Fourty-three of the country’s leading scholars and scientists were inaugurated as Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) at the annual Awards Ceremony on 20 October 2021.  The Science Faculty at UCT is delighted to announce that Professor Patrick Woudt, from the Department of Astronomy and Professor Shadreck Chirikure, from the Department of Archaeology at UCT were inducted. 

As the official Academy of South Africa, ASSAf has as core function to honour the country’s most outstanding scholars by electing them to Membership of the Academy. ASSAf Members are drawn from the full spectrum of disciplines.  Membership of the Academy is a great honour and is in recognition of scholarly achievement. Members are the core asset of the Academy and give of their time and expertise voluntarily in the service of society.

Professor Patrick Woudt (left) and Professor Shadreck Chirikure (right)

Patrick Woudt is Professor of Astronomy and Head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Cape Town.

He obtained his PhD in 1998 from the University of Cape Town. He is past President of the South African Institute of Physics and holds an adjunct professor position in the Department of Physics at the University of Venda. He is the co-principal investigator of the MeerLICHT telescope and the MeerKAT large survey project on astrophysical transients. He is currently vice-president of IAU Commission B4 (radio astronomy) and the co-chair of the international SKA Science Working group on radio transients.

Professor Shadreck Chirikure is is Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town.

He obtained the degrees of MA Artefact Studies (2002) and PhD in Archaeology (2005) from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. His doctoral thesis explored the technology and socio-cultural metaphors associated with pre-colonial iron production in southern Africa.  Shadreck’s Archaeological Materials Laboratory is Africa's only facility dedicated to the study of pyrotechnology practiced by farming communities of the last 2000 years of the sub-Saharan past.