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04 April 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Cup
Lubabalo Dobela
Flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela will be an important cog in the wheel for the Shimlas against the Maties in the semi-final stage of the Varsity Cup. He has been named Player that Rocks twice this year.

The Shimlas (University of the Free State) will go into the semi-final against the unbeaten Maties with confidence, knowing that they can compete against them, said coach Hendro Scholtz.

The Shimlas will travel to Stellenbosch for the Varsity Cup clash on Monday (8 April). They qualified for the play-offs thanks to a 38-14 victory over the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the final round of the competition on Monday 1 April 2019.

The Free State students lost to the Maties by 59-14 two weeks ago, and although the score reflects a big hiding, the Shimlas stood tall for most of the encounter.

“With 18 minutes remaining, we trailed by only ten points (14-24). We can gain confidence from that. We learned a couple of things about them. We will have to stop their driving mall and be sharp when it comes to our discipline. They will hurt us if we concede penalties,” said Scholtz.

According to him, it is important to get off to a good start. “You often sit with students who have other things to think about apart from rugby, such as upcoming tests, which can hamper their concentration. Against UJ in the wet, it was important to play the conditions right, and I think it made the players concentrate that little bit more.”

The Shimlas won four of their eight group matches and will look back on their defeats against the Pukke and Ixias as matches that they could easily have won on another day.

It is the fifth time in the 12 years of the Varsity Cup that the Shimlas have reached the final-four stage, with one win in 2015 over the Ikeys.

The Shimlas will be without two of their key men among the forwards – the injured flank Janco Cloete and hooker Hanno Snyman.

News Archive

UFS Physics Research Chair receives more funding
2017-11-20


 Description: Prof Hendrik Swart, Physics Research Chair receives more funding Tags: Prof Hendrik Swart, Physics Research Chair receives more funding

Prof Hendrik Swart, Senior Researcher Professor in the
Department of Physics at UFS.
Photo: Charl Devenish

A research project into low-energy lighting using phosphor materials for light emitting diodes (LEDs) at the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS) has received further recognition. 

The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi) has awarded further funding for the Research Chair in Solid State Luminescent and Advanced Materials situated in the department. Prof Hendrik Swart, a Senior Research Professor in the Department of Physics, says this means that the Chair will carry on receiving funds from SARChi for another five years. The Initiative also awarded Prof Swart in 2012 for the research, which resulted in funding for equipment and among others, bursaries.    

Better light emission in LED’s
The research focuses on better light emission of phosphor powers in LEDs. It is also looking into improving LED displays in flat screens. The research into solar cells has shown that phosphors can also increase their efficiency by increasing the range of light frequencies, which convert into electricity. It also entails that glow-in-the-dark coatings absorb light during the day and emit it at night. 

Prof Swart says over the next five years the research will focus on developing and producing devices that emit better light using the substances already developed. “We need to make small devices to see if they are better than those we already have.” In practical terms, it means they want a farmer’s water pump that works with solar energy to work better with less energy input.” 

Device that simulates sunlight
Prof Swart says the renewal of the Chair’s funding means the department can now get equipment to enhance its research   such as a solar simulator. The solar simulator uses white LEDs whose intensity output and wavelengths can be tuned. The output is measured in number of suns. It enables researchers to work in a laboratory with a device that simulates sunlight.     

According to Prof Swart the long-term benefit of the research will result in more environmentally friendly devices which use less energy, are brighter and give a wider viewing field. 

About 10 postdoctoral researchers are working on the studies done by the Chair in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 

The Research Chair Initiative aims to improve the research capacity at public universities to produce high-quality postgraduate students, research and innovative outputs. The criterion for evaluating the department’s Chair includes aspects such as how much development has occurred over the past five years. The assessors look at features such as the number of students the research entity has trained and how many publications the research team has produced.

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