On this day in science 6 July In 1476, Regiomontanus, a German astronomer and mathematician, died. His work helped advance mathematical astronomy before the telescope era.

Join the NITheCS Colloquium: 'Building an AI Future for the Western Cape' with Dr Nick Bradshaw (South African AI Association) 📅 Monday, 13 July 🕓 16h00–17h00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/uUZvlhO #AIForGood #WesternCapeAICluster #AISouthAfrica #AIInnovation #DataScience #SAAIA

The NRF Connect System is currently experiencing technical issues due to high traffic. As a result, the NRF will extend the closing date for Masters and Doctoral funding applications and announce the new deadlines soon. #NRFFunding #PostgraduateFunding #MastersFunding #DoctoralFunding

NITheCS & QSUN Seminar: Cosmological Structure Growth in Energy-Momentum Squared Gravity (EMSG) by Dr Payel Sarkar (UCT) 📅 Fri, 3 Jul 🕑 14h00–15h00 SAST Attend in person or online. buff.ly/BdxzrNB #ModifiedGravity #Cosmology #GeneralRelativity #TheoreticalPhysics #LargeScaleStructure #Astrophysics

On this day in science 30 June In 1908, the Tunguska event occurred when a space object exploded over Siberia, flattening a huge forested area. Why it matters: Events like Tunguska show why scientists model near-Earth objects, impact risks, atmospheric explosions, and planetary defence.

NITheCS Mini-school Join Dr Jan Blomerus and Franco Deacon (UFS) for 4 online lectures on how to build, train & deploy deep neural networks using Julia. 📅 Wed: 1, 15, 22 & 29 July 🕑 14h00 SAST buff.ly/AM4KvAV #DeepLearning #NeuralNetworks #MachineLearning #JuliaLang #DataScience #RegressionAnalysis

Join us for the NITheCS Colloquium: ‘The Life and Legacy of Emmy Noether: The Forgotten Architect of Modern Physics’ 🎙️Dhiya Dharampal (SU) & Raphael De Sousa (NITheCS) 📅 Mon, 6 July 🕓 16h00–17h00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/4H0mXZb #NITheCS #EmmyNoether #GeneralRelativity #WomenInSTEM

Join the NITheCS Colloquium: ‘Thinking About Quantum + AI and its Implications for Policy’ 🎙️Dylan Barry (von Neumann Commission | Harvard Kennedy School | The Economist) 📅 Mon, 29 June 🕓 16:00–17:00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/uBMdTkH #QuantumComputing #AI #SciencePolicy #QuantumAI

Join the NITheCS Micro-school on ‘Agentic Workflows’, presented by Dr Dean Brand (Stellenbosch University). 📅 Friday, 26 June 2026 ⏰ 12h00–12h30 SAST 💻 Attend online Register: buff.ly/YRQkBdP #AgenticWorkflows #AIAgents #ClaudeCode #OpenAICodex #ResearchSoftware #ComputationalScience

On this day in science 24 June in 1915, Fred Hoyle was born. He became a major astronomer and mathematician, known for his work on stellar nucleosynthesis how elements are formed inside stars.

On this day in science 23 June in 1912, Alan Turing was born. He helped lay the foundations of theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, and modern computing.

Apply by 23 June to attend the RSSE Africa FREE Hands-on Workshop: Practical Techniques for Improving Python Code in Research. 📍 Uni. of the Western Cape 🗓 7–9 July 2026 buff.ly/eq8GpLD #ResearchSoftware #Python #OpenScience #ResearchComputing #RSSEAfrica #ResearchSoftwareEngineering #AIforResearch

On this day in science 22 June in 1978, Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, was discovered by James Christy and Robert Harrington at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

On this day in science 19 June In 1623, Blaise Pascal was born. He made major contributions to mathematics, probability, physics, and early mechanical calculation.

Thank you,Prof Dephney Mathebula-Periola , for an incredible colloquium on "Smart Crawlers for Infectious Disease Modelling: Automating Data Acquisition in the Digital Age " such an insightful session! Recording of the colloquium coming soon on the NITheCS YouTube Channel.

On this day in science 18 JuneI n 2009, NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to map the Moon and collect detailed data about its surface, temperature, radiation environment, and possible water ice.

