It is said that the 21st century will depend as much on photonics as the 20th century depended on electronics. Photonics is the science and technology of generating, controlling and detecting photons, which are particles of light. It already underpins many technologies in smartphones, laptops, data communication and medical devices. Join us for a tour to the CSIR National Laser Centre, which is also at the heart of an emerging additive manufacturing platform, to find out about the latest developments in laser research and development.

One of the world’s biggest and fastest laser-based 3D printers is housed at the CSIR National Laser Centre. This additive manufacturing powder-bed platform was developed as part of Project Aeroswift, a collaboration between the CSIR and Aerosud Innovation Centre. It uses titanium to produce complex components for the aerospace industry. It has the ability to process difficult-to-machine materials, can produce parts with little material wastage and allows for the printing of components up to 2m long, 600mm in width and 600mm in height. Recently, the team successfully produced two different flight grips (the condition lever and throttle grip) for the South African developed AHRLAC aircraft and a fuel pylon bracket as test component for a commercial aircraft.

During the visit, you will also have the opportunity to visit the Photonics Prototyping Facility. This world-class facility provides expertise, equipment and technical support to help industrialise photonics-based technologies. Also developed and designed in this facility, is South Africa’s new-generation 3-D fingerprint sensing technology.

The third aspect of the tour is a visit to the biophotonics research area. The research undertaken by this team seeks to develop a photonics-driven, cost-effective HIV 1 diagnostic device that is easy to use at point-of-care settings and in low-resourced areas. Using super resolution imaging and spectroscopic techniques, the team aims to develop a device that not only confirms the presence of HIV 1, but is able to also indicate genotypic information and viral load.   

Host: Chumisa Ndlazi

Contact: Chumisa Ndlazi, cndlazi@csir.co.za
Venue: Tour departs from the CSIR International Convention Centre to building 46 A
Duration: 1 hour
Maximum number of participants for this tour: 30

Select your tour of choice when registering for the conference.