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Prof Marian Tredoux, Associate Professor in the
Department of Geology at the University of the Free State,
recently had a mineral named after her.
Photo: Sonia Small
Prof Marian Tredoux is a geochemist and lecturer in the Department of Geology at the University of the Free State (UFS). Her research interests are rocks, particularly the chemistry of rocks and the minerals they are composed of – chemicals similar to those found in laboratories, although they occur in nature.
Prof Tredoux started her research career at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), after which she spent a number of years at the University of Cape Town (UCT). For the past 11 years, she has been at the UFS, which has brought her in close proximity of her primary field-research area in Barberton. This fascinating part of the country has been the focus of her research for 30 years. She has always been intrigued by the earth's crust in this area, which she describes as "very old, very strange, and very interesting".
Prof Tredoux has been collaborating with colleagues and peers overseas in an attempt to unravel the intricacies of this unusual geological area. Some of these colleagues recently discovered a new mineral in one of the rock formations of the Barberton mountain range. They decided to name the mineral after Prof Tredoux, dubbing it tredouxite. "I am very honoured by this, and very grateful that all these years of collaboration are being acknowledged," Prof Tredoux said.
Computer Science lecturer receives Vice-Chancellor’s Award for teaching excellence
2011-11-11
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Dr. Liezel Nel from our Department of Computer Science.
Annually, many lecturers receive awards and recognition for their contribution to the UFS’s plans to accomplish outstanding academic performance.
Photo: Johan Roux
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This year, the UFS presented its fourth awards function for outstanding learning and teaching.
At the awards function this past week, lecturers were rewarded for their outstanding teaching inputs at the UFS.
Dr Liezel Nel from our Department of Computer Science and Informatics was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s award for her outstanding contribution to teaching and learning at the UFS.
The award, together with other awards presented to lecturers for outstanding teaching and learning, was instituted to encourage innovative teaching methods in departments in order to achieve outstanding academic results.
The Vice-Chancellor’s award is awarded to the lecturer who not only displays good leadership, but has also published research during the preceding year, with excellent knowledge and teaching skills in his/her discipline.
Dr Nel said she had realised over the past years that educators increasingly had more teaching resources at their disposal than before, which could be utilised to improve the teaching and learning experience of students.
“Therefore, I constantly renew my study material and the way in which I present the material. Currently I use a combined method, which includes electronic presentation by means of Blackboard, personal interaction and sessions, which enable the student to take ownership of the module.”