PowerPoint Slides
Here are the PowerPoint slides of our latest presentations, if available. If you are looking for Zoom recordings, please also have a look at our recordings.
Please note: The opinions expressed during presentations, films or events are not necessarily in accord with ours.
Alexander von Humboldt: Fidget, humanist and scientist
Public talk by Enno Aufderheide on 9 April 2024
Alexander von Humboldt was a pop star of naturalism and science in the 19th century. He was an explorer like other Europeans, but he was different: On a five-year journey through Latin America, he followed his curiosity, not his greed for gold and riches. He did groundbreaking research and analysed farsightedly the dependence of human life on environmental conditions. What is so special about him? How did he become, who he was? What is his legacy for today?
Enno Aufderheide has been Secretary General of the German Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, which sponsors the international exchange of scientists and scholars. He is a biologist by training and a regular visitor to Namibia. His talks on Alexander von Humboldt have inspired the audience in many countries already.
The Future of our Oceans
Public talk by Dr Jan-Lukas Menzel on 8 November 2023
The Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), which provides ocean science, is part of this initiative and has released the documentary “The Future of the Ocean” (2022) as a result of its research. It highlights the importance of oceanography in understanding “how oceans work” (i.e. the role of the ocean in global climate).
Following the documentary, the Spanish oceanographer Dr Jan-Lukas Menzel elaborated on the scientific data collected during an oceanographic expedition along the economic exclusive zone from Namibia, highlighting the tipping points of the oceans regarding the current global climate situation. The Running time of the documentary is 52 min.
NEWS presentation: Wildlife Tech Wizards
Public talk by Gideon Haingura, NUST Biodiversity Research Centre on 12 September 2023
Smart technologies help us track wildlife movements. Real-time data comes in from collars, remote sensing, and observed threats reported by rangers on patrol. These help to give alerts and notifications that can prevent human wildlife conflicts.
Working for Water (WfW) program
Public talk by Dr Guy Preston on the Working for Water (WfW) program, South Africa on 29 May 2023
· Clearing invasive alien species in mainly wetlands, river courses and catchments, thereby –
· Protecting water resources and wetlands to enhance water quality and quantity, and protect indigenous biodiversity,
· Relieving poverty through job creation, promoting SMEs and value-added industries, and
· Knowledge transfer and skills development.
The Planets Up-close and Personal— An amateur astronomer’s Journey into the World of Pro-Am Planetary Science Collaboration
Public talk by Clyde Foster, Planetary Imager on 23 May 2023
In this presentation, Clyde Foster, a retired Chemical Engineer, talked about his personal journey as he has become an internationally recognized, award-winning, planetary imager. Although the talk touched briefly on a few technical aspects of his “work”, the main focus was on sharing some of the personal experiences he has had in this fascinating field, interacting not only with fellow planetary imagers across the globe but also some of the world’s leading planetary scientists. Just as important is the personal satisfaction and enjoyment he derives from the contribution he has been able to make in various Pro-Am Planetary Science collaboration projects.
He also shared his involvement with the NASA Juno mission at Jupiter and its team, where he has, for the last 6 years, supported the mission with ground-based images, which also brought some unexpected and exciting developments for him.
The talk was liberally illustrated with many of his planetary images.
In late 2022, Mr Foster and his wife relocated to the Gamsberg region of Namibia, an important aspect of this decision being to build and expand on his passion for planetary imaging.
“Clyde is a member of a small group of the world’s leading planetary imagers that directly interface with the professional scientific community and set a benchmark for all other amateur astronomers”- Dr Leigh Fletcher, Professor in Planetary Science, University of Leicester, UK and contributing Planetary Scientist, James Webb Telescope
20 years CDC in Namibia
Public talk by Dr Peter Minchella, Associate Director for Science, CDC Namibia on 25 April 2023
At the end of 2022, the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) celebrated its 20th anniversary in Namibia. The CDC is the US government public health agency with the mission to save lives and protect people from health threats, both in the United States and across the world. The CDC opened its first office in Windhoek in 2002, with subsequent satellite offices in Oshakati, Rundu, and Katima Mulilo.
