Saalih Allie is a Professor at the University of Cape Town, where he has held joint positions in the Department of Physics and the Academic Development Programme since 1986. He holds a PhD in experimental nuclear physics from the University of Cape Town and is presently Co-Director of the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP) in South Africa.
The spectrum of his activities includes issues of underrepresentation, access and throughput with regard to South African students from socially and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. His undergraduate teaching in the Physics Department has been directed primarily at “non-traditional” students. This has involved for example setting up of special courses in order to bridge the gap between high school and university.
At post graduate level he teaches a (fourth year level) module in Physics Education as part of the B.S (Hons) degree in Physics. In 2008 he established a postgraduate bridging programme aimed at students from Historically Black Institutions from across South Africa who wish to pursue studies in astronomy and space Science after graduating with a B.S degree in Physics. The programme is the main equity and transformation initiative of the national programme.
The broad focus of his present research includes probing student engagement in physics and astronomy including laboratory work, measurement and uncertainty, electricity, basic astronomical concepts, and immersive environments. He has a particular interest in the roles of context and language from a broad cognitive science perspective.
He has previously been a Mandela Fellow at Harvard, a SHARE Fellow at Penn State University and also represented South Africa on the International Commission on Physics Education (2009-2011).
