DR. DEREK BRUCE FISH

Director Unizulu Science Centre/Visiting Fulbright Scholar

Derek began his career teaching high school Science and Math. Since then he has enjoyed running Unizulu Science Centre in Richards Bay, South Africa, for more than 30 years.  He has presented science shows all over the world and attended all eight of the Science Centre World Congresses, on every continent. He has represented Africa on the International Programme Committee for these Congresses and serves on the Global Committee of ASTC (The Association of Science and Technology Centres). He is a Council member, founder and former President of the Southern African Association of Science and Technology Centres (SAASTEC). He is active in the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) where he has guided their outreach programme to schools for several years. In 2016 he completed his doctorate in Physics Education with a study based in his science centre. In response to the COVID crisis he has pioneered a unique set of offline physics videos for matrics. Derek has won many awards for his contributions to science, including the 1999 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Award for the best individual contribution to Science in South Africa. In 2021 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship beginning in early 2023, through which he is now working with the Institute of Learning Innovation and Oregon State University.