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22 February 2018 Photo Johan Roux
UFS professor recognised as one of Africa exceptional young scientists Prof Abdon Atangana
Prof Abdon Atangana is from the University of the Free State’s Institute for Groundwater Studies.
Prof Abdon Atangana from the University of the Free State’s Institute for Groundwater Studies was recently announced by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) as one of 25 early career scientists who were elected to form part of the third cohort of the AAS Affiliates Programme, which recognises exceptional young African scientists.

The Affiliates will be part of the AAS membership pool from 2018 to 2022, during which time they will be supported to attend conferences, symposia and workshops and other activities that will improve their skills in proposal development, grant writing and pitching innovations to help them win more grants, improve their publication records and ensure that their research impacts their communities.

Brilliant minds
“We welcome the new cohort that represents some of the brilliant minds from the continent. The AAS is committed to ensuring that they are provided with the opportunities they need to develop their careers and contribute to the development of the continent,” said AAS Executive Director Prof Nelson Torto.

The third cohort saw the most competitive pool yet with an overwhelming number of nominations from across the five regions of the continent of PhD holders below the age of 40. This year’s Affiliates are also drawn from countries not covered in the previous two cohorts including, Ethiopia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Other countries from which the 25 were selected are Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Tunisia, South Africa and Uganda.

Besides mathematical sciences, Affiliates also represent disciplines that include cultural sciences, humanities and social sciences, medical and health sciences, agricultural sciences, biosciences and geological, environmental, Earth and space sciences.

World class research leaders
The AAS is a pan-African organisation headquartered in Kenya, that aims to drive sustainable development in Africa through science, technology and innovation. The AAS set up the Affiliates programme in 2015 to recognise, mentor and help early career professionals develop into world-class research leaders.

News Archive

A tale of many cities – new dictionary of place names reveals our heritage
2015-01-28

 

‘The Dictionary of Southern African Place Names’ provides not only the answers, but also gives insight into how our places and our people were shaped. Penned by three academics from the University of the Free State (UFS), it is the fourth edition of this fascinating book.

Prof Peter Raper from the UFS Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment, together with his colleagues Prof Theodorus du Plessis and Dr Lucie Möller, created more than a reference book. They provide the reader with deeper understanding of events, our heroes, beliefs, values, fears and aspirations.

Jonathan Ball Publishers describes the book as “the most comprehensive glossary of Southern African towns, villages, railway stations, mountains, rivers and beaches. The 9 000 short entries incorporate data from sources dating as far back as 1486, encapsulating the linguistic and cultural heritage of all the peoples of the subcontinent, past and present.”

And what would the origin of the name Bloemfontein be?

This dictionary provides the following answer.

“Capital city of the Free State and judicial capital of South Africa. It was established in 1846 by Major HD Warden at a fountain on the farm Bloemfontein, originally owned by a Griqua, Mauritz Pretorius. It has been claimed to have been named after a person with the surname Bloem, or in honour of the Khoikhoi chief Jan Bloem, or after an ox with this name. Probably, however, it was named after flowers growing at the fountain, from Dutch bloem, ‘flower’, fonteijn, ‘spring’. The name is thought to be a translation from a Bushman name of which Mangaung is the Sotho adaptation; ma- is the Sotho plural prefix or class marker; the component ngau is comparable to the Bushman word //au, ‘flower’, and the final ng is cognate with the locative demonstrative ?, ‘that (one) there’. Bloemfontein attained municipal status in 1880.”




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