Difference between revisions of "Team:Pretoria UP/HP/Gold"

On Friday, 19 August 2016, we interviewed Dr Karen Surridge-Talbot, Center Manager at SANEDI. Dr Surridge-Talbot is engaged as Centre Manager for the Renewable Energy Centre of Research and Development (RECORD) at the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI). This centre is mandated, through the government act (National Energy Act 2008, no. 34) that established SANEDI, to coordinate renewable energy research and development in South Africa.

During 2012 Dr Surridge-Talbot visited many solar installation and research facilities in Spain and Germany to observe and learn from global expertise and experience in this sector. Finally, Dr Surridge-Talbot is also currently serving on the council of the South African Coal Ash Association (SACAA) as well as on the executive committee of the South African Solar Energy Association (SASEA).

From the interview with Dr Surridge-Talbot we obtained feedback on the problems that may be faced with the possible future application of our project. The main issue raised in this interview by Dr Surridge-Talbot was that of a social aspect. Our project, WattsAptamer, may face the same problems as with GMOs if the final application involves synthesising the aptamers in-vivo leading to self-assembly of the entire system. A significant number of people in South Africa do not have the understanding of what GMOs are, which will make it difficult for them to accept the use of our cell. There are also strict regulations involved in working with GMOs, which could serve as a further restriction to fulfilling the future application of this project.

In light of this potential problem we decided to adjust our project by not using the in-vivo system but rather use forestry industry waste products to generate electricity as long as the project does not affect the quality of wood.

According to Dr Surridge-Talbot there are potential uses for our cell at SANEDI. SANEDI has programs whereby resource assessments are conducted on weather stations which are powered by PVCs placed on top of these weather stations. These PVCs are then connected to electricity supply on the ground. SANEDI often face security issues where the electricity supply equipment powering the PVCs are regularly stolen.

The PBEC cell we developed could in future be the solution to this problem, as it may power the PVCs eliminating the need for an electricity supply on the ground. Furthermore, the cell could be used in monitoring and security equipment.

The Women in Energy Business summit is hosted by the National Department of Energy as an effort to economically empower South African women in the energy sector. The theme of this year's event is “women in energy united in moving South Africa forward” and is aimed at encouraging about 1000 women from all nine provinces to participate in the energy sector as entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and leaders in the energy field. The conference also seeks to raise awareness on relevant energy issues and promote programs such as energy efficiency.

Our team, sponsored by SANEDI, used the women in energy business summit as a platform to raise awareness of synthetic biology, our project, as well as get people's general views and concerns. We set up a stall where we displayed two posters, one on our project and the other on the general applications of synthetic biology. We managed to interact with many of the people who attended the event, who we then educated on what synthetic biology is. Finally we were able to have in depth conversions with 30 delegates of whom none knew much about synthetic biology. They were quite interested in the future of the project and to know about how they could invest in its development.

The Lesedi Power project is a solar photovoltaic power generation plant that produces clean electrical energy using thousands of polycrystalline modules, vital for the economic growth and development of the region and greater South Africa.The project is playing its part in helping South Africa meet its renewable energy targets, with the added benefit of stimulating long-term economic development and job creation.

Dr Karen Surridge-Talbot the centre manager at SANEDI invited us to present at the offices in Sandton. The presentation took place on the 12th October. On this day, we presented our iGEM project and handed out a survey to the SANEDI employees as well as the CEO (Mr. Kadri Nassiep) and CFO (Ms Lethabo Manamela). The survey intended to probe the knowledge of synthetic biology and biotechnology in our communities. Especially those working in the energy sector. The results of the survey are as follows. Although many did not know of synthetic biology before our presentation they seemed quite interested and intrigued by it and the possibility of the future applications it may have in the renewable energy sector.