Kearsney old boys leave their mark on world stage
2005 he founded and currently directs the Blue Brain Project at the EPFL.
He is attempting to reverse-engineer an entire brain, one neuron at a time, on IBM supercomputers, a landmark endeavor in modern neuroscience.
Markram has published more than 100 papers, received numerous distinctions, awards and prizes, has one of the highest cited original research papers in neuroscience (more than 1 500 times), and is one of the highest cited (more than 10 000 times) neuroscientists in the world.
Jonathan Pons (1980) – opthalmologist and philanthropist
Jonathan Pons, an ophthalmologist, heads an ambitious project in Swaziland that fights blindness. At Good Shepherd Hospital, nearly 1 000 blind people receive their sight each year thanks to Pons.
Because of the huge need for his life-changing operations, Pons runs a dual theatre with the microscope between two beds, allowing surgery to be performed on two patients at a time.
On some days Pons performs up to 30 cataract surgeries.
The eye clinic charges a nominal fee for the surgery but will not turn anyone away if that small amount is unaffordable.
Ian MacGregor (1952) – director, Smithsonian Institution 2002present, science consultant: National Science Resources Center, Smithsonian Institution. Dr Ian MacGregor studied geology and geochemistry at Aberdeen University (BSc), Scotland, Queen’s University, Canada (MSc) and Princeton University (PhD).
MacGregor has worked at the Canadian Geological Survey, the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies, the University of Californiathe National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.
He has served on advisory committees for Nasa, the US Department of Energy, Department of Defence, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme. Last year MacGregor received the William B Heroy jr Award for Distinguished Service to The American Geological Institute (AGI).
Anthony R Melman PhD (1964) – businessman and philanthropist
Dr Tony Melman, one of the top businessmen in Canada, serves as chairman and chief executive of Nevele Inc (Canada) and sits on numerous boards, including Canadian Pacific Railway, BT Bank of Canada, The Baycrest Centre Foundation, and the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation, and is a member of the board of governors of Mount Sinai Hospital.
He has been the director of the THE following Kearsney Old Boys have reached the pinnacle in their diverse professions, on the global stage, and have made a valuable contribution to the world and SA.
Henry Markram (1980) – preeminent neuroscientist
Henry Markram is a full professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. Markram matriculated in 1980 and obtained a PhD in neuroscience at the Weizmann Institute in 1991.
He completed postdoctoral work as a Fullbright Scholar at the NIH in 1992 and as a Minerva Fellow at the Max-Planck in 1994. In 2002 he moved to the EPFL to found and direct the Brain Mind Institute and in Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation since February 2010. He has served as chairman of the Childhood Cancer Charitable Council of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario.
Melman served as Special Adviser, Strategic Acquisitions of Onex Corporation from 2006 to 2007. Previously, he served as the managing director of Onex Corporation until 2006. Before joining Onex, he served as a senior vice-president of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Melman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of The Witwatersrand, a Master of Business Administration (gold medallist) from the University of Cape Town and a PhD in finance fromWits University.
Andrew Hudson (1982) – SA cricketer
Hudson played 35 Tests and 89 one-day internationals for South Africa in the 1990s.
As an opening batsman, he made his Test debut in the historic Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown on April 18, 1992 – South Africa’s first Test post-isolation.
In a stunning nine-hour innings, Hudson scored 163, becoming the first South African to score a Test century on debut.
He is now the national convener of selectors for Cricket South Africa.