Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science

The Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science (S2A3) is a learned society, originally known as the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAAS). Its principal aim is to increase the public awareness and understanding of science, engineering and technology, and their role in society, by means of various awards and by communicating the nature, processes, ethics, and excitement of science. Membership is open to all.

History

The South African Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1902 and modelled on the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), now known as the British Science Association. One of the most prominent scientists involved in the movement to establish S2A3 was Dr (later Sir) David Gill (1843–1914), director of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, who was elected its first president. All scientific disciplines were accommodated, with the result that membership rose to over 1000. For many years S2A3 was the largest and most influential scientific society in southern Africa. Members met once a year in different southern African cities to present papers and tend to the business of the Association. The first annual meeting was held in Cape Town in 1903. Two years later the Association met jointly with the British Science Association in South Africa. A second joint meeting was held in South Africa in 1929. The annual meetings were discontinued in the nineteen-seventies, whereupon the Association's membership declined to its present level of around 100.

Governing body

The Association is governed by a National Council, consisting of a president, regional vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, and additional council members.

Branches

The Pretoria Branch of the Association arranges monthly public lectures on scientific subjects.

Awards

• The South Africa Medal (gold), originally funded by a grant from the British Science Association in 1905, is awarded annually to recognise exceptional contributions to the advancement of science on a broad front or in a specific field, by an eminent South African scientist. The first recipient, in 1908, was the eminent veterinary scientist Sir Arnold Theiler (1867–1936), for his work on trypanosomes and African horse sickness.
• The British Association Medal (silver), originally funded by a grant from the British Science Association in 1929, is awarded annually to a South African scientist under the age of 40 who is actively engaged in research and has, by way of international participation and publications, shown outstanding capability and achievements. The first recipient, in 1932, was Miss Nellie F. Paterson, junior lecturer in zoology at the University of the Witwatersrand.
• The S2A3 Masters Medals (bronze) serve to commend outstanding South African science research students graduating at the Masters level. These medals are awarded annually to one candidate selected by each South African university.
• Merit Certificates are occasionally awarded to persons who have contributed, each in their own way, to either the advancement of science or the Association's activities.

Publications

The Association annually publishes the Rudolf Marloth Brochure.^[1] It contains information about the recipients of the annual awards, summaries of their lectures, and other information relating to the Association's activities. A special centenary edition was published in 2002.^[2]

References

1. ^ Southern African Association for the Advancement of Science. Rudolf Marloth Brochure. Pretoria: S2A3, 2009
2. ^ Southern African Association for the Advancement of Science. Rudolf Marloth Brochure, centenary edition. Pretoria: S2A3, 2002