组织培养年轻的非洲科学家成为“下一个爱因斯坦”

Organization Urges Young African Scientists to Become ‘the Next Einstein’

Researchers from all over Africa presented their work at the recent Next Einstein Forum¹ conference in Rwanda.

Conference organizers set up the event to provide support for the development of young scientists across Africa. Organizers called it the largest-ever gathering² of scientists on the continent.

South African genetics expert Vinet Coetzee spoke³ at the meeting. She talked about a device to help doctors identify persons with malaria⁴. This could be extremely useful in rural areas since the device does not need blood or even laboratory tests.

Coetzee said the device can provide test results quickly, is not costly⁵ and does not require a medical treatment.

“It can reduce health inequality and bring us one step closer to a world free of malaria,” she added.

Peter Ngene, a chemistry professor from Nigeria, spoke about nanotechnology: the science of making unimaginably small things. Ngene described how he plans to use extremely small devices to store energy from the sun. He said, “We can go from a dark continent to a bright continent.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame is the current head of the African Union. He opened the conference by linking scientific progress to Africa’s development at large.

Kagame said, “Today, more than ever before…math and science proficiency⁶ is a prerequisite⁷ for…high-income status and the gains in health and well-being⁸ that go along with it.”

“For too long, Africa has allowed itself to be left behind,” the president added. He noted⁹ that as the continent aims to compete on the same level as other area of the world, it cannot leave out women and girls. Kagame urged Africans not to accept the international custom of men outnumbering women in scientific positions and research.

Eliane Ubalijoro is a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She noted the large number of women at the conference.

Africa falls behind the rest of the world in scientific production. But research on the continent is growing quickly. And a United Nations report showed that some African nations have increased their research and development spending “to the level of a middle-income economy.” Three examples are Ethiopia, Kenya and Mali.

The Next Einstein Forum was launched in 2013. The forum now supports 19 African science fellows, along with an Africa Science Week at schools in 30 countries. At the meeting last month, the group launched Scientific African, a magazine to publicize new research. It is to be published four times a year.

The forum is a product of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. The institute provides financial aid for students to earn masters’ degrees in mathematics at centers in Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. More than 1,500 students from 43 African countries have completed their studies through the program since 2003. And 32 percent of them are women.

The program supporting Africans who study mathematics was the idea of South African-born physicist¹⁰ Neil Turok. He grew up as his parents fought apartheid, the country’s former system of racial separation.

Turok told the conference, “My parents took pride in combatting injustice¹¹ and they were thrown in jail. It was difficult for me personally, but it was good for my studies because I threw myself into my work.”

Turok gained success in physics and mathematics. He worked with Stephen Hawking¹², taught at Princeton University in the United States and become the director of the Perimeter¹³ Institute in Canada. The institute is an independent research center for experimental physics.

His father then urged him to do something for Africa. So he set up the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in 2003. Ten years later, the Next Einstein Forum was launched.

Turok said he believes the world’s next Albert Einstein can come from Africa.

“When Africans enter science in large numbers, with their diversity…and motivation, they will make massive…discoveries,” he suggested. “Those discoveries are just waiting there to be made.”

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

proficiency – n. the quality of being good at doing something

prerequisite – n. something that you officially must have or do before you can have or do something else

income – n. money that is earned from work, investments, or business

status – n. the position or rank of someone or something when compared to others in a society, organization, or group

allow(ed) – v. to permit something

masters’ degree(s) – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after one or two years of additional study following a bachelor's degree

pride – n. a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people

combat(ting) – v. to try to stop something from happening or getting worse

diversity – n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas

motivation – n. the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

7 prerequisite   

n.先决条件；adj.作为前提的，必备的

参考例句：

• Stability and unity are a prerequisite to the four modernizations.安定团结是实现四个现代化的前提。
• It is a prerequisite of entry to the profession that you pass the exams.做这一行的先决条件是要通过了有关的考试。

8 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

11 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

12 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

13 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。