The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) inaugurated 27 new Members this week, increasing its Membership to 396, all of whom are recognised as among South Africa’s top scientists. As the official national Academy of South Africa, ASSAf has as its core function the election of the country’s most outstanding scholars to Membership of the Academy. ASSAf Members are drawn from the full spectrum of disciplines. 

This year the Academy also elected a Foreign Associate Member, Prof Mohamed Hassan, who is only the second since the Academy’ s inception in 1996. He is the Past President of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the Network of African Academies of Science (NASAC) and current Co-chair of the Global Network of Science Academies (IAP). 

Hassan was born in Sudan, and holds a PhD in Plasma Physics from Oxford University. From 1980-1986, he was a Professor and Dean in the School of Mathematical Sciences, Khartoum University, Sudan. From 1983-2011, he served as the Executive Director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) based in Italy. Since 2010, he has served as the Co-chair of the Global Network of Science Academies (IAP). He is a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the Islamic World Academy of Sciences. 

Hassan has played a critical role in the establishment of science academies on the African continent and championed the founding of the AAS and NASAC. In particular, he assisted ASSAf in its infancy phase by ensuring that it reaped the benefits from capacity building grants, which saw ASSAf playing a crucial role in issues such as water, science education, biosecurity and scientific writing in Africa. 

Amongst his other achievements are the championing of the Organisation for Women Scientists in the Developing World, Young Academies and the participation of young scientists in the World Economic Forum, which saw many South African young scientists participating in global scientific debates. Hassan has also played a role in reviewing the Department of Science and Technology’s strategies and prepared a UNESCO 2010 Science Report for sub-Saharan Africa which hailed the South African Science and Technology development within the region. 

ASSAf is a self-perpetuating organisation in which new Members are elected each year by the full existing Membership. Members are the core asset of the Academy and give of their time and expertise voluntarily in the service of society. 

The new ASSAf Members in 2012 are: 

PROF ALF BOTHA	Professor of Microbiology at Stellenbosch University
PROF DUNCAN BROWN	Dean of the Arts Faculty at the University of the Western Cape
PROF JANE CARRUTHERS	Currently has a research position in the Department of History at the University of South Africa in Pretoria.
PROF MICHAEL CHERRY	Professor of Zoology at the University of Stellenbosch
PROF PUMLA GOBODO-MADIKIZELA	Senior Research Professor on trauma, forgiveness and reconciliation at the University of the Free State
PROF KESHLAN GOVINDER	Dean and Head of School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal
PROF MINRIE GREEFF	Professor in research in the Africa Unit for Trans-disciplinary Health Research at the North-West University
PROF ADAM HABIB	Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, Innovation and Advancement at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa
PROF HENRIETTE HAY	Vice Rector: Academic at the University of the Free State, responsible for teaching, learning and research
PROF CHRISTOF HEYNS	Professor of Human Rights Law and Co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria
PROF HEIDI HUDSON	Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State
PROF NELSON IJUMBA	Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and also a Professor of Electrical Engineering
PROF KLAUS KOCH	Currently the executive HOD of Chemistry and Polymer Science of this Department at Stellenbosch University, actively maintaining the Platinum Metals Chemistry Research Group of which he was the founder at SU
PROF LODEWYK KOCK	Distinguished Professor at the University of the Free State,  Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology
PROF SHABIR MADHI	Currently the Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases at the National Health Laboratory Services. Professor of Vaccinology, University of Witwatersrand DST/NRF Research Chair: Vaccine Preventable Diseases
PROF THAD METZ	Humanities Research Professor and Head of Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg
PROF ROBERT MILLAR	Currently Director of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria and Director of the UCT/MRC Receptor Biology Group
PROF MALOSE MPHAHLELE	Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of South Africa
PROF MARTIN NTWAEABORWA	Professor of Physics at the University of the Free State
PROF HUGH PATTERTON	Professor and Director: Advanced Biomolecular Research Cluster at the University of the Free State
PROF IAN PHIMISTER	Senior Research Professor at the University of the Free State
PROF DERESH RAMJUGERNATH	Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Director of the Thermodynamics Research Unit
PROF LYN WADLEY	Honorary Professor of Archaeology in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is also affiliated to the Institute for Human Evolution at the University
PROF MELANIE WALKER	Director of Research Training and a Senior Researcher in the EU-funded Marie Curie EDUWEL project (2010-2014) at the University of the Free State
PROF HERMAN WASSERMAN	Professor and Deputy Head of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University
PROF ALAN WEINBERG	Emeritus Professor, who served UNISA for 41 years before retirement. He is currently contracted by the Research Department at UNISA and is assisting with NRF applications, and with initiatives to advance research at the university. He is also working with post-graduate students in the English Department at Wits.
PROF CAROLYN WILLIAMSON	Professor and Head of Division of Medical Virology at the University of Cape Town
PROF MOHAMED HASSAN	Past President of the African Academy of Sciences and the Network of African Academies of Science and current Co-chair of the Global Network of Science Academies.

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