameIERS InternationalEarthRotationServiceILRS InternationalLaserRangingServiceIT InformationTechnologyITRF InternationalTerrestrialReferenceFrameIUCAA Inter‐UniversityCentreforAstronomyandAstrophysicsKATKarooArrayTelescopeKAT‐XDMKarooArrayTelescope‐eXperimentalDevelopmentModelMTEFMediumTermExpenditureFrameworkNASA NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministrationNASSPNationalAstrophysicsandSpaceScienceProgrammeNF NationalFacilityNRFNationalResearchFoundationNWUNorthWestUniversityRSS RobertStobieSpectographSAAOSouthAfricanAstronomicalObservatorySAASTA SouthAfricanAgencyforScienceandTechnologyAdvancementSAC SphericalAberrationCorrectorSALTSouthernAfricanLargeTelescopeSALTICAM SALTImagingCameraSANReNSouthAfricanResearchNetworkSCBP SALTCollateralBenefitsProgrammeSET Science,EngineeringandTechnologySETIScience,Engineering,TechnologyandInnovationSKASquareKilometerArraySLR SatelliteLaserRangingUCT UniversityofCapeTownUFS UniversityoftheFreeStateUJ UniversityofJohannesburgUNAWE UniverseAwarenessforYoungChildrenUNISA UniversityofSouthAfricaUWC UniversityoftheWesternCape

46

UKZN UniversityofKwaZuluNatalVLBI VeryLongBaselineInterferometryWITSUniversityoftheWitwatersrand

Appendix:TheProcessTheprocessfollowedinarrivingatthispositionpaperwastoreviewtherelevantdocumentsand reports that have been generated over the past few years. In addition, with theconcurrenceoftheNRFCEO,theviewsofanumberofstakeholderswerecanvassedonthestate of astronomy in South Africa, on the development of skilled human resources inAstronomy.

Thedocumentsthatwerereviewedandthediscussionsthatwereheldincludedthoselistedbelow.

a. DocumentsreviewedThedocumentsreviewedincluded

i) SETIReviewsofNationalFacilities,1998ii) InternationalPanelReportonFutureofPhysics,2004.iii) NRFReviewofAstro‐Geo‐SciencesFacilities,2004iv) AstronomyFrontiersProgramme(P.A.Whitelocketal.,2004)v) KPMGreportonAstronomyStrategyvi) SKAReportonStateofRadioAstronomy(2008)vii) “NewHorizons”:ADecadalPlanforAustralianAstronomy,2006–2015viii) MichaelCherry,StaroftheSouth,Nature438(2005)18‐19ix) NaturearticleonUSDecadalReviewofAstronomyx) AGAP:DSTpresentationtotheParliamentaryPortfolioCommitteeonScienceand

Technology.xi) AstronomyGeographicAdvantageAct(2009) xii) SANationalSpaceAgencyAct(2008)

b. ConsultationsConsultationswereheldwithawiderangeofstakeholdersfromdifferentinstitutions.Thesearelistedbelow.

i) SAAO: Phil Charles, Patricia Whitelock, Ramotholo Sefako, David Buckley, PeterMartinezandKevinGovender,ii) HartRAO:RoyBooth,MichaelGaylardandManagementteam,iii) SKA:BernieFanaroff,KimdeBoer,FaranahOsman,JustinJonasiv) HMO:SandileMalingav) UCT:ReneeKraan‐Korteweg,PeterDunsby,ThebeMedupe,KurtvandenHeydenvi) UWC:CatherineCress,ChrisKoen,RobbieLindsay

47

vii) UKZN:SunilMaharajandKavilanMoodleyviii) NWU:OkkiedeJagerix) MerakaInstitute:BruceBecker

Email inputswere received fromChrisEngelbrecht (UJ),PatrickWoudt (UCT),DerckSmits(UNISA),MikeGaylard (HartRAO), JoaoRodrigues (WITS). Inaddition, visitsweremade toandconsultationsheldwithProfNareshDadhich,DirectoroftheInterUniversityCentreforAstronomyandAstrophysics(IUCAA),India,andProfSteveRawlings,SchoolofAstronomy,OxfordUniversity,U.K.The original version of this document was circulated to the astronomy community forcommentin2010.Theirinputandsubsequentdiscussionswereusedtoupdateandproducethefinalversionofthisdocument.Thegroupresponsibleforthatdraftingcomprised:RoyBooth (HartRAO, MeerKAT), Phil Charles (SAAO), Catherine Cress (UWC), Okkie de Jager(NWU),PeterDunsby(UCT),RenéeKraan‐Korteweg(UCT‐chair),MikeGaylard(HartRAO),Thebe Medupe (NWU), Kavilan Moodley (UKZN), Molapo Qhobela (DST), Derck Smits(UNISA)andPatriciaWhitelock(SAAO,UCT).There was practically unanimous support for a holistic astronomy strategy thatencompassedtheentirewavelengthspectrum,fromradioastronomy,toopticalandx‐rayastronomy,tohigh‐energygammarayastronomy.Itbecameapparenttoothatinordertofullyexploitourgeographicadvantagesforobservationalastronomyandastrophysicsanewgovernance structure was required in which outreach and awareness programmes, thedevelopment of the scientific and technical human resources and world class researchwouldbemanagedinacoordinatedway.Thedocumentpresentsbriefoverviewsofthecurrentstatus inastronomyatthenationalfacilitiesanduniversities,oftheNASSPandSKAcapacitydevelopmentprogrammesandofthe funding allocations. This is followed by an outline of the key issues that need to beaddressed,andfinallybyasetofrecommendationsthatshouldformthebasisofadecadalstrategyforAstronomyinSouthAfrica.