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A decision regarding the possible covering of the MT Steyn statue in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus has not been taken yet.
The opportunity for stakeholders to submit oral and written submissions on whether they agree or disagree with the covering of the MT Steyn statue in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus until the formal review process on the position of the statue has been concluded, ended on Wednesday 11 April 2018, with 71 written and three oral submissions received by the special task team.
The submissions will be included in a submission to the Free State Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (FSHRA) in order to obtain a permit for the possible covering of the statue. An independent analysis of the submissions is currently underway.
The special task team would like to thank those who submitted oral and written submissions. The university community will be updated on the outcome of the decision by the FDHRA regarding the possible covering of the statue, as well as the results of the independent analysis.
Related articles:
Call for submissions for covering of the MT Steyn statue: Deadline extended to 11 April 2018 (Published on 9 April 2018)
Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393
NASA Deep Space Navigation engineer presents at Naval Hill Planetarium
2017-03-30
From the left: Chris du Plessis; US Consulate, Johannesburg,
Prof Petrus Meintjes; Dept of Physics UFS, Christopher Jacobs;
NASA, and Anthony Deaton; US Consulate Johannesburg.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin
The University of the Free State (UFS) hosted NASA Deep Space engineer Christopher Jacobs on 27 March 2017 at the Bloemfontein Campus. The engagement was hosted by Prof Matie Hoffman of the Department of Physics and the Department of Institutional Advancement, in collaboration with the US Consulate General in Johannesburg.
Jacobs is stationed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology and has served as the Reference Frame Calibration task manager for 25 years. In this role he has been responsible for delivering the reference frames used to navigate NASA missions such as the Mars Science Laboratory to planetary targets.
His visit to the UFS included a presentation to the Department of Astrophysics at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and at the Naval Hill Planetarium in Bloemfontein where he spoke on Stellar GPS: Navigating the Solar System. He also spoke about the latest research and developments at NASA in Astrometry. The visit will establish and develop shared interests and possible collaboration with UFS and other institutions of interest in the country. “South Africa, because of its well-placed geographic location in the southern hemisphere, holds a lot of answers to astronomy,” Jacobs said.
He has an active interest in professional and public education, and outreach, having given public lectures around the world. “Astronomy brings people together and is a point of common interest that is key in solving environmental and geographical challenges such as climate change, therefore global cooperation is important,” he said.
Prof Hoffman welcomed the initiative by the US Consulate and the possible outcomes of joint efforts to position the UFS as a key partner in South Africa on NASA’s astronomy projects. In the coming weeks Jacobs will speak at high schools in Gauteng including the Mae Jemison US Science Reading Room in Mamelodi, Pretoria, a centre that is focused on promoting science education.