Rethinking SciCOMM!!

Watch the Rethinking SciCOMM webinar here:

Moderator

Mr Neale Baartjes, SACNASP Council member

Panelists

Dr Corlia Meyer
Dr Corlia Meyer is a postdoctoral research fellow at SciCOM. Dr Meyer holds a PhD in Science and Technology studies from Stellenbosch University. Her doctoral research focused on the
public’s perception of environmental problems in the Western Cape, South Africa. Corlia has authored and co-authored seven published articles, including, “Science is everywhere, but no one knows it”: Assessing the cultural distance to science of rural South African publics (2018) and Citizen science in South Africa: Rhetoric and reality (2021). She has also co-authored one book chapter. She has successfully supervised on Master’s student and currently supervising two more. She has presented at multiple seminars and lectured on science communication for Science Communication Skills. Corlia is currently working on mapping science communication activities in South Africa, and the framing of COVID-19 in South African newspapers.

Prof Stephanie Burton
Professor Stephanie Burton is Professor in Biochemistry, and Professor at Future Africa at the University of Pretoria (UP), as well as the immediate past Vice-Principal for Research and
Postgraduate Education at UP, having served in that role from 2011 to 2020. Professor Burton is the President and a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa (RSSA), Vice-President of the
Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), a Research Fellow for Universities South Africa (USAf), and the Chairperson of the Future Earth Regional Office for Southern Africa (FEROSA). Professor Burton holds an MSc in Organic Chemistry (1990) and a PhD in Biochemistry (1994) from Rhodes University. Her academic career started in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Rhodes University, and then as Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. She served as Director of Postgraduate Studies and Director of the Biocatalysis and Technical Biology Group at Cape Peninsula University of Technology before her UP appointment. Her research interests are in sustainability, applied biochemistry and biotechnology, and she has published widely and supervised numerous postgraduate students. She also has a strong interest in research capacity development, and research ethics and integrity, and she serves on several national bodies related to research and doctoral training. She is recognised for her leadership in managing research strategy and performance, postgraduate training, innovation activities, open science and science communication initiatives and internationalisation programmes.

Mr Robert Inglis
Robert Inglis is passionate about enhancing the positive impacts of knowledge production by facilitating dialogue between experts and the public. He has spent the past 18 years working at the intersection of science and society producing a wide range of media from comics to exhibitions to films and holds a National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) award for his “contribution to the discipline of science communication”. He is the co-founder and Director of the independent research communications company Jive Media Africa which provides science engagement, media production and training services to researchers in South Africa and internationally. Robert has a Masters’ degree in Science and Technology with a specialisation in Science Engagement from Stellenbosch University. Since 2013 he has facilitated the South African leg of the international FameLab “talking science” competition. He is also the founder and Director of the YAZI Centre for Science and Society in Africa, a non-profit organisation which exists to broaden participation in knowledge production, and which incorporates the popular youth engagement initiatives Science Spaza and HipHopU.

Prof Roula Inglesi-Lotz
Prof Roula Inglesi-Lotz is an academic in the broader field of economics and a mother of two boys (7 and 9 years old). She is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University
of Pretoria in South Africa. She is one of the two co-chairs of the Global Young Academy (GYA) for 2021/22. She is also the current president of the South African Association for Energy
Economics (SAAEE), which was established in 2018 and the incoming Vice President of Membership and Affiliate Relations of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE). She is a member of the South African Young Academy of Sciences (SAYAS) where is served as a co-lead in 2020. Prof Inglesi-Lotz was the editor of the SAYAS PhD blog giving a platform to the South African science youth to express their voice. She has a passion for mentoring and advising young energy economists via the PhD Programme of the Department and other organisations for empowering youth in South Africa and the African continent, such as Future Africa at the University of Pretoria.