Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award
Encyclopedia
The Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award is awarded annually by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. It is considered the top award for research on the African continent.
, by the Trustees of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, itself established in 1958 by Harry Oppenheimer
in memory of his father, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer
.
The philanthropic vision of the once-richest man in the world is embedded within the three Foundations that memorialize him both as a visionary and a caring entrepreneur
, in what was once the deeply divided and oppressive apartheid society, before Nelson Mandela
’s South Africa
became a model for democracy
and development:
and intellectual
achievement at the highest level. They must have demonstrated a capacity for and a commitment to knowledge transfer to their fellow citizens. Up to now the Award has only been presented to South Africans or South Africa-based academics.
The Award is made by a select committee and approved by the Trustees in December of each year. The Secretary General of the Academy of Science of South Africa chairs the selection proceedings.
The remittance ceremony takes place in April following the year of the Award, at the Oppenheimers’ residence, Brenthurst, in Johannesburg
. The Award (a gold medal and a monetary prize) is bestowed by Mrs. Harry (Bridget) Oppenheimer.
In Memory of Harry Oppenheimer
The Award was created in 2001, in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, by the Trustees of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, itself established in 1958 by Harry Oppenheimer
Harry Oppenheimer
Harry Frederick Oppenheimer was a prominent South African businessman and one of the world's richest men...
in memory of his father, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer
Ernest Oppenheimer
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer was a diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa.-Career:...
.
The philanthropic vision of the once-richest man in the world is embedded within the three Foundations that memorialize him both as a visionary and a caring entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, in what was once the deeply divided and oppressive apartheid society, before Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
’s South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
became a model for democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and development:
- The Brenthurst FoundationBrenthurst FoundationThe Brenthurst Foundation is a Johannesburg-based think-tank established by the Oppenheimer family in 2005 to support the Brenthurst Initiative in seeking ways to fund African development, and to organize conferences on African competitiveness. Its director is Greg Mills.-Description:The...
contributes energetically to developing economic empowerment in Africa. - The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust funds and encourages scienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, the artsARtsaRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and the search for knowledge, through various grants and initiatives, and awards Africa's premier research prize, the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award. - The Brenthurst LibraryBrenthurst LibraryThe Brenthurst Library is a private repository of Africana in Johannesburg built by Harry Oppenheimer in 1984 as he started to disengage from the family's mining interests. It houses a collection of some 20 000 volumes, including rare manuscripts and documents...
which houses one the largest collection of rare AfricanaAfricana studiesIn United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa and in the African diaspora....
in the world and the celebrated transcripts of Nelson Mandela's trials.
How the Fellowship Award is bestowed
Awardees are leading scholars who have a sustained record of outstanding researchResearch
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
achievement at the highest level. They must have demonstrated a capacity for and a commitment to knowledge transfer to their fellow citizens. Up to now the Award has only been presented to South Africans or South Africa-based academics.
The Award is made by a select committee and approved by the Trustees in December of each year. The Secretary General of the Academy of Science of South Africa chairs the selection proceedings.
The remittance ceremony takes place in April following the year of the Award, at the Oppenheimers’ residence, Brenthurst, in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. The Award (a gold medal and a monetary prize) is bestowed by Mrs. Harry (Bridget) Oppenheimer.
List of Laureates
- 2009: Awarded to Professor Jill Farrant, who holds the research chair in the molecular physiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
of plant desiccationDesiccationDesiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.-Science:...
tolerance at the University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape TownThe University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
and who is investigating the properties of the mostly South African drought-resistant "resurrection plantResurrection plantA resurrection plant is any plant with the habit of reviving after seeming to be dead or of seeming to revive when being in fact dead.Examples include...
s". She will use the award funds to allow her to work with Professor Felix Keller of the University of ZurichUniversity of ZurichThe University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
's Institute of Plant Biology and with Doctor Francesco Loreto of Italy's Consiglio Nazionale delle RicercheConsiglio Nazionale delle RicercheThe Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche or National Research Council, is an Italian public organization set up to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome.-History:The institution was founded in 1923...
