Pandor: Tobias will be revered
2012-06-08 08:36
Johannesburg - Professor Phillip Tobias will
be revered for his profound research in palaeo-anthropology, Science and
Technology Minister Naledi Pandor and Deputy Minister Derek Hanekom said on
Thursday.
His contribution to research in the fields of
genetics, from anatomical studies to palaeo-anthropology, was well known, they
said.
"It is this contribution that led the
[department of science and technology to] establishing an annual Professor
Philip Tobias Lecture and Award in honour of his contribution."
Pandor and Hanekom conveyed their condolences
to his family.
Tobias, who was born on October 14, 1925,
died at the Wits University Donald Gordon Medical Centre on Thursday, said
Gauteng Tourism Authority spokesperson Anthony Paton.
His death was the end of a distinguished era
in the annals of South African scholarship, said the SA Jewish Board of
Deputies (SAJBD).
"Philip Tobias was truly a scholar and a
gentleman, someone who was as loved for his kindness and humility as he was
respected for his myriad academic achievements," said spokesperson Mary
Kluk.
She described him as a courageous, deeply
principled campaigner for human rights, particularly in the area of academic
freedom.
Tobias was involved in the Jewish community
throughout his life, and was chosen to receive the SAJBD's Human Rights Award
in 2001.
Deep impact
The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)
expressed its sadness at his death and paid him tribute as a "stalwart of
the university and a world-renowned scientist".
Spokesperson Shirona Patel said he had
received many awards and honours, including honorary degrees from the
universities of Pennsylvania, Cambridge, California, Natal, Cape Town, South
Africa, Durban-Westville, Western Ontario, Alta, Guelph, and the Witwatersrand.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the
friends and family of Prof Tobias, and those him knew him well," she said.
The deep impact he had on his colleagues and
students, and the significant role he played in building South Africa's most important
capital - human capital - would be sorely missed," said Democratic
Alliance spokesperson Junita Kloppers-Lourens.
Tobias was the only person to simultaneously
hold three professorships at Wits, and was known as a friendly, outgoing man,
eloquent and able to explain his science to anyone.
In 2002, he had his own popular television
series, "Tobias' Bodies".
The series, which he presented and narrated,
consisted of six stand-alone episodes exploring themes around genetics, anatomy
and primatology.
He also successfully campaigned for the
Sterkfontein Caves to be proclaimed a World Heritage site.
The caves form part of the Fossil Hominid
Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and their environs, which were
declared a cultural World Heritage site in 1999.
- SAPA
