The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has announced the passing of Wits School of Physics member and scientist Professor Sergio Colafrancesco on September 30, following a battle with cancer.
He was the School of Physics’ radio astronomy research chairperson for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project – a significant astronomy project by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation, based in the Northern Cape.
Colafrancesco’s appointment on the project heralded the beginning of distinguished research activity in radio astronomy and astrophysics at Wits and the eventual establishment of a research group currently comprising five academics in the School of Physics.
The chairperson position provided closer alignment with the SKA project, which was established to contribute to the understanding of the structure, origin and evolution of the universe and of its substructures, from small galaxies to large galaxy clusters.
Colafrancesco was also involved in a number of groundbreaking projects that showcased the country’s leadership and competitiveness in science, said Wits.
The South African Institute of Physics has conveyed its condolences, adding that Colafrancesco made tremendous contributions to the development of radio and gamma-ray astronomy in South Africa and further afield on the African continent.
He joined Wits in August 2011, before which he was an astrophysics professor at the University of Rome. Prior to that, he was a senior scientist with the Italian Institute for Astrophysics.