Engineering News | Columnist | Kelvin Kemm

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Kelvin Kemm

Dr Kemm is a nuclear physicist and is the CEO of Nuclear Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Kemm is the chairperson of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. He sits on the Board of Advisers of the Committee for A Constructive Tomorrow, based in Washington DC.

He is also a Board Member of GoNuclear Inc, and EFN: USA both based in Colorado, USA.

Exec@nuclearafrica.co.za

Solutions to our ills in which profit is a motive do work

By: Kelvin Kemm 10th July 2015 There are groups of people who love to attack business and industry leaders and to accuse them of being horrible, antisocial people, intent on profit only. They are painted as being uncaring of everything, except profits. By far the majority of business and industry people I interact with are not... →

Don’t dismiss Noakes diet plan out of hand

By: Kelvin Kemm 3rd July 2015 This whole Banting diet issue has been very much in the news for a while now. It was all precipitated by Professor Tim Noakes coming out in favour of aspects of the diet. It is somewhat entertaining to watch the whole thing unfold. We then had the Association for Dietetics in South Africa (Adsa)... →

Solar Impulse 2 proves you cannot rely on the sun for power

By: Kelvin Kemm 26th June 2015 The totally solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, was built to be used in an attempt to fly around the world powered by solar power alone. I must say that this aircraft is a wonderful piece of technology and I marvel at the science and design which went into its construction. →

Use of consultants by govt yields the greatest benefit

By: Kelvin Kemm 19th June 2015 It has been mentioned in the press that the auditor-general believes that, since government departments were told to cut back on using consultants, spending has dropped considerably. I bet it has. What that could indicate is that much of the work that government departments intended to do was... →

No, Minister, long baths don’t waste water

By: Kelvin Kemm 12th June 2015 I read a newspaper story that stated that Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane had told people not to sing in the shower because of wasted water. She apparently claimed that high income earners would stay in the shower until the end of their song and so wasted water unnecessarily. She... →

We need more logic to bear on day-to-day decision-making

By: Kelvin Kemm 5th June 2015 The concept of logic and the use of logic in everyday life are most important. Logic has taken centuries to evolve into the status which it has today. Logic is nowhere near as simple and as obvious as it may seem. I am forever hearing people say: “Well, it is obvious; it is logical”, when, in... →

Reflections on the Great Patriotic War

By: Kelvin Kemm 29th May 2015 We have just passed the dates of the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. I used the plural ‘dates’, because I have discovered that there are actually two. I was invited to a celebratory evening function by the Russian ambassador, which was most interesting. →

There is no link between CO2 emission and global warming

By: Kelvin Kemm 22nd May 2015 Government continues to talk of introducing a carbon tax on industry. The carbon tax is wrong and should not be introduced at all. The principle of the carbon tax is that it is supposed to ‘save the planet’. The idea is to inflict pain on industry for emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) gas so that... →

We need to demystify scientific principles for the benefit of the public

By: Kelvin Kemm 15th May 2015 In our modern world, there is more and more science penetrating the world of ordinary people. We have cellphones, TV remotes and the Internet. We also have washing machines, stoves and food mixers, which are now programmable or contain fancy sensors to automatically switch functions without human... →

Plaudits for OUTsurance, Radio 702 pointsmen

By: Kelvin Kemm 8th May 2015 I wish to compliment the pointsmen who are seen on duty at various traffic congestion points. They are terrific; I have watched them for the last couple of years. Of late, I have been seeing the pointsmen daily because the road is being upgraded near my office and, when I go home, they are on... →

Fukushima radiation concerns unfounded

By: Kelvin Kemm 1st May 2015 As the fourth anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has just passed, we can look at radiation and health factors in the light of four years of intensive monitoring and examination of everything that anyone could think of. There are still no deaths or injuries due to... →

Solar developers must pay attention to bird kill problem

By: Kelvin Kemm 24th April 2015 For a long time, I have been saying that, invariably, new technology developments bring with them not only highly tangible benefits, but also, quite frequently, undesirable side effects that are not that tangible at first. I have said that it is the duty of technology developers to look for the... →

