Who is the most innovative South African you know of?

Question

What South African do you think is a pioneer in his or her field and introduced something new to the South African way of life. Or what South African strikes you as a leader in any other field other than that? This question is open to anyone. Even if your father or mother is South African and a pioneer in his/her field, I would like to hear of them.

To "liefie": From what I know Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970 in San Francisco), is an American author, screenwriter, and accordionist. He is best known for his work under his pen name, Lemony Snicket.
Him or the character, Lemony Snicket, have no relation to South Africa at all!

Answer 1

The leaders part of your question is easier to answer: Madiba, Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk, Cyril Ramaphosa, etc.

It is difficult to say who is the most innovative South African as there are so many. First to mind of course came Chris Barnard, but of course he did not do it alone. In early years, his brother Marius, transplanted hearts on dogs as part of the research. And of course the first heart transplant could not have been achieved without the skill and support of a large team - cardiologists, radiologists, anaesthetists, technicians, nurses, immunologists, pathologists, etc.

And then came to mind Mark Shuttleworth - but even he acknowledged that he did not do it alone through his very generous gifts to his staff. But he is the driving force behind a lot of good work in SA now, especially with bringing more science into the school system and in particular for girls, etc. And a great man and an innovative person.

Then I had a sit-down to think about this question a bit more carefully. I would say that we are a very innovative nation and that there are leaders amongst groups that produce amazing things, from creepy crawlies to software. And these listed below are just a very few I can remember off hand but there are many, many more (and we should feel extremely proud of each of them):

1. Most recently a consortium led by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed a new system that pasteurises raw eggs to destroy the dangerous salmonella enteritidis bacteria - and could kill the virus that causes avian influenza.

2. Another great innovation is the can-antenna, dubbed the "cantenna", designed by the Meraka Institute . Cantennas are small, self-constructed antennas made from locally available material. They are connected to a low-cost WiFi card plugged into a computer. A small wireless router is placed in a weatherproof casing on a pole to which several community members can connect to form a community mesh network. The mesh networking technology allows the wireless installations to automatically configure themselves to find the optimal routes through the network, and very little configuration is needed to set them up. This allows remote communities the possibility of internet access.
A cantenna is made from a metal can, such as a coffee tin, and a section of bicycle spoke soldered into a special connector which can connect to another point with a similar antenna up to five kilometres away.

3. Consol Glass has teamed up with the Worcester Winelands Association, Wines of South Africa and the Institute of the Blind to launch a unique Braille wine bottle - a world first for the industry. The idea of a Braille bottle which was developed by Bridget Zietkiewicz and Louise Farquharson, stemmed from the fact that Worcester is the South African support and skills development centre for the disabled, with the blind being an integral part of the local community.

4. For the sports fans: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is using South African-developed software to monitor decisions made by international umpires.

5. South Africa is world-renowned for mine-protected armoured personnel carriers. These are in service globally with various peace-keeping organizations and armies. In 2005 South African supplied the Canadian Army, the United Arab Emirates armed forces, the Italian Carabinieri, the Swedish Defence Force and the US army with these vehicles.

6. In 2002 a SA company called Scientific Development and Integration got a contract from NASA to produce high-tech laser systems for trace gas detection in the upper atmosphere.

7. And of course we come up with great stuff such as Afri-Can Guitars, etc.

Answer 2

Definately Chirs Barnard and Mark Shuttleworth

Answer 3

My vote goes for Dr. Chris Barnard. Through his pioneering surgical procedure, the first sucessful heart transplant in the world in 1967, he managed to showcase South Africa's potential to the world and save thousands of lives in the process.

Answer 4

I'm a South African.Leader would be Madiba "Nelson Mandela" and pioneer Charlize Theron She made us all proud even though some Africans don't like her it's okay and she is the same nationality and language as me so why not!Writer would be Lemony Sniket i was so glad when they first translated his book in English and then made a movie "a series of unfortunate events"

Answer 5

Wasnt Tolkien of Lord of the Rings fame South African too?
If he was then he would be on my list

Answer 6

Mark Shuttleworth,

He's been to space and invented a secure payment or credit card thing

G

http://www.airborneadventuresafrica.com

Answer 7

Casper de Vries

Answer 8

mark shuttleworth is up there... so successful in his business dealings.