The delegation on day one of the workshop included (L-R): Corne Smith (DPSS), Dr Mkhulu Mathe (MSM), Dr Barend Taute (Meraka), Berenice Lue Marais, Francois Prinsloo (NLC), Dr Augustus Vogel (ONR), Pieter Goosen (DPSS), Dr Declan Vogt (CMI), Dr Paul Motalane (NLC) and Dr Robb Wilcox (ONR)
Representatives from the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently visited the CSIR for a workshop aimed at identifying areas of potential research cooperation between the two organisations. During the two-day visit from 23 to 24 May 2011, the ONR’s Dr Robb Wilcox and Dr Augustus Vogel engaged with various CSIR scientists to get a better sense of the type of research the CSIR is involved in.
The workshop was in preparation for a conference that will be held in South Africa from 5 to 9 September 2011 where about 30 US air force, army and navy project managers will visit the CSIR to interact with the scientists and discuss funding possibilities.
The multi-disciplinary nature of the CSIR appealed to the US delegation’s broad scope of interests. “We see the upcoming conference as a process of relationship-building so CSIR scientists can get ‘plugged’ into the needs of the ONR’s project managers,” said Vogel on Day 1 of the workshop. The ONR delegation expressed interest in materials, energy, health, earth observation, remote sensing, as well as defence and security as possible areas of cooperation with the CSIR. The ONR, together with the CSIR Contract R&D office – headed by Berenice Lue Marais – is currently in the process of drafting a programme for the conference that will address specific areas of interest.
Wilcox added, “This conference will be useful for the CSIR to gain insight into different ONR technology gaps. It will help identify areas of mutual interest and CSIR scientists could potentially get pooled with other international researchers in specific competency areas. This opens up the possibility for collaborations with multiple funding sources within the US Department of Defense.”
Day 2 of the workshop included additional ONR delegates as well as a video conference with Wilcox and Vogel’s colleagues from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) in the United States.
The ONR coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programmes of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Wilcox explained, “The ONR also searches the globe for promising emerging scientific research and advanced technologies to enable us to effectively address the needs of the fleet and force.” Vogel and Wilcox have overseen a number of successful funding programmes where beneficiaries included, among others, researchers from Chile and Ghana.
