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All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine. – Jim Rohn (American author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker).

Prof Andreas Roodt, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry, will be leaving a legacy with his contribution to science that will take the next generation of chemistry scientists at the University of the Free State (UFS) to new heights.

State-of-the-art crystallographic research centre

In honour of his work of more than 35 years, the Inorganic Chemistry Group in the Department of Chemistry recently unveiled the Roodt Crystallographic Laboratory (Roodt XRD Lab).

During the unveiling, Prof Deon Visser, Head of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry, stated that Prof Roodt has contributed much to chemistry and to the careers of scientists in the department over the years.

Prof Alice Brink, Associate Professor in the department, adds: “Through Prof Roodt’s initiative and support, the Inorganic Chemistry research division has developed into a state-of-the-art crystallographic research centre holding more than R18 million in specialised and advanced crystallographic equipment.”

She believes the newly named Roodt XRD Lab will continue to support the ongoing research of Prof Visser, Prof Johan Venter, herself, Dr Marietjie Schutte-Smith, Dr Dumisani Kama, Dr Pennie Mokolokolo, and Dr Orbett Alexander in Inorganic Chemistry, as well as in the Department of Chemistry on both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.

Prof Brink continues, “During his tenure at the UFS, Prof Roodt served in a number of leadership roles, including his position as Head of the Department of Chemistry (2007-2015). He also served as the Director of the UFS Strategic Academic Cluster: Materials and Nano Sciences (2008-2013), as Dean of the South African Young Scientist Summer Programme (SA-YSSP1-3) in association with IIASA, Vienna, Austria (2012-2014), and as a South African principal investigator for research projects with Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia being awarded research funding for amounts exceeding R20 million.”

Illustrious career with multiple awards and achievements

“In addition, he has received multiple awards and achievements. The most recent and prominent was as the President of the European Crystallographic Association (2012-2015); the first African to hold this position.”

Prof Roodt has authored more than 330 research articles focusing on coordination chemistry, X-ray crystallography, kinetics, and reaction mechanisms as well as nuclear medicine. He has supervised more than 45 MSc and 35 PhD students who have already graduated.

“It is an honour to be recognised in this way,” says Prof Roodt, who will be retiring at the end of this year.