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06 April 2018 Photo Rulanzen Martin
Researchers to represent UFS at BRICS Summit
From the left: Dr Thulisile Mphambukeli, leader of the BRICS research team that is exploring the political economy of water and food security, and her research partner, Dr Victor Okorie.

A Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) delegation is to hold the 10th Annual BRICS Summit in the last week of May 2018 in Johannesburg. Dr Thulisile Mphambukeli, leader of the University of the Free State (UFS) research team alongside Dr Victor Okorie from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, in collaboration with Prof Lere Amusan of North-West University, will ensure that water and food security is a prominent feature on the gathering’s agenda.
 
First, the project titled: “Exploring the political economy of water and food security nexus in BRICS and Africa” will debut at the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences BRICS Think Tank Forum”.

According to Dr Mphambukeli, the key to water security is attitudinal change by means of education and conscientisation. This, she is adamant about, holds the potential to drive behavioural adjustments in the way society interacts with water.
 
Genetic and social approaches
Dr Okorie asserts that if strides towards reducing the demand for water were to be made, research efforts should be geared towards effecting changes at DNA level. Meaning we need to explore waterwise ways that enable crops and animals to thrive optimally. 

The project also looks at social dimensions of water such as flushing a toilet. “Research activities on redesigning toilets, especially the urinal, where more than nine litres of water are used to flush less than one cubic centimetre of urine, are timely in the context of managing water and the food nexus crises,” said Dr Okorie.

Combining the genetic and social approaches would allow us to produce more with a smaller water footprint. This can be made possible by implementing precision agriculture which is about estimating and applying exact quantities of water and nutrients needed for the production of crops or the raising of livestock.

Paradigm shifting policies
Prof Amusan said the team intended to propose functional solutions that take the quality of water into consideration. Equitable production and distribution of water depends on endorsing policies of co-production between citizens, governments and the public sector. BRICS member states mutually consider water and food security as an issue of paramount significance, hence its feature on this prestigious summit’s agenda.

News Archive

Prestigious awards, membership and two A-ratings from the NRF indicate a boom in research
2014-12-04

Several UFS researchers were honoured with awards this year. This includes, from the left: Prof Jeanet Conradie from the Department of Chemistry, Dr Aliza le Roux from the Department of Zoology and Entomology on the Qwaqwa Campus of the UFS, Profs Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

The University of the Free State (UFS) had several highlights in the field of research this year. This includes two A-ratings, which were awarded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) to Prof Maxim Finkelstein from the Department of Mathematics and Actuarial Science, and Prof Melanie Walker, Senior Research Professor and Director of the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED) and DST/NRF Chair in Higher Education and Human Development.

Prof Finkelstein’s A2-rating makes him the only A-rated researcher in ‘Probability and Statistics’ regarding Mathematical Sciences in the country. Prof Walker was evaluated in the division for Research, Innovation Support and Advancement and received an A1-rating.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, considers these ratings as one of the clearest signs that the standard for research across the institution has increased significantly.

Prof Jansen was honoured with the Academy of Science of South Africa’s (ASSAf’s) Science-for-Society Gold Medal for his outstanding achievement in scientific thinking to the benefit of society.

"An award such as this recognises the power of science and scholarship to improve the human condition," Prof Jansen said.

A further highlight at ASSAf’s prestigious annual awards ceremony was the induction of Prof Jeanet Conradie from the Department of Chemistry and Dr Aliza le Roux from the Department of Zoology and Entomology on the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus as new members of ASSAf.

Prof Conradie was also this year’s first runner-up in the senior category for Distinguished Women Researchers: Physical and Engineering Science in the Department of Science and Technology’s 2014 Women in Science Awards.

Prof Corli Witthuhn: Vice-Rector: Research, describes Prof Conradie as a highly productive researcher who publishes in high-impact journals.

“Not only is she the first female professor in the Department of Chemistry, but she also has extensive international networks and collaboration which elevates the impact of her work even further,” Prof Witthuhn said.

Dr Le Roux is one of ten young researchers inaugurated as members of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS). She was also elected to serve on the executive committee of SAYAS. According to Prof Witthuhn, Dr Le Roux is an outstanding young scientist.

“I am very excited about the young researchers on our Qwaqwa Campus, with Aliza as one of the leaders, and I am looking forward to what they will achieve in the next five years,” she said.

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