Awards to Research Groups at UFS Department of Chemistry:

• DTI Award – The research group of Prof Andreas Roodt, Head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, won the first prize in the category Development of Small, Medium, and Micro-Enterprises (SMME) at the annual Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) award ceremony. For more information, click here.

Special awards to colleagues in the UFS Department of Chemistry:

• NTSF Award – Prof Jan vd Westhuizen and group
• Honorary medal – Prof Riaan Luyt
• First Jan Boeyens medal – Prof Gideon Steyl

At INDABA 6 (Sept 2009) in the Kruger National Park, Prof Gideon Steyl from UFS Chemistry became the recipient of the first Jan Boeyens medal for outstanding young scientists (younger than 40 years) in theoretical Chemistry/Physics.

The panel of judges consisted of two international and four local scientists. The international INDABA series of conferences/workshops, sponsored by the International Union of Crystallography, is held every third year and usually attracts in excess of 100 scientists from up to twenty countries in the disciplines of Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Applied Mathematics.

Prof Steyl also presented an invited lecture at INDABA6.

From the left: Prof Peter Comba (University of Heidelberg, Germany), Prof Jan Boeyens (University of Pretoria), and Prof Gideon Steyl (UFS).

Front, from the left: Prof Demi Levendis (Wits), Prof Sine Larsen (University of Denmark, President: International Union of Crystallography), Prof Jan Boeyens (University of Pretoria), Prof Peter Comba (University of Heidelberg, Germany); Back: Prof Gideon Steyl (UFS), Prof Andreas Roodt (UFS), Prof Helder Marques (Wits).