2019 Inaugural Lectures

We go deeper into knots – those fascinating geometrical objects which are very simple to visualise, yet remarkably hard to analyse. Simply considering a piece of string, tying a knot and gluing the two loose ends of the string together forms a knotted loop. Such a knotted loop is called a knot in mathematics. Knot theory delves into answering the question of deciding whether two knotted loops made of flexible, but impenetrable material can be transformed by means of continuous modifications into knotted loops having the same shape. Further, one may ask whether an arbitrary knot is a knot.

To answer such questions, knot invariants are employed. Two knot invariants; the number of components and the path-width of a knot were discussed. Further, the mathematics behind these invariants, the Tutte polynomial were presented.

Two hundred million years ago, a mass extinction event upheaved Earth's ecosystems, causing the demise of nearly 75% of its species. Dinosaurs flourished in the wake of this event, becoming the dominant land-dwelling vertebrates for the next 135 million years. Southern Africa's rich fossil deposits make it the best place in the world for studying this extinction and its aftermath. Choiniere shared the results of seven years of fieldwork and fossil study in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, giving an emerging picture on the dawn of the dinosaur era.

The Department of Paediatric Surgery has made a significant contribution to the development of paediatric surgery in South Africa, this through the development and training of numerous paediatric surgeons who have made their mark both nationally and throughout the world. The Department at Wits has become a major focus of teaching and training for South African paediatric surgeons, as well as for international trainees from both Africa and abroad. More recently, the Department has focused on enhancing its clinical research outputs, as well as developing specific clinical sub-specialties within paediatric surgery.

This lecture traced the Wits Paediatric Surgery's origins from the infancy of surgery in Johannesburg in the 1880s, to a unit with a now well-established clinical and research reputation both within South Africa and abroad.

It starts in Goa (India), moves to Southern and East Africa (Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, and Zanzibar), and returns to Goa. The framing device was that of “keywords” as a vocabulary of culture and society (following Raymond Williams, 1976) in order to reflect shifting research interests and writings on decolonisation.

A what? A physicienne is a female physicist. There aren’t many of us. As a child, I had the good fortune to have supportive parents and to benefit from exciting Physics curricula, designed at the height of the space race by highflying physicists from prestigious universities. By the time I was exposed to messages that “Physics is not for girls” it was too late. I was already hooked. The talk covered what Prof. Grayson learnt through research and practice over the past 30 years about how to help diverse students experience the wonder, the beauty and the powerful ways of thinking of Physics.