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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

Wrongful suffering must be compensated, Prof Johann Neethling argues
2016-04-20

Description: Prof Johan Neethling, wrongful suffering must be compensated Tags: Prof Johan Neethling, wrongful suffering must be compensated

From the left are Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Caroline Nicholson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof Neethling, Prof Rita-Marie Jansen, Vice-Dean, and Dr Brand Claassen, Head of the Department of Private Law.
Photos: Stephen Collett

On 11 April, the Faculty of Law held the first of the year’s series of Prestige Lectures presented by Prof Johann Neethling, Senior Professor in the Department of Private Law.  The event was attended by senior faculty members, the Dean of Law Prof, Caroline Nicholson, and the Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen.

In his opening remarks, Prof Jansen said “Prestige lectures are at the heart of a university’s academic endeavour. It would serve the university community well to present them more often, as they go to the heart of important issues that affect society”

Prof Neethling made a compelling case for compensation for wrongful suffering by a child born with impairments. Since the mid-1960s, the actions of wrongful conception and wrongful birth have been recognised in South African law. Wrongful conception is defined as when a healthy child is born as a result of failed sterilisation or abortion, and wrongful birth is when a doctor fails to inform parents of a disability before the birth of their child.

“The reality is that a child born with impairments may indeed suffer (sometimes extreme) pain, loss of amenities of life, which would justify an award of damages,” he said.

So far, the action for wrongful suffering has been dismissed by the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. However, he highlighted several cases where wrongful conception and wrongful birth was recognised by the courts.

“Why can the same approach (for wrongful conception and wrongful birth) not be followed in wrongful suffering claims by accepting that a disabled child seeks to address the consequences of its birth?” he asked.

Prof Neethling is regarded as one of the greatest minds in Private Law, not only in South Africa but in the African continent.

A festschrift, Essays in Honour of Johann Neethling (2015), with contributions from more than 50 of his peers around the world, was also launched at the lecture.

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