Cash boost for Science Centre
Local corporate gives Unizul Science Centre cash injection
COMMITTED to supporting maths and science education, local corporate giant BHP Billiton Aluminium SA donated more than half a million rand to the Unizul Science Centre last week.
The generous cheque of R570 000 was welcomed by the Unizul Science Centre team during a presentation by the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) -BHP Billiton award winner, Professor Robert Millar, who was speaking in Richards Bay about his research on hormones and brain body conversations.
The NSTF awards are made to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) in South Africa in any field of activity relating to research and its outputs.
Local high school pupils were invited to participate in the session with the esteemed scientist who heads the Mammal Research Institute Director, University of Pretoria and co-director of the University of Cape Town’s Medical Research Council Receptor Biology Research Unit.
Millar was awarded the lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to SETI .
As a leading international figure in the area of Neuroendocrinology, he discovered novel hormones and receptors, developed analogue drugs and taken these into the human stage for treatment of diverse diseases such as endometriosis, cancers of reproductive tissues as well as in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
‘I continue to be incredibly excited by science, working with it everyday is like getting the chance to climb Mount Everest, you might not be successful every time but you do end up conquering it,’ said Millar.
Meanwhile, adding to their continued support, BHP Billiton Aluminium SA representative Norman Nxumalo Nxumalo said the company continued to invest in education encouraging students to pursue careers in Maths and Science, in pursuit of human development.’
