Intellectual

Revolution
in
Africa
Intellectual Revolution
The Intellectual Revolution. The term “Intellectual Revolution ”
is used to refer to Greek speculation about the “ nature “ in
the period before Socrates. Hence the alternative technical
terms are “pre Socratic” or “nontheological” or “first
philosophy”.
Alta Schutte
Prof. Schutte is a South African hypertension
and heart disease specialist whose main
motivation is to alleviate the burden of HIV
infection and non-communicable diseases of
black communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
She obtained a PhD in Cardiovascular
Physiology at age of 24 and continues to
work as part of the Hypertension in Africa
Research Team (HART), to discover ways to
prevent Africans from developing
hypertension.
 Contributions
Alta has extensive experience in population-based
studies with a focus on raised blood pressure and
cardiovascular disease. She has made significant
contributions to raising awareness of the need for
global action on raised blood pressure, including
publishing over 400 papers and book chapters in
this area.
Benjamin Banneker
(November 9, 1731 – October 19, 1806)

was an African-American naturalist,

mathematician, astronomer and almanac
author. He was a landowner who also
worked as a surveyor and farmer.
Contributions
Utilizing his knowledge of
astronomy and mathematics, he
authored one of the first series
of almanacs accurately
predicting the positions of the
Sun, the Moon, and the planets.
Contributions
In his late teens, he built a
wooden pocket watch that kept
precise time for over 40 years
until it was destroyed in a fire.
Contributions

In 1788, he accurately
predicted a solar eclipse
that occurred in 1789.
Quarraisha Abdool Karim

She is a professor, she is a South African

epidemiologist who specializes in infectious
diseases.

Prof. Karim was awarded the top U.S.

breakthrough prize (Twas-Lenovo Prize) for
developing world scientists and was also
awarded South Africa’s highest honor, the
Order of Mapungubwe, for her work in
fighting the HIV epidemic in South Africa.
 Contributions
Her scientific discoveries have contributed not only to better
treatment but also to making women more self-reliant in risk
prevention.
She is one of the top researchers on HIV in South Africa.
Abdool Karim has devoted her career to developing tools
that African women can use to protect themselves against
HIV. She is involved in developing a battery of new methods,
including anti-HIV gels and long-term injectables.
Her most important scientific contribution to HIV prevention is
the CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel trial.
Christiaan Neethling Barnard
(8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001)

was a South African cardiac surgeon

who performed the world's first human-
to-human heart transplant operation.
 Contributions

On 3 December 1967, a large medical,

nursing, and technical team led by the
surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed
the world’s first human to a human heart
transplant, placing Groote Schuur
Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, on
the international map.
 Contributions
Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-
victim Denise Darvall into the chest of 54-year-
old Louis Washkansky, with Washkansky
regaining full consciousness and being able to
talk easily with his wife, before dying eighteen
days later of pneumonia, largely brought on by
the anti-rejection drugs that suppressed his
immune system.
Allan MacLeod Cormack
(February 23, 1924 – May 7, 1998)

was a South African American physicist who

won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (along with Godfrey Hounsfield)
for his work on X-ray computed
tomography (CT).
Pharaoh CT Scan
Pharaoh CT Scan

In his late teens, he built a

wooden pocket watch that kept
precise time for over 40 years
until it was destroyed in a fire.
References: