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'Tis the season to be
Thankful! And we say, to each and everyone one of you:
thank you for flying the Wits flag high,
wherever you are in the country.
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Wits University turned 100 in 2022, and so
did two of its distinguished alumni: Sir Sydney Woolf
Kentridge KC (BA 1942, LLD honoris causa 2000) and
Prof Joshua Levy (BA 1942, MBBCh 1947).
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LEGAL GIANT: Treason Trial and Biko
inquest advocate, a hero - Sydney Kentridge turned 100
Inspiring profiles on one of Wits
University's most outstanding graduates, Sir Sydney
Kentridge "a South African legal centurion who never
flinched from taking on the state at its venal
worst", in the Daily Maverick, and
in the latest issue of the Wits Review.
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Retired radiologist Professor Joshua
Levy (BA 1942, MBBCh 1947) celebrated his 100th birthday
on 1 November 2022.
Dr Les Glassman (BSc 1979, BDS 1984),
the University’s representative in Israel, presented
Professor Levy with centenary gifts on the special day.
Read more here, and watch a video
of the special presentation to Prof Levy here.
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KEEP GOING, STRAIGHT-STRAIGHT, UNTIL THE NEXT
ROBOT: HOW AN AI OBSESSION TOOK ONE WITSIE FROM THE LIBRARY
LAWNS TO THE IVY LEAGUE
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Prof George Konidaris is an Associate
Professor of Computer Science at Brown University, where he
directs the Intelligent Robot Lab. He is
also a co-founder and the Chief Roboticist of Realtime
Robotics, a startup based on hardware-accelerated motion
planning technology he co-invented while he was a professor
at Duke. Prof Konidaris is also a member of the Wits Fund
board.
Prof
Konidaris will explore the future of artificial
intelligence (AI), robotics, and computer science – as well
as share stories of growing up in Joburg in the 80s and
90s, finding his passion for AI at Wits, and his journey
since then.
Prof Konidaris has a Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts
Amherst), MSc (University of Edinburgh); BSc 2000 and
BScHons 2001 (Wits). He also serves on the Advisory Board
of the Deep Learning Indaba and is the recent recipient of
an NSF CAREER award, young faculty awards from DARPA and the
AFOSR, and the Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award
and Karen T. Romer Award for undergraduate advising from
Brown. Prior to joining Brown, he held a faculty position
at Duke and was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT.
The Wits Fund Indaba will be a Zoom webinar and will be
moderated by Mr Indran Naick a senior technical
leader at IBM and a member of the Wits Fund
board.
DATE: December 6th, 8pm ET
RSVP to nooshin.erfani-ghadimi@wits.ac.za
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The University of the Witwatersrand
Fund, Inc. is a corporation under the
Internal Revenue Code, section 501 (c) (3). Donations are
tax deductible to the extent provided by law. The Wits
Fund IRS EIN number is: 13-3902012.
Vision
To
ensure that Wits University remains one of Africa’s – and
the world’s –
pre-eminent research-intensive educational institutions,
with top academic standards, committed faculty, and
supportive alumni.
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First African Civil Engineer Inducted into
Wits Wall of Fame
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Dr Solomon Lefakane, the first African to
obtain a Civil Engineering degree in 1961, is the first
Wits alumnus to be inducted into the Engineering Wall of
Fame.
The Faculty of Engineering and the Built
Environment unveiled its honorary Wall of Fame as part of
Wits University's Centenary celebration.
Dr Lefakane was the first African to receive
an engineering degree in South Africa in 1961 after
obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil
Engineering. The momentous occasion was attended by various
Heads of Schools, and former First Lady and Witsie, Mrs
Zanele Mbeki.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and
Innovation, Professor Lynn Morris, opened the ceremony and
reflected on Wits' achievements over the last 100 years.
"It has really been a wonderful year
for Wits. We've been celebrating excellence at all levels
at this great university. We've reflected on our past
achievements and reconnected with old friends and alumni
all over the world," said Morris.
Read
more here.
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Love the new look
newsletter? Have some suggestions? Want to tell us your
story of how you got here? Please write in and tell us: https://witsfund.org/contact/
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