(National Research Council) who investigates minuscule lipidLipidLipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...
"volatiles" (chemical signals). - 2008: Philosopher and leading scholar in rhetoricRhetoricRhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
Philippe-Joseph SalazarPhilippe-Joseph SalazarPhilippe-Joseph Salazar is a French rhetorician and philosopher born 1955, Casablanca, Morocco. Educated at Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Alumnus of École Normale Supérieure, Paris and past director at Collège international de philosophie, Paris, founded by Jacques Derrida. Currently...
, based at the University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape TownThe University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
. Salazar, who studied with philosophers Louis AlthusserLouis AlthusserLouis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
and Emmanuel LevinasEmmanuel LévinasEmmanuel Levinas was a Lithuanian-born French Jewish philosopher and Talmudic commentator.-Life:Emanuelis Levinas received a traditional Jewish education in Lithuania...
, is an alumnus of the prestigious Ecole Normale SupérieureÉcole Normale SupérieureThe École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
(France). A past director at Jacques DerridaJacques DerridaJacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
’s foundation, Collège International de PhilosophieCollège international de philosophieThe Collège international de philosophie , located in Paris' 5th arrondissement, is a tertiary education institute placed under the trusteeship of the French government department of research and chartered under the French 1901 Law on associations...
, he is one of the main disciples of Marc FumaroliMarc FumaroliMarc Fumaroli was born June 10, 1932 in Marseille. A historian and essayist, he was elected to the Académie française March 2, 1995 and became its Director. He is also a member of the Académie des Inscriptions, the sister academy devoted to high erudition...
, himself a laureate of the Balzan PrizeBalzan PrizeThe International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
. His pioneering work on rhetoric has placed him at the forefront of this new discipline. He is a noted chronicler on rhetoric and politics for the French public intellectual news magazine L'Annuel des idées.http://www.annuel-idees.fr/+-Le-Rheteur-cosmopolite-+.html - 2007: Jointly awarded to Professor Jeff Guy South African History ProjectSouth African History ProjectThe South African History Project was established and initiated by Professor Kader Asmal, former Minister of Education in South Africa...
and Professor Winston Hide. Winston Hide is a leader in stem cells research in relation to recurrence of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in recovered patients. Jeff Guy is a leading historian of traditional Africanism. - 2006: University of Stellenbosch Professor Paul Cilliers http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harry_Oppenheimer_Fellowship_Award&action=edit in recognition of his outstanding achievements in developing a general understanding of the characteristics and nature of complex systemsComplex systemsComplex systems present problems in mathematical modelling.The equations from which complex system models are developed generally derive from statistical physics, information theory and non-linear dynamics, and represent organized but unpredictable behaviors of systems of nature that are considered...
. - 2005: Professor Norman Owen-Smith http://web.wits.ac.za/Academic/Science/APES/Staff/AcademicStaff/Owen-Smith, an A-rated scientist in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the WitwatersrandThe University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
was awarded in recognition for his outstanding work in helping to foster an understanding of the dynamics of large mammalian herbivores in changing environments. - 2004: Jointly awarded to Professor Igor Barashenkov http://www.mth.uct.ac.za/~webpages/barashenkov/ and Professor Frank Brombacher http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/immun/infran.htmhttp://www.whoswhosa.co.za/user/1520, Director of the MRC Unit for ImmunologyImmunologyImmunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
of Infectious Diseases in the IIDMM, University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape TownThe University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
. - 2003: No award presented.
- 2002: Professor Jan-Hendrik Hofmeyr of the Department of BiochemistryBiochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
at the University of Stellenbosch, for his pioneering work on the organization and behaviour of the living cell. - 2001: Professor David Glasser of the School of Process and Material EngineeringEngineeringEngineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
at the University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the WitwatersrandThe University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
was the first recipient of the award.