Here are some of the highlights of SciFest Africa 2010’s lectures which are open to audiences of grade 10+ and cost R10 a person:
Sport physician Wayne Derman speaks on Mark Shuttleworth’s odyssey: a personal physician’s front-row seat. 7pm March 25, Guy Butler Theatre, and 9.30am March 26, Olive Shreiner Hall
This talk relives the medical and physiological challenges and hurdles South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth had to overcome to become the first African to go into space.
Vanessa Lynch: Fighting crime with science. 1.30pm March 24 and 11.30am March 25, Olive Shreiner Hall
Vanessa Lynch is the founder and executive director of the DNA Project and will talk about DNA profiling and the expansion and development of the national DNA database and how both can help to fight crime with science.
Noel Ashton: Making Free Willy swim like a whale — my unusual career working with whales and dolphins. 11.30am March 27, Olive Shreiner Hall
By combining his passions for art, sculpture, research, writing and lecturing and his love of whales and dolphins, Noel Ashton has managed to carve out an amazing career that includes working with Warner Bros on the latest Free Willy 4 film. At SciFest he will talk about his latest initiative, entitled The Eye of the Whale — a groundbreaking audio-visual presentation.
Mike Bruton: Experiments that shook the world (and some that didn’t); and great South African inventions. 1.30pm March 27, Olive Shreiner Hall, and 7pm March 28, Guy Butler Theatre
In two separate lectures SciFest stalwart Mike Bruton looks at some of the great experiments in history, as well as some notable failures (March 27) and some of South Africa’s greatest inventions (March 28).
Jacquie Greenberg: Should one clone alone or even at home? 1.30pm March 28, Olive Shreiner Hall
Professor of Human Genetics Jacquie Greenberg puts the sensitive issues of human cloning and stem cell research under the microscope and looks at what they mean for the future of regenerative medicine.
James Stapley and Tommy Bornman: Sexy science! Ships, buoys and robots. 11.30am March 29, Olive Shreiner Hall
Strictly for Grade 12s and over, this lecture looks at the technologies being used in marine research and showcases the work of ocean-going research vessels.
Astronomer Eric Wilcots: A tourist’s guide to Mars. 11.30am March 30, Olive Shreiner Hall
This talk will give the audience a tour of Earth’s neighbour, showing the rugged canyons, immense mountains and challenging weather conditions that make the Red Planet so mesmerising.