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UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize
Prof Abdon Atangana’s UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Prof Abdon Atangana, Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Institute for Groundwater Studies (IGS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), was one of five young scientists who was awarded the first UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The ceremony took place last month (19 June 2023) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. Each winner received a medal and $50,000 in prize money.

Contribution to mathematics and applications

Prof Atangana says he received this award due to his contribution to mathematics and applications, fractional differential and integral calculus with nonsingular and nonlocal kernel, fractal-fractional differential and integral calculus.

“I have been promoting STEM in several countries of the Global South. I feel proud because, 2 500 candidates were selected worldwide, 200 shortlisted and five were selected at the end. I was chosen in mathematics to represent my continent of Africa, while the other four laureates were selected in engineering and science,” says Prof Atangana.

Award aims to strengthen STEM research and education

According to the UNESCO website, the prize, which was established in 2021 in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Al–Fozan Foundation, aims to strengthen STEM research, STEM education and international cooperation to confront the global challenges addressed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The prize will give recognition to the achievements of young people that are conducive to socio-economic transformation and development on a global scale while also increasing the interest of young people, particularly girls and women, in science so as to promote gender equality, scientific literacy and the choice of a scientific career.

It is awarded every two years to five laureates from the five geographic regions of UNESCO (Africa, Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America and Latin America and the Caribbean), its purpose to encourage youth participation in STEM, in particular women and girls, so as to promote gender equality, scientific literacy and the choice of a scientific career.

Will stay in Africa

Prof Atangana, who is the current chairperson of the African Mathematical Union Commission for Research and Innovations (AMU-CRIMS), said during his speech that Africa was a temple of mathematics and that great mathematicians including Euclid and Pythagoras, had visited Africa.

“Today, many young talented Africans are moving primarily to the West in search of greener pastures. The question I pose is, what happened? Briefly, the strategies utilised during the colonisation era made Africans lose self-belief and self-esteem and become dominated nations.

“I thank God that, I, today, as a child born and raised in Africa, I went to France for the first time, not in search of greener pastures but because the work I did in Africa with no external support, attracted global attention of researchers from all fields of science, technology, and engineering. This is a clear indication that Africans can stay in Africa, work hard and evolve and develop their continent without additional support or compensation. I will stay in Africa, work very hard to pave the way, and lay a concrete foundation for the next generation through God’s grace,” he ended his speech.

Prof Atangana’s global recognition

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS says this is timely award in the wake of Vision 130 to celebrate Prof Atangana’s global recognition as a young scientist.

“A young mathematician of exceptional dedication and talent, Abdon has been a real trailblazer in his field. The award is richly deserved and reflects well not only on Abdon but on all his colleagues in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the University of the Free State, and especially the African continent. We are immensely proud of this global recognition of a formidable young African scientist. He is a role model who inspires a new generation of scholars. An outstanding achievement for an outstanding individual,” says Prof Reddy.

This award is another testament to the great work Prof Atangana has been doing over the years. Not only has he been a fellow of the World Academia of Science since 2022, but he is winner of the World Academy of Sciences Award for Mathematics (TWAS – Mohammad A Hamdan Award) in 2020.

The other winners are Dr Federico Ariel (Argentina); Prof Qiaomei Fu (China); Dr Hesham Omran and Dr Jelena Vladic (Serbia).

 


WATCH: Prof Atangana's acceptance speech

News Archive

Boyden Observatory turns 120
2009-05-13

 
At the celebration of the 120th year of existence of the UFS's Boyden Observatory are, from the left: Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS, Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS, Mr Ian Heyns from AngloGold Ashanti and his wife, Cheryl, and Prof. François Retief, former rector of the UFS and patron of the Friends of Boyden.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

The Boyden Observatory, one of the oldest observatories in the Southern Hemisphere and a prominent beacon in Bloemfontein, recently celebrated its 120th year of existence.

This milestone was celebrated by staff, students, other dignitaries of the University of the Free State (UFS) and special guests at the observatory last week.

“The observatory provides the Free State with a unique scientific, educational and tourist facility. No other city in South Africa, and few in the world, has a public observatory with telescopes the size and quality of those at Boyden,” said Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS.

The observatory, boasting the third-largest optical telescope in South Africa, has a long and illustrious history. It was established on a temporary site on Mount Harvard near the small town of Chosica, Peru in 1889. Later it was moved to Arequipa in Peru where important astronomical observations were made from 1891 to 1926. “However, due to unstable weather patterns and observing conditions, it was decided to move the Boyden Station to another site somewhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, maybe South Africa,” said Prof. Van Schalkwyk.

South Africa's excellent climatic conditions were fairly well known and in 1927 the instruments were shipped and the Boyden Station was set up next to Maselspoort near Bloemfontein. Observations began in September 1927 and in 1933 the new site was officially completed, including the 60 inch (1.5 m) telescope, which was then the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. This telescope was recently refurbished to a modern research instrument.

The observatory has various other telescopes and one of them, the 13" refractor telescope, which was sent to Arequipa in 1891 and later to Bloemfontein, is still in an excellent condition. Another important telescope is the Watcher Robotic Telescope of the University College Dublin, which conducts many successful observations of gamma ray bursts.

“In the first few decades of the twentieth century, the Boyden Observatory contributed considerably to our understanding of the secrets of the universe at large. The period luminosity relationship of the Cepheid variable stars was, for example, discovered from observations obtained at Boyden. This relationship is one of the cornerstones of modern astrophysics. It is currently used to make estimates of the size and age of the universe from observations of the Hubble Space Telescope,” said Prof. Van Schalkwyk.

“The Boyden Observatory contributed to the university’s astrophysics research group being able to produce the first M.Sc. degrees associated with the National Space Science Programme (NASSAP) in the country and the Boyden Science Centre plays an important role in science and technology awareness of learners, teachers and the general public,” said Prof. Van Schalkwyk.

The Boyden Science Centre has also formed strong relationships with various institutions, including the South African Agency for the Advancement of Science and Technology (SAASTA) and the Department of Science and Technology. The centre has already conducted many different projects for the Department of Science and Technology, including National Science Week projects, as well as National Astronomy Month projects. It also serves as one of the hosts of SAASTA’s annual Astronomy Quiz.

Media Release:
Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
13 May 2009
 

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