CAPE TOWN, South Africa and
STUTTGART, Germany, July 24, 2014 /CNW/ - One of Africa's brightest young minds, the
mathematician and computer scientist Dr. Antoine Tambue, has returned to Africa to continue his research career in a
field of relevance to Africa's
development. His return is being facilitated through the AIMS ARETÉ
Junior Chairs programme, which provides high-profile and pioneering
academic positions to young African scientists. The programme, a
collaboration between the African Institute for Mathematical
Sciences – Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS-NEI) and the Robert Bosch
Stiftung (Germany), offers an
opportunity for African scientists currently studying or working
overseas, to return to Africa to
continue their research work and contribute to Africa's growth through research and
teaching.
The goal of the AIMS ARETÉ Junior Chairs programme is to build a
community of motivated and talented scientists who will undertake
international-class scientific work on the African continent.
On accepting the inaugural AIMS ARETÉ Junior Chair position, Dr
Tambue said: "Being awarded with the ARETÉ Chair position to me
feels like receiving the Fields Medal. This programme allows me to
continue international-class research as well as help to build
international recognition for research in Africa. I was not only awarded a long-term
position at an AIMS Centre but also entered into a partnership with
the University of Cape Town
(South Africa) in a leading group
(Centre for Computational Mechanics - CERECAM) in my
field."
Dr. Tambue will be based at the Research Centre at AIMS-South
Africa in Muizenberg, Cape
Town.
Thierry Zomahoun, Executive Director of the AIMS-NEI Global
Secretariat, states that: "These AIMS ARETÉ Chair positions are of
highest importance and provide previously unthought-of
opportunities for developing research capacity in Africa by strengthening the capacity and
profile of top African scientists like Dr. Tambue and facilitating
their return and integration into the academic environment in
Africa."
The programme awards 5-year Junior Chair positions to AIMS
alumni currently residing outside of Africa who have interest in both performing
international class research while also contributing to the
scientific development of Africa.
The chair holders will be based at an AIMS Research Centre and
provided with adequate resources for a fully functional and high
performing research team, including equipment and travel allowance
to visit national and international partner institutions.
Born in Cameroon and having
taken up an interest in mathematics from a young age, Dr. Tambue
has a strong academic background in Applied Mathematics and
Computer Sciences as well as in Mathematics education. From his
studies at AIMS-South Africa where he received a postgraduate
Diploma in Mathematics with a Major in Financial Engineering he
moved on to obtain his PhD in Mathematics at Heriot Watt University (Scotland) via an interdisciplinary
collaborative project. While holding a postdoctoral research
position at the University of Bergen
(Norway), Dr. Tambue spent time
both at AIMS-Ghana and AIMS-Senegal as a visiting lecturer.
Dr. Tambue has a proven track record of exceptional research
experience and numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. His
main interest lies in Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). Key
applications of his research, particularly in Africa, are oil and gas recovery from
hydrocarbon reservoirs, groundwater contamination and sustainable
use of groundwater resources, storing greenhouse gases (e.g.
CO2), radioactive waste in the subsurface or mining heat
from geothermal reservoirs. His goal is to accurately forecast
energy production in oil, gas and geothermal reservoirs or predict
the spatial and temporal spread of pollution in groundwater
reservoirs. Dr. Tambue's achievements will directly feed into
efforts not only for environmental protection and waste management
but also potentially open up new opportunities for African
countries to develop their own industries, including petroleum
exploration.
The sustainable use of natural resources is a global challenge,
but Africa's abundance also offers
an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate how these resources can
be responsibly used for the greater good. "Science can make a
huge contribution to understand the complex processes between the
utilization of resources and its effect, i.e. on water shortage,
loss of biodiversity, and soil degradation", says Dr. Ingrid
Wuenning Tschol, Senior Vice President of the Robert Bosch
Stiftung. "The next generation of talented scientists plays a
key role here. Africa needs
homegrown solutions to effectively face such challenges and many
young African researchers have a tremendous potential to find them.
For that reason, the foundation fosters academic capacity building
in Africa and supports
international cooperation in science and research."
The name of the programme, ARETÉ, refers to the Greek meaning of
excellence, virtue and realization of potential, and stands for
African Research, Education and Teaching
Excellence.
About AIMS and the Next Einstein Initiative
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a
pan-African network of centers of excellence for post graduate
training, research and outreach in mathematical sciences. Its
mission is to enable Africa's
brightest students to flourish as independent thinkers, problem
solvers and innovators capable of propelling Africa's future scientific, educational and
economic self-sufficiency. AIMS was founded in 2003 and has
produced more than 560 graduates, about one third of whom are
women. The goal of the Next Einstein Initiative (NEI) is to
build 15 centres of excellence across Africa by 2023. To learn more, please visit
www.nexteinstein.org.
About the Robert Bosch Stiftung
The Robert Bosch Stiftung is one of Europe's largest foundations associated with a
private company. It invests approximately 70
million euros annually in supporting approximately 800 of
its own as well as third-party projects in the fields of
international relations, education, society and culture, as well as
health and science. Since its founding back in 1964, the Foundation
has used more than 1.2 billion euros
for charitable activities.
The Robert Bosch Stiftung continues the charitable pursuits of
Robert Bosch (1861 - 1942), the
founder of both the company and the foundation. It owns about a 92
percent stake in Robert Bosch GmbH, and finances its operations
from the dividends it receives from this holding. Robert Bosch's former home in Stuttgart serves as the foundation's
headquarters. Around 140 employees work for the Foundation at this
location and at its offices in Berlin
Images are available.
SOURCE African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)