UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG

New era in fossil search

25 April 2012

Dr Kristian Carlson shows Minister Naledi Pandor how the scanner works Wits is ushering in a new era of palaeosciences with the purchase of a new X-Tek microfocus computed tomography (CT) system, also known as a micro-CT scanner which has been installed in the Palaeosciences Centre.

This innovative new piece of equipment was unveiled on Tuesday, the 24^th of April 2012 by the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor in the Palaeosciences Centre and will enable Wits academics to place South Africa further on the palaeosciences world map of discovery.

“We admire Wits for the work its scientists have done in the palaeosciences. The University is a leader in this field. Building the capacity in palaeosciences in South Africa is an example of how the University and the Department (of Science and Technology) can work together. We have all partnered to develop a world-class scanning and imaging facility that will make our scientists internationally competitive,” says Pandor.

With the new micro-CT scanner, palaeontologists will be able to peer inside fossils and see the finer details of their internal structures, without using destructive methods of investigation. The device surpasses the potential of medical imaging because even the smallest of structures, on the level of microns, can be imaged, such as the bones in the middle and inner ear. The micro-CT scanner also has the power to penetrate large rocks in order to explore them for new fossils hidden from sight inside, and has even been utilised to find fossilised skeletons inside ancient burrows. It also has a number of applications in other areas of research such as in anatomy, biology, biomedical sciences, and engineering.

Pandor also announced that her department will be calling for proposals to create a Centre of Excellence in the palaeosciences in South Africa – much to the delight of Wits’ palaeo-scientists.

The National Research Foundation awarded R8.2 million through a Strategic Research Infrastructure Grant, and the Research Office of the University made another R2 million available, to fund the purchase of the new micro-CT scanner. The scanner was supplied by Nikon Metrology.

It is the only device of its kind in South Africa, and rivals the performance capability of any other micro-focus CT system connected to a palaeontology research group worldwide. The device is a strategic piece of equipment that will usher in a new era for the palaeosciences at Wits, in South Africa, and Africa in general.

For several years the Bernard Price Institute and the Institute for Human Evolution at Wits have been setting up a laboratory for virtual image processing which has been equipped with the necessary scanners, and recently the Centre has also acquired a top of the range 3-D scanner.

As Wits is the custodian of one of the largest collections of fossils in the southern hemisphere, and because of the international significance of these collections, they are utilised for research purposes on an on-going basis by scientists from around the world. It is thus appropriate that this piece of prestigious machinery be located at Wits as it is used not only by researchers, but also to train a new generation of palaeo-scientists.

Wits Vice-Chancellor Prof. Loyiso Nongxa says that the scanner will also enable other palaeontologists from universities and museums in South Africa, from other African countries, and around the world to use this scanner for collaborative research. “Wits now has state-of-the-art facilities for undertaking cutting edge research in the palaeosciences. Obviously these facilities come at a great cost, and its acquisition would not have been possible without the generous financial support of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation,” says Nongxa.

Dr Kristian Carlson was instrumental in Wits acquiring the micro-CT scanner. Click here.