Faced with an increasing threat of power outages as a result of too few power stations and burgeoning economic and domestic need, Dr Rob Adam's lecture on the nuclear renaissance in South Africa was timeous.

The UCT graduate and chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa delivered the lecture at the Alumni Leadership Forum on 31 October.

The forum is designed to foster the relationship between UCT's alumni and their alma mater.

He began his career in 1979 as a researcher in carbon fibre technology for the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Surrey University. He was detained as a political prisoner between 1981 and 1990.

After his release he produced a science and technology policy for South Africa, under the auspices of the ANC. After two academic posts here and abroad, he joined government, serving as director-general of the Department of Science and Technology for seven years.