scientific edition of Bauman MSTU

SCIENCE & EDUCATION

Bauman Moscow State Technical University.   El № FS 77 - 48211.   ISSN 1994-0408

AFRICA: African Astronomical Society debuts in Cape Town

The first astronomical society encompassing all of Africa has been formally launched at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Cape Town, South Africa. The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) debuted at the Second Middle East-Africa Regional IAU Meeting on 14 April – just three years after the society was first proposed.

The ceremony was attended by astronomers from each of five regions of Africa: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central. There were also representatives from a sixth region designated as the African Diaspora. This society follows in the wake of the African Physical Society (AfPS), which launched last year.

Organize and connect

The aims of the AfAS are to organize and connect a community of astronomers, and to develop resources for astronomy and astrophysics throughout Africa. The American physicist Hakeem Oluseyi has been elected interim president of the society. Oluseyi is at the Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology and has worked in Africa to promote astronomy.

According to its constitution, the main vision of the society is "to be the voice of the astronomy profession in Africa in order to promote and support research on the continent and to facilitate the use of astronomy in addressing the challenges faced by Africa".

The AfAS will promote astronomy as a tool for socioeconomic development in Africa and plans to further the study of mathematics and physics at a school level in order to encourage students to pursue careers in astronomy. It will also advocate the production and dissemination of scientific works by African astronomers. To achieve these goals the society will collaborate with institutions like the IAU, AfPS, UNESCO and the US-based National Society of Black Physicists.

Source: Physicsworld
Photo: Participants of the 2nd Middle East-Africa Regional IAU Meeting in Cape Town witnessed the birth of the African Astronomical Society. (Courtesy: MEARIM II/IAU)