Elsevier Announces Winners of 2012 Young Scientist Awards in South Africa

AMSTERDAM, September 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, today announces the winners of the 2012 Young Scientist Award in South Africa. Award winners were honored at the National Research Foundation South Africa awards function, held September 13, 2012, and attended by South Africa Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs. Naledi Pandor.

The four winners of 2012 are:

1. Dr. David.R. Braun, University of Cape Town, Department of Archaeology

2. Dr. Shadreck. Chirikure, University of Cape Town, Department of Archaeology

3. Professor Louis. J. Kotze, North-West University, Faculty of Law

4. Dr. Amanda. Weltman, University of Cape Town, Department of Mathematics

The Young Scientist Awards are organized annually by the National Research Foundation South Africa and Elsevier recognizing young South African scientists for their achievements in science as demonstrated through the NRF peer-review rating system, which uses Elsevier's Scopus tool as one of the award evaluation measures. Researchers under 35 who have shown exceptional potential in their published doctoral work or research outputs at the start of their postdoctoral careers and who, according to their peers, display qualities of leadership in their chosen fields, may be voted for an award by their peers in research.

Dr. Albert van Jaarsveld, CEO at the National Research Foundation South Africa said, "With P rating and the NRF Elsevier Young Scientist Award we honour and recognise great future research leaders and we are grateful for Elsevier's contributions in supporting their career development."

JC Heyneke, Head of Global Strategy and Business Development at Elsevier Science & Technology said, "Elsevier is proud and privileged to be so closely involved with South African research. We see the growing impact of South African research; increasing publication volume, increasing publication quality and increasing international collaboration. At the heart of this growth lies a strong relationship we have with the NRF in supporting young South African researchers."

About the National Research Foundation

The objective of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is to support and promote research in South Africa through funding, human capacity development and the provision of the necessary research facilities, in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of the natural and social sciences, humanities and technology, including indigenous knowledge systems.

The National Research Foundation President's Awards primarily recognise South African scientists for their achievements as indicated through a specific NRF rating system. In addition, to rating-linked awards the mandate of the NRF stipulates that the organisation supports and promotes research in the broadest sense. These special awards provide a platform to honour researchers for career contributions to knowledge creation and dissemination as well as capacity development and transformation in the national research system

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Catherine Gold
Elsevier
+1-212-462-1965
c.gold@elsevier.com