[AstroNet] FW: [nrfannounce:776] NRF Announcement - Congratulations to Kevin Govender on Winning the Prestigious Edinburgh Medal

[Sam Rametse]

Professional Letter

Well Done Kev!!!!



*From:* Patrick Saunders [mailto:patrick.saunders at nrf.ac.za]
*Sent:* Monday, February 08, 2016 9:50 AM
*To:* NRF Staff; nzg-staff at nzg.ac.za
*Subject:* [nrfannounce:776] NRF Announcement - Congratulations to Kevin
Govender on Winning the Prestigious Edinburgh Medal







The NRF would like to congratulate Kevin Govender on jointly winning the
prestigious Edinburgh Medal for 2016, the first time the award has gone to
a South African.



This year’s medal went jointly to Kevin, who heads up the Office of
Astronomy for Development, and to the International Astronomical Union
(IAU) in recognition of their wide reaching contributions to science. The
announcement was made on Saturday, 06 February and the award will be
officially presented to Kevin and IAU president, Silvia Torres Peimbert, at
the Chambers of the City of Edinburgh Council on 30 March 2016. They will
also give the Edinburgh Medal Address, entitled Astronomy for a Better
World, as part of the 2016 Edinburgh International Science Festival, in the
presence of Lord (Martin) Rees, the Astronomer Royal at this year’s
Edinburgh International Science Festival.



The medal was awarded jointly for the creation and practical establishment
of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), which integrates the
pursuit of scientific knowledge with social development for and with those
most in need. The office, launched in 2011 by the Minister of Science and
Technology, the Honourable Mrs Naledi Pandor, is hosted at SAAO, in
partnership with the NRF and the DST. Under Kevin’s pioneering stewardship,
the OAD has successfully harnessed astronomy in the service of global
education and capacity building. It was established as part of the IAU’s
decadal strategic plan “Astronomy for Development,” which was initiated and
driven within the IAU by the renowned astronomer Prof George Miley.



The Edinburgh Medal is a prestigious award given each year to men and women
of science and technology whose professional achievements are judged to
have made a significant contribution to the understanding and well-being of
humanity. In winning the award, Kevin joins such luminaries as Prof Jane
Goodall and Sir David Attenborough as well as Nobel laureates Prof Abdus
Salam and Sir John Edward Sulston.



Congratulations on achieving international recognition with such an
important win, Kevin.





























































































Meiring Naude Road
Brummeria
PO Box 2600
Pretoria, 0001
South Africa
http://www.nrf.ac.za

*Patrick Saunders*
Copy Writer and Editor
Corporate Communications
Tel: +27 12 481 4271
Email: patrick.saunders at nrf.ac.za

http://www.nrf.ac.za/email-legal-notice.php
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