Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina unveils new infrastructure at Nelson Mandela University
New microscopes boost South Africa’s advanced research capacity
The Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, yesterday unveiled new infrastructure at Mandela University in Gqeberha, marking the renewal and expansion of microscopy research in South Africa.
The Deputy Minister unveiled two new scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) that offer greater stability, faster acquisition, substantially stronger signals, and sharper images than the predecessor equipment at the university’s Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (CHRTEM).
Dr Gina joined the centre based at the Mandela University’s Ocean Sciences Campus for its 15th anniversary celebration. The CHRTEM was established in 2011, with R90 million funding from the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and its entity, the National Research Foundation (NRF). The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) provided R30 million towards the centre’s building.
Dr Gina remarked that the unveiling underscored the continued evolution and renewal of national research infrastructure, directly aligned with the NRF and DSTI’s strategic priorities.
“The 15th year is not simply a moment to celebrate what has been built, but to commit to ensuring that South Africa remains equipped to see, measure, understand and engineer matter at the scales at which the technologies of tomorrow are being developed,” said the Deputy Minister.
She added that the milestone highlighted how national research infrastructure must continuously evolve to remain relevant, and how strategic public investment enables South Africa to remain competitive in advanced characterisation as technologies demand ever-greater precision at ever-smaller scales.
Professor Jaco Olivier, Director of CHRTEM, took the Deputy Minister through the centre, detailing its history and key milestones, explaining that the centre uses SEMs extensively to study structural materials, particularly steel and aluminium alloys.
He said the new SEMs represent a strategic phase of infrastructure renewal as CHRTEM’s original instruments approach the end of their factory support. Most importantly, the new equipment replaced ageing instruments with advanced technology to maintain South Africa’s competitiveness.
“The acquisition substantially expands Mandela University’s capabilities in advanced scanning electron microscopy and interdisciplinary bioimaging,” he said.
The other significance is the expansion of the centre’s capabilities beyond traditional materials sciences into biomedical imaging and the bioeconomy. It also positions CHRTEM for the next 15 years of technological challenges and sustains the DSTI, the NRF and Mandela University’s commitment to national research infrastructure.
Speaking at a gala dinner celebration later in the day, the Deputy Minister paid tribute to the partnership, including industry partners such as Sasol, Element Six, and Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, for co-investing with government over the years, saying CHRTEM has held a unique and profound distinction.
“It remains the only facility on the African continent home to a double aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. It is the only place in Africa where scientists can physically see and manipulate atoms,” said Dr Gina.
In the past 15 years, the facility logged over a 40000 microscope hours, supported and trained 1000 students, and conducted more than 700 research projects, serving as a critical engine for South Africa’s innovation.
From investigating the structural integrity of materials used in heavy industry to unlocking innovations in energy storage, advanced manufacturing and health sciences, it has proved that small-scale observations yield continent-wide impact.
The Deputy Minister said science in Africa was growing consistently, welcoming the news that Morocco was currently installing its own advanced aberration-corrected microscopy infrastructure.
“We celebrate this expansion of advanced scientific infrastructure across the Global South. It validates the path we chose 15 years ago and opens new doors for African leadership and collaboration in the global scientific arena,” said Dr Gina.
The Deputy Minister said South Africa’s science policy implementation plan required the country to prepare for a digital, tech-driven future, and the centre had shifted from simply asking where the atoms are to answering how they behave.
To maintain global competitiveness, the Deputy Minister urged the CHRTEM to look beyond the horizon, saying the DSTI remained fully committed to supporting strategic research infrastructure through frameworks such as the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap.
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