University of Johannesburg
On Wednesday, I flew up to Johannesburg to see my friend and colleague of more than 20 years, Nic Beukes. His Paleoproterozoic Mineralization Research Group had its annual presentation of their research on Thursday, and Nic invited me to give a short talk on our Antarctic research. It was great to catch up with Nic and his family, Elsa who has been working in the UJ geology department for 27 years, and various other member of the department I've interacted with over the years. As an additional benefit, Sharad Masters, now a professor of geology at the University of the Witswatersrand, was also there. It was great to see him again.
When I first came to South Africa in 1990, Nelson Mandela had just been released from prison. The University of Johannesburg was then Rand Afrikaans University, and I interacted with a number of the students in geology then. Most Afrikaner students had been raised in a culture of fear and prejudice, and many could not imagine living in a country where people of different backgrounds could intermix freely. I came back every year for the next three years, working on a geology project, watching the country change. Then I moved on to other things, and didn't return until 2002. Rand Afrikaans University was transitioning into the University of Johannesburg, the economy was booming (but still wrestling with unemployment), and attitudes were changing. Each time I come back, I see the struggles to repair the damage done by Apartheid and the centuries of repression before it. Some of the issues, particularly economic ones, are similar to those we are struggling with in the US. Others are unique to South Africa, due to individual peoples and circumstances from history. In both countries, many people work to repair historical damage to cultures and peoples, and others prefer to destroy or build for their own selfish purposes at the expense of others. For me, respect for every individual person is the place to start. Societies are better places to live when everyone has the opportunity to make the best of their life without taking from others.
The last photo in my talk at UJ:
Going back in time to when only bacteria were competing and cooperating with each other... Ian and Dale flew to Novo last night. I haven't heard from them, but I'm sure all is fine. I'm scheduled to leave on Monday with the rest of our team.
When I first came to South Africa in 1990, Nelson Mandela had just been released from prison. The University of Johannesburg was then Rand Afrikaans University, and I interacted with a number of the students in geology then. Most Afrikaner students had been raised in a culture of fear and prejudice, and many could not imagine living in a country where people of different backgrounds could intermix freely. I came back every year for the next three years, working on a geology project, watching the country change. Then I moved on to other things, and didn't return until 2002. Rand Afrikaans University was transitioning into the University of Johannesburg, the economy was booming (but still wrestling with unemployment), and attitudes were changing. Each time I come back, I see the struggles to repair the damage done by Apartheid and the centuries of repression before it. Some of the issues, particularly economic ones, are similar to those we are struggling with in the US. Others are unique to South Africa, due to individual peoples and circumstances from history. In both countries, many people work to repair historical damage to cultures and peoples, and others prefer to destroy or build for their own selfish purposes at the expense of others. For me, respect for every individual person is the place to start. Societies are better places to live when everyone has the opportunity to make the best of their life without taking from others.
The last photo in my talk at UJ:
Lake Unteresee, 2008, photo by Dale Andersen. The PAM fluorometer in the background is about 50 cm long.
Going back in time to when only bacteria were competing and cooperating with each other... Ian and Dale flew to Novo last night. I haven't heard from them, but I'm sure all is fine. I'm scheduled to leave on Monday with the rest of our team.
