At the AIDC Automotive Conference in Port Elizabeth today, guest speaker, Clem Sunter made a closing remark that grabbed my attention. It concerned a young scholar from Mthatha who has had a minor planet named after him.
Sunter questioned how we as a country were unable to fete a bright mind such as Xuza’s. Xuza after developing a more efficient rocket fuel than NASA – whilst still at school – is now at Harvard, has a minor planet named after him, was flown back to South Africa to make an address at the US Embassy in front of the Obama’s and is treated like a hero by the American public, business and government.
This young man was interviewed by Sunter in 2008 for an open scholarship to UCT to study Chemical Engineering.
A few months into his first year Siyabulela was offered an open scholarship to Harvard to study there.
What an inspiring story – see blog mentions of Xuza below:
Siyabulela Xuza: Down-to-earth star. Xuza, who grew up in Umtata and is now studying engineering at Harvard University, developed a new type of rocket fuel which is cheaper, safer and more efficient than fuels used today. This project won …
http://venturestrategicsolutions.wordpress.com/ — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:33:04 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza who hails from Umtata in the Eastern Cape and was awarded an Academic Scholarship to St John’s College after receiving a gold medal at an ESKOM Science Expo. Siyabulela had a dream to invent a fuel that was more …
http://www.scenicsouth.co.za/ — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:36:18 -0700
Reaching for the Stars – Siyabulela Xuza’s Story. We all have a dream. Often it manifests as an ache that rests within us, one that does not go away until we set upon the quest to bring it into being. The drive to achieve this dream sets in motion …
http://creatinginspiration101.blogspot.com/ — Sun, 20 May 2012 08:02:00 -0700
My IT hero is Siyabulela Xuza. Speaking from Harvard, Xuza is already dreaming big. “Recent events in the global political and economic arena have shifted my focus to developing a renewable energy platform for cars, using similar principles …
http://pgditaim1.edublogs.org/ — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:47:05 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza (24): His message to SA youth? “The time to stay positive is now. Look beyond the problems in SA and the world. Be optimistic, innovative and debate. The future of SA is definitely bright.” …
http://lytsss.blogspot.com/ — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:08:00 -0800
Siyabulela Xuza ’12, an engineering sciences concentrator, explains his team’s project, a tool kit to ease the transition from high school to college. That particular Monday morning began with a deceptively simple direction: “Focus on one …
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/ — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:58:51 -0800
Siyabulela Xuza: My journey to Harvard. Siyabulela doing his praise singing thing for uTat’u Mandela. Image by: timeslive.co.za. I was chasing the roar of a Cessna plane dropping election pamphlets over uMthatha, the former Capital of the …
http://www.townshiptimes.co.za/ — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:02:03 -0800
I often refer to our own Siyabulela Xuza from Umtata who is now at Harvard University, has a minor planet named after him for the advances he has made in rocketry science and was guest of honour at a recent launch of Endeavour. Nasa laid …
http://trainingsouthafrica.co.za/ — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:32:31 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza (picture courtesy of smartcape.org.za). His claim to fame? Xuza’s science project won gold at the Eskom National Science Expo and the Dr Derek Gray Memorial award for the most prestigious project in SA. This led to an …
http://www.guidinglight.co.za/ — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:26:14 -0700
We celebrate South African pockets of excellence like Siyabulela Xuza (who has a minor planet named after him by NASA) in order to give young people theconfidence to do their own thing. That is just so much more funky a vision than having …
http://boastboy.posterous.com/ — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:01:56 -0700
Dr Meyer sited the examples of billionaire and space tourist Mark Shuttleworth and Siyabulela Xuza who has gone from being a praise singer for Nelson Mandela to becoming a top scientist, with Nasa having named a large asteroid after him …
http://thenetworks.co.za/ — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:17:51 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza. Seen here during a class at Harvard, Siyabulela Xuza is one of the new young generation of Africans who are committed to developing the continent’s potential. (Image: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) …
http://www.sa-people.com/ — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:26:38 -0800
His name is Siyabulela Xuza and while you may never have heard of him, NASA rates him so highly that they gave him a personal guided tour of their facilities, only Obama gets that kind of treatment. And that’s not the end, this young man has …
http://studio83.co.za/ — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:34:16 -0800
A young man recalls how he has traveled from his South African township to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Science has been his ticket so far, and he hopes it will be his destiny. Siyabulela Xuza attended secondary school …
http://ovablog.wordpress.com/ — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:06:32 -0800
Siyabulela Xuza is from Umtata in the Eastern Cape. Nasa’s Lincoln Laboratory was so impressed by his talents and achievements that they have named a minor planet after him. Xuza is currently an undergraduate engineering student at …
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/ — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:30:45 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza attended secondary school in South Africa and will begin his second year at Harvard University in the final quarter of 2009. Xuza was a winner in the 58th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. I was chasing the roar …
http://educationusacm.blogspot.com/ — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:52:00 -0700
Were a local yokel from Moosebum, Idaho, to have achieved what Siyabulela Xuza has done, Conan O’Brien, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King and Ellen Degeneris would be mud-wrestling for the exclusive inside-story — along with 300 newspapers …
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/ — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:41:39 -0700
Well-known future strategist Clem Sunter talks about the need for South Africans to celebrate “pockets of excellence” in our country. When it comes to individuals, his favourite example is a young man named Siyabulela Xuza. Sunter first met …
http://younameandshamethem.blogspot.com/ — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:51:00 -0700
He pointed to the case of Johannesburg teenager Siyabulela Xuza. He had won several international science awards before he turned 20, and yet he received more media attention in the US and UK than in South Africa. “In America they …
http://www.nickvanderleek.com/ — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:49:00 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza, who addressed a wide audience yesterday, developed a new fuel propellant for rockets, while Tanja Kellerman, the young lady from Citrusdal, developed a substance extracted from indigenous plants to control ticks. Raeez …
http://www.info.gov.za/ — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700
Siyabulela Xuza (18) received “the First Award” and the “Best of Category Award” at 58th Intel International Science and Engineering Faire in the United States in May, for developing a safe and cheaper form of rocket fuel. Bajabulile Shabangu …
http://www.info.gov.za/ — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700
The associated exhibition area at the Boardwalk boasts 300 exhibitors and to ‘avoid’ the R50.00 entrance fee you can pre-register on the SAAW Web site.
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Alan Straton
Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth.
Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
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