Join the NITheCS Colloquium: 'Boosting the Predictability of the Market Risk Premium' 🎙️ Prof Jens Jackwerth (Uni. of Konstanz, Germany) 📅 Mon, 22 June @ 16:00 SAST Attend in person or online. buff.ly/5ZziTW2 #MarketRiskPremium #FinancialEconomics #AssetPricing #RiskManagement #QuantitativeFinance

On this day in science 17 June in 1917, Atle Selberg was born. He became a major mathematician known for work in number theory and for an elementary proof linked to the prime number theorem.

Thanks for joining NITheCS colloquium "Smart Crawlers for Infectious Disease Modelling: Automating Data Acquisition in the Digital Age " led by Prof Dephney Mathebula-Periola (University of Fort Hare) . We appreciate both audiences.

Prof Dephney Mathebula-Periola recently announced her NITheCS Colloquium on radio. Her talk, “Smart Crawlers for Infectious Disease Modelling,” explores how intelligent digital crawlers can improve data collection for disease modelling and support faster public health decisions.

Reminder: NITheCS Colloquium: "Smart Crawlers for Infectious Disease Modelling: Automating Data Acquisition in the Digital Age" by Dephney Mathebula-Periola. 📅 Mon, 15 Jun 🕓 16:00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/UGR4dmS #DigitalEpidemiology #InfectiousDiseaseModelling #DataScienceForHealth

On this day in science 15 June In 763 BC, an Assyrian solar eclipse was recorded. It became one of the important ancient astronomical records used by historians and astronomers. Why it matters: Eclipse records help scientists and historians model celestial motion and anchor ancient timelines.

On this day in science 12 June in 1937, Vladimir Arnold was born. He became a major figure in mathematics, known for work in dynamical systems, differential equations, and mathematical physics.

2026 NITheCS FameLab SA Heat Winners Winner: Kaela Kokkas First Runner-Up: Vitalis Mbayo Third Runner-Up: Courtney Brown NITheCS congratulates Kaela, Vitalis, and Courtney on their outstanding performances and celebrates their contribution to making science clear and engaging

On 11 June 1910, ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau was born.He helped bring ocean science to the public through underwater exploration and documentaries.

NITheCS & UKZN Seminar: ‘Platypus Stars: Self-Gravitating Vacuum Compact Objects’ by Prof Gonzalo J. Olmo. 📅 Friday, 12 June 2026 🕚 11:00–12:00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/pP3H1rM #PlatypusStars #TheoreticalPhysics #GeneralRelativity #BlackHolePhysics #AstrophysicsResearch

Thank you, Dr Hanelie Adendorff and Ms Sukaina Walji for an incredible colloquium on "When the proxy breaks: What GenAI reveals about assessment ." Such an insightful session! Recording coming soon on the NITheCS YouTube Channel.

Join us for the NITheCS & QSUN Seminar: ‘A Gentle Introduction to Experimental Semiconductor Physics’ 🎙️ Jo-Marie Rossouw (UWC) 📅 Fri, 12 Jun @ 14h00 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/Ci1hqqj #NITheCS #SemiconductorPhysics #QuantumMaterials #CondensedMatterPhysics #Nanoscience #MaterialsScience

On this day in science — 9 June In 1812, Johann Gottfried Galle was born. He later became the first astronomer to observe and identify Neptune, after its position had been predicted mathematically.

Thanks for joining NITheCS colloquium "When the proxy breaks: What GenAI reveals about assessment " led by Dr Hanelie Adendorff (Stellenbosch University) and Ms Sukaina Walji (University of Cape Town) . We appreciate both audiences

Dr Hanelie Adendorff and Ms Sukaina Walji were live on MFM Radio, joined by NITheCS Director Prof Francesco Petruccione, to speak about their NITheCS Colloquium on GenAI and assessment.

On this day in science — 8 June is World Oceans Day, recognised by the United Nations to highlight the ocean’s role in climate, biodiversity, and life on Earth.