Thumbs down to decision to move Rhodes statue at UCT

By: Kelvin Kemm 17th April 2015 I was really disappointed at the University of Cape Town's (UCT's) decision to move the statue of Cecil John Rhodes. I saw the vice chancellor of UCT on TV and, quite frankly, he looked like a scared rabbit. My opinion of him plunged. Where is the pride of UCT, a fine institution with a great... →

Speeding was only a compounding factor in Chabane crash

By: Kelvin Kemm 10th April 2015 Very sadly, a Cabinet Minister and his two bodyguards were killed in a motor car crash in which their car hit a truck on the freeway. Reports state that the truck was doing a U-turn on the freeway and the Minister’s car was travelling at a high speed. In addition, the accident happened in the... →

SA ready to start building nuclear plants

By: Kelvin Kemm 3rd April 2015 The Nuclear Africa 2015 conference has just been successfully concluded. The conference was held in collaboration with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and was held at Necsa's Pelindaba site, near Pretoria. The theme of the conference was ‘Collective Effort for... →

How certain forces are shaping our world

By: Kelvin Kemm 27th March 2015 The poem Time it says: Your life is an expression of your mind. You are the creator of your own Universe - For as a human being, you are free to will whatever state of being you desire through the use of your thoughts and words. There has always been a concept that “you are captain of your own... →

Energy use to double in 20 years or sooner

By: Kelvin Kemm 20th March 2015 I read a long article in a newspaper in which some fellow argued that the world essentially had no more sources of energy and that the entire planet would just have to learn to cut back on consumption. The writer was a foreign person. The article had not been written for South African consumption... →

Govt’s nuclear plans hold out hope for massive involvement by locals

By: Kelvin Kemm 13th March 2015 I was invited to give a presentation about nuclear power at St Francis Bay. St Francis Bay falls within the Kouga local municipality, an area encompassing Jeffreys Bay, Oyster Bay, St Francis Bay, Humansdorp and a bit more. This is a large distributed area just south of Port Elizabeth. →

Strike culture leading companies to try less labour-intensive options

By: Kelvin Kemm 6th March 2015 At the yearly Investing in African Mining Indaba conference, in Cape Town, Anglo American Platinum CEO Chris Griffith said that the mnining company's mechanisation drive was in full swing. The company, the largest producer of platinum-group minerals, is getting rid of jobs which require human... →

Thumbs down to street renaming

By: Kelvin Kemm 27th February 2015 There has been considerable debate on whether Cape Town should rename a street after former President FW de Klerk. Many people of note have come out publicity in favour of the intended move. In fact, some African National Congress stalwarts have come out strongly in favour of renaming the street... →

The benefits of Sars’ deferment scheme

By: Riaan de Lange 27th February 2015 Just to be clear, to defer something means to postpone it. While this might be construed as procrastination, it provides a financial benefit in the customs and value-added tax (Vat) environment. The South African Revenue Service (Sars) deferment scheme provides a deferment holder with a definite... →

Red overalls an insult to Parliament

By: Kelvin Kemm 20th February 2015 I read that Parliament has instructed a committee to look into a dress code for MPs. I think that this is an excellent move. Obviously, this was precipitated by the wearing of red overalls and maid’s outfits by members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). In fact, I was under the impression... →

Govt’s PhD aspirations spot-on, but training must take place locally

By: Kelvin Kemm 13th February 2015 I recently read a story in a newspaper entitled 'SA in the grip of a PhD crisis'. There was good and bad in the article. The article stated that South Africa is still falling far short of meeting the National Development Plan’s (NDP’s) goal of producing 5 000 PhD graduates a year, especially in... →

Replacing textbooks with tablets has its own downside

By: Kelvin Kemm 6th February 2015 There has been a big fanfare around the announcement by the Gauteng MEC for Education that the province intending to introduce the use of computer tablets at all secondary schools. I have greeted this news with mixed emotions. Mixed emotions are watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in... →

