SAIP WEBINARS
Title: The South African Physics Olympiad
Speaker: Mr. Case Rijsdijk
Date: 16 April 2021
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F5jePAcWT4ezr0DP5HUoPQ
Abstract:
South Africa, like every other country around the world, has a huge, latent talent, much of it in the rural areas, that needs to be identified, nurtured and monitored. The South African Agency for Science Advancement, SAASTA, has been running a successful Science Olympiad for many years,
but there is no Physics Olympiad, primarily because SA does not teach Chemistry and Physics as separate subjects; it remains one of the few countries that still teaches Physical Science. During the International Year of Physics in 2005 funding was received for the SAIP to set the first South African Physics Olympiad, SAPhO., and used the SAASTA Science Olympiad to select about 250 of the best students for SAPhO, after which the top ten students attended a week long Physics camp to earn scholarships.
This was followed up a few years later, once funding became available again, and SAPhO has been successfully written till 2019, and will hopefully been written again in 2021, as a Multiple Choice Question, MCQ, Olympiad of 50 questions to be completed in 90 minutes. As was the case in 2005,
the SAASTA Olympiad was used to select students for SAPhO, usually for up to 250 candidates. It has transformed in to a hybrid on-line Olympiad, enabling the SAIP to get many more students involved, and SAPhO has also been registered as a member of the Association of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation, ASTEMI, Olympiads and Competitions. But South Africa has unique challenges, and some of these will be highlighted, as will several ways of addressing these. Past successes and methods will be discussed and the final goal stated.
Brief CV:
Educated at Kabaulonga Boys HS in Lusaka Zambia, Graduated from UCT and studied Astronomy under Prof R H Stoy at the then Royal Observatory in Cape Town. He taught Physics, Mathematics and Statistics at St Georges College, Harare and Bishops in Cape Town before returning to the South
Astronomical Observatory, SAAO. He took early retirement from the SAAO in 2003 to continue his interest in Particle Physics and writing but is still involved with teacher education, the SA Physics Olympiad and numerous outreach activities. In addition he serves on several Science Advisory Councils, has twice been President of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, ASSA and delivered the Bernard Price Lecture for the SA Institute of Electrical Engineers in 2003. In 2009 he was awarded an NSTF Special Award for his contributions to Physics, Astronomy, Education and Science Communication over a lifetime. He is also an honorary member of the ASSA, the Royal Society of SA and the SA Institute of Physics. In 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Gill Medal of the ASSA for his contributions to Astronomy.
