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Faculty of Science Annual Report 2015 Faculty of Science Annual Report

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Faculty of Science Annual Report 2015 Faculty of Science Annual Report 2015 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2015 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT From the Dean The Faculty of Science seeks to establish itself as a respected thought leader and knowledge partner in Africa and the international academic arena. During 2015, it made great strides in its pursuit of this vision and Stellenbosch University’s strategic priorities, with its staff and students excelling in numerous ways. Research excellence The year under review saw two new research chairs being added to the Faculty’s existing nine chairs. They are the SARChI chair in Integrated Skeletal Muscle Physiology, Biology and Biotechnology, while collaborative efforts with the CSIR resulted in the implementation of a joint research chair in Quantum, Optical and Atomic Physics. Several researchers managed to secure competitive grants from South Africa’s National Research Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation and the European Union. The Faculty realises that excellence also requires collaboration in order to enhance its international visibility and publication quality and deepen research in areas where it lacks skills or infrastructure. In the reporting year, the Faculty collaborated with more than 700 institutions worldwide. Two of these collaborations, with bioinformaticians from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and the University of London, resulted in two workshops for staff and students on next generation sequence analyses and statistics and methods in bioinformatics. During 2015 a record number of 50 PhD and 150 Honours students graduated – the highest number of postgraduate students since 2011. Several of our researchers received recognition for research excellence, with awards being made to Prof. Bert Klumperman (2015 SASOL Chemistry Innovator of the Year medal), Prof. André de Villiers (South African Chemical Institute’s Raikes medal) and Prof. Delia Haynes (Jan Boeyens prize of the South African Crystallographic Society). The Havenga prize for life sciences, awarded by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, was awarded to Prof. Leon Dicks. Phd student Mr Ethan Newman received the NRF award for best next-generation male researcher. Broadening access The Faculty remains committed to educate an increasing number of young scientists in support of the South African government’s initiative to create a knowledge society. By broadening access to the Faculty’s teaching and research, including a more diverse group of students, the aim is to develop critical thinkers who will play an active role in the development of a successful multicultural South African society. The Faculty is therefore involved with recruitment actions and bursaries to top students from all population groups. Various initiatives are being implemented to ensure excellent undergraduate teaching and student success. This includes differentiated student support and innovative teaching and learning strategies, such as the flipped classroom, blended learning and the intensive use of information and communication technology. 2 2015 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT Societal impact To give further content to the University’s ethos of “science for society”, our academic departments engaged in a number of social outreach activities, most notably the Department of Chemistry’s chemistry outreach initiative SUNCOI, and the Department of Physics’ celebration of the International Year of Light. Researchers also contributed to popular science magazines such as Quest, the online platform Conversation Africa and participated in our popular Science Café Stellenbosch events. In conclusion There is no doubt that 2015 was a tumultuous year for higher education institutions in South Africa. We are experiencing large scale changes with impacts on the local and global level. While we are acutely aware of the impact of these events on our staff and students, I am proud to present this annual report as a testament to the exceptional people and students in this faculty who have managed to maintain high standards, a record postgraduate student output and a variety of awards for excellence in research. I would like to make use of this opportunity to thank each and every one for their outstanding work ethos and diligence during 2015. Prof. Louise Warnich Dean: Faculty of Science Stellenbosch University 3 2015 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT Contents Research excellence ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Teaching and learning .................................................................................................................................... 9 Departmental reports: Department of Biochemistry .............................................................................................................. 15 Department of Botany and Zoology ................................................................................................. 26 Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science ........................................................................... 37 Department of Earth Sciences ............................................................................................................ 54 Department of Mathematical Sciences ............................................................................................. 68 Department of Microbiology .............................................................................................................. 84 Department of Physics ......................................................................................................................... 91 Department of Physiological Sciences .............................................................................................. 108 Publication list ................................................................................................................................................. 121 Contact details ................................................................................................................................................ 175 4 2015 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT RESEARCH EXCELLENCE Prof. Pieter Swart, Vice-Dean: Research The Faculty of Science prides itself on being both a centre of excellence for undergraduate and postgraduate training in the physical, biological and mathematical sciences, as well as one of research excellence. RESEARCH PROFILE Over the past five years the Faculty’s researchers have managed to maintain a publication unit output of above 200 subsidised publication units per year. 2015 ACCREDITED RESEARCH PUBLICATION UNITS PER DEPARTMENT Physics Mathematics Chemistry & Polymer Science Biochemistry 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Based on 2015 figures from Scopus and the Web of Science, the Faculty of Science has 18 researchers with an h index of 25 and higher (in order to obtain an h index of 25, one would have had to publish at least 50 papers). Prof. Dave Richardson, Director of the Centre for Invasion Biology (CIB), has an h index of 67, followed by Prof. Len Barbour from the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science with an h index of 45 and Prof. Guy Midgley from the Department of Botany and Zoology at 43. Other researchers with above average h indexes are Prof. Bert Klumperman (40) (Chemistry and Polymer Science), Prof. JC Clemens (36) (Earth Sciences), Prof. 5 2015 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT Leon Dicks (40) (Microbiology), Prof. Emile van Zyl (33) (Microbiology), Prof. Harald Pasch (33), Prof. Helgard Raubenheimer (31) (Chemistry and Polymer) and Prof. Brian van Wilgen (38) (CIB). The number of NRF-rated scientists increased from 106 in 2014 to 112 in 2015. This includes 6 A- rated, 41 B-rated, 42 C-rated, 2 P-rated and 21 Y-rated scientists. NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION The Faculty continuously seeks to strengthen and renew strategic alliances with entities such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, iThemba LABS and first-rate international universities and institutions to build capacity and provide development opportunities for postgraduate students. The year under review saw two new research chairs being added to the Faculty’s existing nine chairs. Prof. Kathy Myburgh now holds the new SARChI chair in Integrated Skeletal Muscle Physiology, Biology and Biotechnology, while collaborative efforts with the CSIR resulted in the implementation of a joint research chair in Quantum, Optical and Atomic Physics held by Prof. Hermann Uys. In July 2015 a SU/CSIR research seminar focused on those areas where both institutions hold expertise and which hold potential for future collaboration. Smaller seminars focusing on specific areas of expertise will follow. During 2015 our researchers, postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows collaborated with nearly 400 institutions from 64 countries worldwide. The interactions included the co-authoring of journal articles and other publications, student and staff exchanges and research visits, as well as co- presenting workshops and seminars. Staff and postgraduate students delivered more than a hundred (114) papers and posters at national and international conferences, including 26 plenaries and invited talks. Sixteen of our postgraduate students walked away with awards such as best talk or best poster. Our researchers also actively contribute to the scientific community through their activities on the editorial boards of more than 75 national and international journals, either as editorial board members, editors or section editors.
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