Page - 28 - in options, Volume winter 2015/2016

institute news 28 options + winter 2015/2016 www.iiasa.ac.at news at iiasa Thanks a million! In June, the fundraising campaign to support post-doctoral fellowships reached its million dollar target. The campaign, set up in honor of former IIASA Director Peter Engel de Jánosi, will enable young scientists who have recently completed a PhD to develop their international and interdisciplinary research skills at IIASA. The US$1 million will provide for ten annual fellowships over the next decade. Adam French, who joined IIASA in September, is the first fellow to benefit from this funding. He will be further developing his work on water governance under the impacts of climate change and economic  globalization. “We are delighted that Adam is here at IIASA,” said IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat. “We look forward to supporting and developing his research so that it produces excellent policy-relevant insights and analytical tools that develop more integrated—and ultimately more just, adaptive, and  sustainable— water  resource management practices.” The Peter E. de Jánosi Post-Doctoral Fellowship Fund relies on generous donations from IIASA alumni. The IIASA Alumni Association is a worldwide network of IIASA community, who  receive updates about institute news and are invited to attend IIASA events in Austria and in their own countries. Contact alumni@iiasa.ac.at if you would like to join the community! To donate to the Post-Doctoral Fellowship Fund, or the Annual  Fund, which supports young researchers from developing countries, or IIASA in general visit www.iiasa.ac.at/donate DB South Africa and IIASA strengthen ties In June, South African Minister for Science and Technology Naledi Pandor led a high-ranking delegation to IIASA to discuss continuing research collaboration between IIASA and her country. The talks were based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed five days earlier between the Institute and its South African National Member Organization, the National Research Foundation (NRF). The agreement, signed by Dorsamy (Gansen) Pillay, deputy CEO of the NRF and IIASA council member for South Africa, and IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr.  Pavel Kabat, aims to improve knowledge and understanding of systems analysis in South Africa and to facilitate greater involvement of South African researchers  in IIASA. South Africa joined IIASA in 2007 and the diverse research collaborations developed since then have involved over 20 South African research partners in IIASA research. The NRF partnered with IIASA to develop the pioneering Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP) as a pilot regional spin-off of IIASA’s flagship YSSP. The SA-YSSP, a three-month research training experience, was hosted by the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein for three years, from 2012–2015. Pandor was enthusiastic about building on SA-YSSP through a new Southern African Center of Excellence in Applied Systems Analysis, developed and executed in partnership with IIASA. The  new initiative will connect promising young African scientists, as well as established researchers, to IIASA research and training programs. The minister also pledged to serve as a liaison to the African Union’s new strategic initiative on Science, Technology, and Innovation, as well as to projects planned to incorporate systems approaches in science-to-policy interface in Africa. KP www.iiasa.ac.at/news/SouthAfrica-15 The first post-doctoral fellowship in honor of former IIASA Director Peter E. deJánosi (left) was awarded to Adam  French (right), who joined IIASA in September 2015. Left to right H.E. Naledi Pandor, South African Minster for Science and Technology; Pavel Kabat, Director General and CEO, IIASA; Chin Min Lee, Special Advisor to the CEO, IIASA; Maggie Collins, Capacity and Academic Development Program Director, IIASA; Ulf Dieckmann, Evolution and Ecology Program Director, IIASA; Wolfgang  Lutz, World Population Program Director, IIASA; Delin Fang and Milaine Seuneu Tchamga, SA-YSSP awardees.