Physics Comment Magazine March 2018 Issue Physics Comment March 2018_v1.3 | Page 2

Physics Comment – Vol. 10, Issue 1–March 2018 Published by the South African Institute of Physics Editor’s Note ................................................................................................................................4 President’s Corner: Message from Professor Patrick Woudt on behalf of the Council of SAIP ................................................................................................................. ..............................................6 Tribute to Professor Francis Allotey ....................................................................... .................................7 Tribute to Professor Stephen W. Hawking .............................................................. ...............................7 IAU Symposium 339 (Southern Horizons in Time Domain Astronomy) ....................... ..................8 News from IUPAP: 29th General Assembly ............................................................. ..............................9 SAIP to launch a Physics in Industry Day at SAIP2018 .....................................................................12 WiPiSA NEWS .........................................................................................................................................13 Pre-NSW Physics Engagement Programme starting at SAIP2018 ..................................................13 2018 STEMI Olympiads And Competition CoP Conference ...........................................................14 The 6th International Conference on Women in Physics (ICWIP2017) .......................................16 Report on the African Regional Workshop of the ICSU-funded Gender Gap in Science Project ............................................................................................................ ............................................18 Professor Azwinndini Muronga Opinion Piece in Advancing Education Especially in Rural Areas ...........................................................................................................................................................21 SA Physics Benchmark Statement ........................................................................................................22 Congratulatory message on SA Physics Olympiad Winners for 2017 who did well in their matric .........................................................................................................................................................23 The Proceedings of the 61th Annual Conference of the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP2016) ..................................................................................................................................24 Like the SAIP Facebook Page .................................................................................................................24 ARTICLES ............................................................................................................. ...................24 Congratulations to LIGO/Virgo Collaborations .................................................................................24 PV innovation and commercialisation boost at Nelson Mandela University ...............................25 Wits students contribute to the upgrade of the high-tech software and hardware at the CERN ATLAS detector ............................................................................................................................27 Science teaching and learning still a problem in some areas ...........................................................29 MEMBERSHIP ....................................................................................................... ..................31 CRITICAL SKILLS VISA LETTER ......................................................................................................31 2 | Page