A South African science prodigy – with a planet named after him.
He is the youngest member of an energy advisory panel to the African Union. He has garnered worldwide acclaim for his innovative homemade rocket fuel, been presented in front of dignitaries such as Steve Wozniak and Michelle Obama, met the King of Sweden, Nobel laureates, three SA presidents, astronauts and the UN secretary-general.
Clem Sunter, former chairman of the Anglo American Scholarship Panel, said Xuza was so bright that he had had no need of his Anglo scholarship, having won another to study engineering at Harvard.
“In any other country in the world, if a schoolboy had won the awards he has – he has what they call a ‘minor planet’ named after him by Nasa, for goodness’ sake – he would probably be a household name,” said Sunter. “In South Africa, nobody knows about it. It breaks all the normal stereotypes about South Africa and (the Eastern Cape). We should be using this guy as an inspiration to young people.”
His remarkable journey began at 12 when he used utensils in his mother’s kitchen to bake rocket fuel “like cookies” and was scolded for causing fires.
Four years later, his “safer, cheaper” solid rocket fuel won him the top prize in its category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the US.
NASA’s Lincoln Laboratories then gave the name “Siyaxuza” to a giant asteroid near Jupiter, discovered in 2000, and which they describe as “minor planet 23182”.
Xuza said he got hooked on science at five, when – standing on his rural plot near Mthatha in 1994 – he saw a light aircraft for the first time, dropping election leaflets. His parents, now business people, were teachers at the time.
He built his own rocket after watching Mark Shuttleworth’s space flight in 2002, but it exploded on the launch-pad. His next, a year later, broke the national amateur altitude record at nearly 1000m.
He then won a scholarship to St John’s College in Johannesburg. Principal Roger Cameron said he was “not the smartest as a younger child, but he was very focused and very determined”. Cameron credited Xuza’s school teacher parents, as well as top tuition, for “(giving him) that sense that you are special, but also accountable to a strong set of values”.
Xuza won both a Harvard scholarship and an “Opportunities Grant” from the US State Department. Elizabeth Trudeau, spokesman for the US embassy, said: “We really view Siya as a true global citizen who will not only be able to shape the future of his own country, but the world.”
At Harvard, Xuza blurred the lines between the liberal arts and science also studying Mandarin and world music and even used his background as a praise singer to open big university events and perform if there was a class on ethnic music or African culture. “I truly believe that people cannot rely on purely engineering to develop the world; they need to understand art and understand society in order to put a context to whatever invention they are developing. To be a great engineer, you have to be creative. I believe that people shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into one category or another.”
In 2011 he became a fellow of the Kairos Society, a global network of top student and global leaders using entrepreneurship and innovation to solve the world’s greatest challenges. He was invited to the United Nations and the New York Stock Exchange in recognition for being one of the world’s emerging business leaders and to offer strategies for solving the world’s energy crisis.
Xuza’s journey, literally to the galaxy, has finally brought him back to South Africa. His thesis at Harvard centred on creating a storage platform based on micro fuel cells. In layman’s terms, a fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. Xuza’s field of expertise is energy storage and he is currently developing a sustainable model for energy storage based on micro fuel cells in South Africa. His breakthrough on fuel cell storage has recently been accepted for publication.
Xuza acknowledges that there is no simple solution to a problem as complex as energy. “I believe a multifaceted approach is needed for energy. We can’t just advocate for renewables alone, or for fossil fuel-based energy. What we need is an approach that acknowledges Africa’s abundance of fossil resources, solar, and wind and integrate that into a balanced energy supply.”
Although South Africa has the highest global platinum reserves, a key component in fuel cells, Xuza believes that it is up to our younger generation to help harness that potential. “There is an entire fuel cell programme funded by the Department of Minerals and Energy, but there remains a gap for innovators. We have to break out of this generational entitlement that we sometimes fall into in order to use what he have at our disposal and not waiting for others. We need more Africans involved as scientists, and engineers who are involved in South Africa’s energy economy.
“People don’t realise that all my work with the rocket fuel was done in South Africa. There are opportunities here, as long as you are bold and brave enough to take them.”
Xuza acknowledges that he has been extremely privileged to have met and been mentored by some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, who have helped him realise the need to pair engineering with business. “My experiences around the world have motivated my passion, which is not just engineering but entrepreneurship as well. I learnt that engineering is not a means to an end; that lies with business and entrepreneurship.”
It is this integrity-driven model that is fuelling Xuza’s passion. “I’m motivated not by material things but by achieving significance.” His has just founded Siyaxusa Investment, something he says will help harness Africa’s potential in the energy economy.
“I’m very happy to be back in South Africa. I’m excited to be able to grow the economy as well as inspire others to do the same. I’m very passionate about developing a culture of innovation in South Africa”, he concludes.
Let’s celebrate his inspiring trajectory and make him a household name!
Acknowledgements: Leadership magazine/ Joseph Simon; Times Alive / Rowan Philip; Clem Sunter