Tourism and Resilience - How tourism destinations can position themselves resiliently for upcoming crises
Public talk by Prof. Dr Conny Mayer-Bonde, tourism and hospitality expert on 20 April 2023
In her lecture, Prof. Dr Conny Mayer-Bonde addressed the topics of crisis and resilience. She shed light on the crises threatening tourism destinations and the unforeseen events that can affect a tourism country like Namibia. She introduced the concept of destination resilience and explained in practical terms how destinations can position themselves to withstand crises.
Pulmonary Pearls and Sleep Secrets: Guaranteed Awakening
Public talk by Dr Paul A. Feil MD. on 19 July 2022
Dr Feil presented a 1-hour presentation on his 40 years of experience in his USA-based practice of pulmonary and sleep medicine. He updated current lifestyle and clinical approaches and their effectiveness to common pulmonary and sleep disorders including smoking, infective diseases, allergies, altitude hypoxia, asthma, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, nocturnal seizures, and insomnia. Audience participation and questions were encouraged.
Dr Paul A. Feil MD: BA Biology, Colorado College; MD Washington University, Board Certified in Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Medicine (40+ years practice). Director of Sleep Lab New Mexico.
Biomedical Engineering and Health Technology Management
Public talk by Dr Ernest R. (Dick) Greene on 12 July 2022
Dr Greene presented a 1-hour practical overview of Biomedical Engineering and Health Technology Management Training in Namibia. A critical national need exists for rigorous, accredited, and professional university training in this important field. This training will improve the selection, acquisition, application, maintenance, and cost-effective analysis of medical equipment and technology. It will improve clinical outcomes and save resources. This is especially relevant in low-resource arenas where appropriate technology is required in the public, private, urban, and rural sectors. Dr Greene discussed how the School of Engineering at NUST, in collaboration with UNAM School of Medicine, is developing a Biomedical Engineering Concentration within its BS degrees in Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Engineering. Audience participation and questions were encouraged.
Dr Ernest Greene: BS, MS Mechanical Engineering, Rice University; PhD Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University Professor of Engineering and Biology, New Mexico Highlands University, USA; Research Professor of Engineering and Medicine, University of New Mexico, USA; Visiting Professor of Engineering, NUST, Namibia.
Advanced GIS Technology: Its Use in History, Education, Energy and Natural Resource Management
Public talk by Susanna Abraham on 11 May 2022
Susanna gave a presentation on the application of Geo-information Technologies and how it can be used to support education, energy resource mapping, planning and management, to enhance the narrating and documentation of historical events and most of all to support decision-making processes. The motivation of this presentation is not only to demonstrate the use of Geo-information Technologies but also to hopefully open the discussion on embracing GIS and its advanced technologies in different application fields.
As part of the presentation, Susanna showcased a part of her Master Thesis ‘Historical spatio-temporal data on current GIS: case study of the German-Herero war or resistance 1904’. The case study demonstrated the novelty of transforming the theoretical history records into interactive visualizations by making use of Geo-information and cartographic techniques. This is a stepping stone to supporting historical education, by providing alternative means of visualising and helping comprehend historical events with a rich geographic context.
Additionally, she also unveiled the potential of Geo-information Technologies in resource mapping and management in reference to energy potential in Namibia.
Susanna Abraham graduated with the International Master of Science in Cartography from the Technical University of Munich in partnership with TU Dresden, TU Wien (Austria) and ITC (Netherlands) from 2015 - 2017. She was awarded an EDC student of the year 2018 from TU Dresden where she completed her thesis, sponsored by ESRI. She is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at the Technical University of Dresden in Germany, researching usability studies for GI applications. Susanna worked for the Ministry of Mines and Energy as a Cartographer for 5 years and worked in consulting and government projects for about 2 years prior to her studies.