22 Facts About Rob Adam

Robert Martin Adam was born on 13 September 1955 and is the director of the Square Kilometer Array radio-telescope in South Africa.

Rob Adam used to be the chief-executive officer of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation.

Rob Adam has worked as a consultant to the governments of Namibia and Chile, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa.

Rob Adam finished school at Bishops, a private school in Cape Town.

Rob Adam obtained a BSc degree with distinction in chemistry and the Percy Gordon Memorial Award for the top honours student from the University of Cape Town in 1978.

Rob Adam's task was to develop distance learning courses in physical science and mathematics in English for people whose first language was not English.

In 1981, Rob Adam was imprisoned for 10 years for activities on behalf of the African National Congress.

Rob Adam received the UNISA national scholarship awarded to the top masters student at that university, to do a PhD in theoretical nuclear physics.

Rob Adam was released from prison in 1990 and shortly thereafter received his PhD degree from UNISA.

Rob Adam returned in 1993 to take up a post in the Department of Physics at the University of Natal.

In 1979, while in London after his initial studies, Rob Adam became a member of the African National Congress, then banned by the Apartheid regime.

Rob Adam was released on 9 February 1990, together with many other political prisoners as part of the steps towards a democratic South Africa.

In 1995 Rob Adam was appointed as a chief director in the former Department of Art, Culture, Science and Technology.

In 1999 Rob Adam became the Director General of DACST, under Minister Ben Ngubane.

Rob Adam continued as the Director General of DST, in the latter period under Minister Mosibudi Mangena.

Rob Adam held this position until 2006, when he took up the position of the CEO of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa.

Rob Adam managed the Research and Technology Audit; Research and Technology Foresight project; reviews of 12 science, engineering and technology institutions; the restructuring of museums and cultural institutions; the distribution of budgets to science councils; an investigation into South Africa's science journals; and science and technology agreements with more than 22 countries.

Rob Adam worked towards South Africa being awarded the contract to build and run the Square Kilometer Array Telescope.

Rob Adam was appointed CEO of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation in 2006.

Rob Adam was appointed as director designate from 1 April to 31 December 2015, and after that as director for a period of five years of the SKA South Africa, replacing Bernie Fanaroff at the end of 2015.

Rob Adam was married to Liz Gavin and has two children.

Rob Adam is a grand nephew of Sir James Rose-Innes, the second Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa.