Zakithi Msimang, with other metrologists from Africa attending a regional training course held at the IAEA Dosimetry Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria. (Photo: IAEA)
When a vacancy arose in 2001, she jumped at the opportunity to work with ionising radiation again — becoming the laboratory’s metrologist for that field. Through the IAEA technical cooperation programme, she participated in a regional training course on a new code of practice for dosimetry.
“The training launched my career, by showing me the importance of having a unified and consistent approach to calibrating equipment around the world,” Msimang remembers fondly. This introduction to the IAEA’s work persuaded her to join the IAEA’s Dosimetry Laboratory on a technical cooperation fellowship in 2003, while pursuing her master’s degree.
Returning to Pretoria, she became a group leader and eventually director of the entire division at the National Metrology Institute of South Africa.
“Moving into an executive position meant fighting for funding for key programmes; coming with up strategic ideas; understanding what laboratories have, what the country needs and what is possible,” Msimang reflects.
Armed with this leadership experience, she joined the IAEA in 2020, just after finishing her doctorate in physics. “Joining the IAEA enabled me to undertake a larger role — one that contributes to ensuring the harmonization of dosimetry and global access to calibrations for all.”
Reflecting on the journey that brought her from South Africa to the IAEA dosimetry lab in Seibersdorf, she reminds herself and all those around her: “Follow your passion, even if it isn’t clear.”