We need rational debate on nuclear

By: Kelvin Kemm 30th January 2015 When making high-powered science and technology decisions, it is necessary to involve science and technology professionals. It really is. It is necessary to listen to the opinions of science and technology professionals. It really is. Do readers detect a note of sarcasm? These days, there are... →

Failing matric not the end of the world

By: Kelvin Kemm 23rd January 2015 The 2014 matric results came out and the pass rate was a couple of percentage points lower than the previous year. That is fine. It is an acceptable number and gives one confidence in the system. A year ago, when there was such euphoria at a significant increase in the pass rate, I warned that... →

Matric not the be-all and end-all

By: Kelvin Kemm 16th January 2015 Every year, there is a major hype about matric results and this is taken as a measure of the educational health of the country. This is wrong. Matric supplies only one aspect of the workforce of the nation. Just before Christmas, I was invited to visit a factory for its Christmas party. I was... →

Ill-informed antinuclear stance

By: Kelvin Kemm 12th December 2014 A really interesting social phenomenon is the antinuclear stance of many people. I find many people who are rabidly antinuclear, but then, as I chat to them socially, I find out that they have no idea what they are talking about. They often cannot tell the difference between an atom and a... →

Aussie PM right on climate change

By: Kelvin Kemm 5th December 2014 Congratulations to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has warned that next year’s climate change summit, to be held in Paris, will fail if world leaders put cutting carbon emissions ahead of economic growth. Abbott’s position is in stark contrast to that of most of the other G20 leaders.... →

Bafana coach spot-on on ‘choosy’ player

By: Kelvin Kemm 28th November 2014 National senior soccre team coach Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba was quite correct in giving May Mahlangu the chop when the player announced that he was not available to play for Bafana Bafana in recent Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. So, from me, go for it, Shakes – keep it up. I was driving when I... →

We need to popularise science

By: Kelvin Kemm 21st November 2014 A phenomenon which I have mentioned before and which continues to worry me is the popularisation of science. I have been involved in this for years. Some years ago, I made the largest South African TV series on local science achievements. It was aired on SABC and we had half an hour a week for... →

Eastern Cape must go full out into the nuclear business now

By: Kelvin Kemm 14th November 2014 I am in Port Elizabeth, presenting a nuclear quality assurance course. It is a course based on the ASME Code III, which is the nuclear fabrication code. ASME is an international organisation, based in New York, in the US. Its stamp of approval is accepted worldwide, so it is a very useful code... →

Localisation, African collaboration way to go

By: Kelvin Kemm 7th November 2014 I was invited to the launch function of a new shunting locomotive built by Grinrod Rail, in Pretoria. The loco is the GS7 and looks really neat. I got into the cab and looked at everything I could. →

No, no – automakers are not being taken for a ride by components suppliers

By: Kelvin Kemm 31st October 2014 I have seen news reports that the Competition Commission has launched an investigation into elements of the automotive industry relating to the supply of components to original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs). My immediate reaction a sense of unease. I suspect that the Competition Commission in... →

We need to do more than catching the crooks who grab copper cable

By: Kelvin Kemm 24th October 2014 There have been several copper cable theft incidents all over the country that have caused massive collateral damage. The collateral damage is often extensive. Over and above the cost of replacing the stolen cable is the massive cost of an area being out of power for hours or days. We have had... →

Exciting time for science as rover completes two years on Mars

By: Kelvin Kemm 17th October 2014 The Mars rover, Curiosity, has just completed two years on the surface of that planet. All is going well. The very fancy device has found water in the sand that was thought to be dry. In fact, about 1 l of water for about 30 l of sand, so there is a lot. →

The nuclear press release that produced a roller coaster

By: Kelvin Kemm 10th October 2014 There was a big fuss in the media when a story came out that South Africa had signed a deal with the Russians to buy eight nuclear reactors. The story was not true. When I saw the first press release I felt uneasy because it just did not look right. →

Space mission heading for nail-biting comet landing

By: Kelvin Kemm 3rd October 2014 The Rosetta space mission of the European Space Agency is heading for a terrific show in November. The Rosetta mission is an attempt to land a space probe on a comet, in outer space. →

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