Theoretical physics in Africa

The National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP) opens its doors this month in the town of Stellenbosch, about 50 km east of Cape Town, South Africa. The institute is one response to the 2005 report Shaping the Future of Physics in South Africa , in which an international panel of physicists recommended that it be established “to respond nimbly to national science policy initiatives.” The main center for NITheP will be located on the campus of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. Two other regional centers have been established in the country at the universities of KwaZulu-Natal and the Witwatersrand.

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California, has served as a model for NITheP, says interim director Hendrik Geyer; David Gross, KITP director, will give the NITheP inauguration talk. Citing the need for more graduate courses in theoretical physics, Geyer says, “We foresee that we will be actively engaged in graduate-level teaching.” Researchers from NITheP will also work with students at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences near Cape Town (see the story on page 25).