Industry leaders from around the world will converge on Pretoria, South Africa, in April to discuss what nanotechnology means to southern Africa. From mining to medicine, and from water to textiles, the World Nano-Economic Congress (WNEC) South Africa will explore how this tiny technology can offer both social and financial benefits to the region.
Companies such as US-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Dutch chemical company DSM will convene in South Africa on April 23rd and 24th to highlight the rapid development of nanotechnology research and commercialization occurring in South Africa as well as assess the value of nanotechnology as a platform technology for developing and emerging economies. The event is organized by London based Cientifica Ltd (www.cientifica.com) , the leading global nanotechnology consulting and intelligence company.
“South Africa has a R450 million commitment to nanotechnology research and is rapidly becoming a regional hub of research and commercialization activity,” says Tim Harper, CEO of Cientifica. “In addition to the traditional mining and textile industries, South Africa is becoming well positioned to develop nanotech applications in areas from water remediation to HIV treatment, while applications in food and packaging have the ability to boost the agricultural sector.”
Cientifica research director Hailing Yu and author of the recent report “Nanotechnologies in the Energy Markets” noted that “the combination of vast coal reserves, expertise in coal to oil conversion technologies and nanotechnologies represents a major opportunity for South Africa.”
Dr. Mostafa Analoui, Senior Director for Global Clinical Technology at Pfizer Global Research and Development and Dr. Germ Visser, Manager of External Research and Funding DSM Research--Performance Materials will be part of speaker faculty of twenty international experts that includes the Republic of South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, the Honorable Derek Hanekom.
Other companies taking part are FEI Company, producer of Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and Focused Ion Beams (FIB), and its local partner, Apollo Scientific, both of which are sponsors of the event.
To learn more about the event, please visit http://www.world-nano.com/southafrica or http://www.cientifica.com
