The US Witsie

At the launch of the WIC, Mr Letlotlo Phohole , WIC Senior Manager, Dr David Fine, and Dr Adam Pantanowitz, the inaugural Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation and WIC Director.

The WIC will harness the creativity and ingenuity of the University’s rich, diverse community of innovators to solve complex, real-world problems.

The new Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) was officially launched earlier this month, and is a dynamic multidisciplinary hub that enables a space to create, collaborate, and engage in impactful innovation, across disciplines and sectoral boundaries.

As a starting point, thanks to a generous donation from Wits alumnus and innovator, Dr David Fine, the new Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation has also been established. The Chair in Innovation is being held by Dr Adam Pantanowitz, iconic biomedical and electrical engineer at Wits. He is also the first Director of the WIC.

An artificial intelligence expert, technologist, and entrepreneur, Pantanowitz is well-known for initiating and leading the first group in the world to connect a human brain live and mobile to the internet in a project called the Brainternet – a term he coined.

“When we look around, we might see our world filled with challenges. We have, however, all of the tools available to us to find solutions. The WIC’s arrival ushers in a new impetus to do so, leveraging the great assets, minds, and tools at our University," said Pantanowitz.

Read more here.

Dr Margaret Spitz (Wits MBBCh 1966) recently shared with us the sad news of the passing of her beloved husband, Dr Louis Berman. We extend to her and to his family and friends, our deepest condolences.  

An extract taken from the official obituary:
"Louis Berman was born on February 27,1934 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Isaac and Dora Berman. His first language was Yiddish. He learned English when he started elementary school. Despite this inauspicious start, he excelled as a student including winning first prize in Latin and Hebrew across the country. He was the first in his family to attend University and graduated as a physician in 1957. Louis trained in Rheumatology in Chicago and London, was the first certified rheumatologist in South Africa, and trained a generation of medical students; one of whom, Margaret Spitz, later became his wife. They were married for 55 years.

In 1978, they emigrated to Houston to provide their children with greater opportunities and freedom. He built a thriving rheumatology practice and was much beloved by his patients and staff. Louis was a superb physician and an astute diagnostician. Well before other men in his generation, he was remarkably supportive and proud of his wife’s academic successes."