Dr. Frene Ginwala, speaker of South Africa's National Assembly since 1994, will discuss collaborative opportunities with MIT administrators and faculty on Thursday, Sept. 7, during an all-day visit to the campus.
"We see South Africa as a leader for all other countries in Southern Africa," said Associate Provost Phillip L. Clay, who is coordinating Dr. Ginwala's visit. "We welcome the chance to explore with Dr. Ginwala ways we might assist and learn from developments on the continent."
Professor Clay said many MIT faculty members might be interested in collaborative opportunities with South African colleagues.
"In many respects, South Africa has a very advanced educational and research capacity in areas related to the topics of interest to MIT faculty," said Professor Clay.
Professor Clay cited the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) and the Department of Corporate Relations as MIT programs that might serve as models for South African research institutions.
Dr. Ginwala is scheduled to conduct separate one-on-one discussions with Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow and Director of Corporate Relations Karl Koster. Later, she will meet in a group with Professor Suzanne Berger of political science, head of MISTI; Professor Richard J. Samuels of political science, director of the MIT Japan Program; Patricia Gercik, managing director of the MIT Japan Program; Professor James Utterback of the Sloan School, chair of the Management of Technology program; and Kymus Ginwala (SB 1952), director of business development for Northern Research and Engineering Corp. The two Ginwalas are not related.
Other members of the MIT community on her agenda include Professors Herbert H. Einstein of civil and environmental engineering and Andrew C. Kadak of nuclear engineering, Associate Professor Ronald G. Ballinger of nuclear engineering and materials science and engineering, Senior Research Scientist Richard C. Lanza of nuclear engineering, lecturer Margaret A. Burnham of political science, and graduate student Amy Smith (SB 1984, SM, ME), winner of the 2000 Lemelson-MIT Student Award for Invention and Innovation.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on August 30, 2000.
