“The Appointments Committee of Senate appointed Prof Celeste Viljoen as the incoming Vice-Dean Teaching and Quality Assurance when Prof Anton Basson steps down from this position at the end of August,” says Prof Wikus van Niekerk (Dean: Engineering). “We congratulate Prof Viljoen on her appointment and wish her all the best for this challenging position. We…

“I was destined to end up in teaching – several of my family members, including both parents and a grandmother, work(ed) in education,” says Neo Motang who joined the Department of Process Engineering as junior lecturer on 1 April 2020 after teaching at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for four years. She is one…

Initially, Oscar Röhrs was torn between pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Medicine & Health Sciences or Engineering. He opted for the latter. However, a few years later he was thrilled to include his interest in the medical field when choosing a topic for his master’s degree, titled Development of a canine knee implant. He received…

“From a young age, I was very interested in electronics and computer programming, and was therefore keen to pursue a career in this field. This passion came from my dad, who built basic circuits with me, and taught me how to write computer programmes even before I went to Grade 1,” says Rensu Theart who…

Article written by Dr Alec Basson (Corporate Communication) ​​Over the past few years, Stellenbosch University (SU) has featured prominently at the annual National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)/ South32Awards. This year is no different with 10 SU finalists competing for the 2019/2020 NSTF/South32 Awards at South Africa’s “Science Oscars”. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,…

Article by Dr Alec Basson (Corporate Communication) Three researchers and two former postgraduate students from Stellenbosch University (SU) have been honoured by the South African Academy for Science and Arts for their contributions to science and the arts. The award winners are Prof Matilda Burden of the SU Museum, Prof Jan van Vuuren of the…

Article by Dr Riaan Combrink Hanru Muller’s masters topic is focused on luminescent concrete using luminescent aggregate. During the lockdown period he stayed on a farm and used the low light conditions and low light pollution as the ideal environment to conduct some field tests. The images show the implementation of a luminescent road sign,…

Article by Development & Alumni COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the world, bringing nations to a complete standstill and leaving economies in tatters. In South Africa it is no different as fears and uncertainty abound about what to do about the pandemic and how to get it done. In the midst of this, Matie alumni…

“Ruan was a supervisor’s dream: he was independent, a quick learner, and solved his own problems. Before long he also knew much more about the project details than me, so I could get out of his way and let him do the good work.” These are the words of Dr Neill Goosen, supervisor of Ruan…

The first full-time Director of the ARUA Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Energy, Dr Neill Goosen, started his term in January 2020. Dr Goosen says: “Stellenbosch University is part of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) launched in 2015. The ARUA network consists of 16 research intensive African Universities from sub-Saharan Africa, and the network…