Remembering Martin Wittenberg, Longtime Director of DataFirst
We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Martin Werner Wittenberg, 61, on Saturday, July 27, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.
From 2010 to 2023, Wittenberg, a professor in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town (UCT), was the director of DataFirst, a research data service dedicated to giving open access to data from South Africa and other African countries. Under Wittenberg's leadership, DataFirst won the National Science and Technology Forum’s Data for Research Award and was awarded the CoreTrustSeal, making DataFirst the only internationally accredited open data repository on the African continent.
"As the first social science data repository in Africa, DataFirst has encouraged and supported data sharing throughout the continent," said former ICPSR Director George Alter.
David Lam, former director of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR), shared, "I was honored to know and work with Martin for almost 30 years. He was one of South Africa's most brilliant and creative economists, and he appreciated the importance of making data publicly available and user-friendly. He will be greatly missed."
More information:
- In remembrance: Professor Martin Werner Wittenberg (Campus Communications, University of Cape Town, August 2024)
- Celebrating the work of Professor Martin Wittenberg (DataFirst, October 2024)
Nov 15, 2024