UN hand-picks Rhodes professor

INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed Rhodes University chemistry professor Tebello Nyokong is one of 12 scientists who were picked by United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon to form a panel to promote science and technology in developing countries.

Nyokong, the only South African appointee on the panel, will take part in discussions on the proposed Technology Bank and Science, Technology and Innovation Supporting Mechanism dedicated to the least developed countries around the world.

She will join the likes of Bruce Lehman, former US assistant secretary of commerce during both terms of the Clinton administration, and Mohamed Hassan, former secretary-general of the Third World Network of Scientific Organisations of Sudan. - Zandile Mbabela