NITheCS Mini-school: ‘The Geometry of Constraints: From Dirac’s Formalism to the Batalin–Tyutin Construction’, by Partha Nandi & Raphael De Sousa Attend 3 online lectures: 📅 Wed, 10, 17 & 24 Jun ⏰ 14h00 SAST buff.ly/c0VX3nh #TheoreticalPhysics #MathematicalPhysics #GaugeTheory #ConstrainedSystems

On this day in science — 5 June In 1981, the CDC published the first official report of what would later be known as AIDS. Why it matters: Disease surveillance relies on data, modelling, and early detection to understand public health risks.

Join us for the NITheCS & QSUN Seminar: ‘Stochastic Krylov Dynamics: Revisiting Operator Growth in Open Quantum Systems’ 🎙️ Mr Mpho Tladi (UCT) 📅 Friday, 5 June ⏰ 14h00–15h00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/mdPbfvO #QuantumPhysics #OpenQuantumSystems #QuantumComplexity #TheoreticalPhysics

On this day in science 4 June In 1754, Franz Xaver von Zach was born. He became an astronomer known for organising coordinated sky observations and scientific publishing. Why it matters: Coordinated observations helped astronomy become more systematic and collaborative.

Thanks for joining NITheCS colloquium "Discovering New Antimalarial Compounds Through Computational Modelling and Experimental Validation " led by Dr Fortunate Mokoena (North-West University). We appreciate both audiences.

Apply for a 2026 Rhodes Scholarship. This is a fully funded opportunity to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford. You need an outstanding academic record, leadership potential and a commitment to service. 🔗 buff.ly/bLFqYeL #RhodesScholarship #OxfordUniversity #PostgraduateFunding

NITheCS & UKZN Seminar: ‘Is there a relationship between Gravitational Arrow of Time & Singularity Censorship during Collapse?’ 👨‍🔬 Dr Samarjit Chakraborty 📅 Thurs, 11 Jun 🕛 12h15 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/1WQg8d0 #GravitationalArrowOfTime #CosmicCensorship #BlackHolePhysics #Singularity

On this day in science 3 June In 1726, James Hutton was born. He is often called the father of modern geology and helped show that Earth’s surface changes through slow, continuous processes over deep time.

On this day in science 2 June In 1896, Guglielmo Marconi applied for a patent for wireless telegraphy, helping launch the age of radio communication.

On this day in science — 1 June In 1796, Sadi Carnot was born. His work helped lay the foundation for thermodynamics, especially how heat engines convert heat into work. Why it matters: Thermodynamics is central to modelling energy, engines, climate systems, and complex physical processes.

On this day in science 30 MayIn 1971, NASA launched Mariner 9 to Mars. It became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet and later mapped about 85% of the Martian surface.

📢 NITheCS Colloquium: "When the Proxy Breaks: What GenAI Reveals About Assessment", by Dr Hanelie Adendorff (SU) & Ms Sukaina Walji (UCT). 📅 Mon, 8 June 🕓 16:00–17:00 SAST 📍 Attend in person or online buff.ly/95BsZi5 #GenerativeAI #AIinEducation #AssessmentInnovation #HigherEducation

On this day in science 29 May In 1881, Theodore von Kármán was born. He became one of the leading figures in aerodynamics and fluid mechanics, helping scientists understand how air and fluids move around objects.

Thank you, Prof Thinus Booysen,Dr Stephan Lacock and Lewis Seymour for an incredible colloquium on "Africa’s electric motorbike future can be built locally and powered by solar (our 6,000km ride shows what’s possible) " Such an insightful session!

Thanks for joining NITheCS colloquium "Africa’s electric motorbike future can be built locally and powered by solar (our 6,000km ride shows what’s possible) " led by Prof Thinus Booysen (Stellenbosch University) & Dr Stephan Lacock (Stellenbosch University) . We appreciate both audiences.

On this day in science — 27 MayIn 1931, Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer became the first people to reach the stratosphere in a balloon, gathering data on the upper atmosphere and cosmic rays.

🎓 Reminder: Students planning to pursue postgraduate studies in 2027 - please complete the NITheCS Pre-Call Form by 31 May 2026 to register your interest in funding and then apply for NRF funding. buff.ly/mnGZuWn #StudentFunding #PostgraduateFunding #NRFFunding #PostgraduateStudent #Bursary