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30 December 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Gavin Dollman
Gavin Dollman is involved in virtual prospecting for fossils using a drone.

Gavin Dollman is one of the young researchers selected for the international research programme funded through the US-SA Higher Education Network. This prestigious programme is aimed at giving PhD candidates and their supervisors the opportunity to regularly travel to the USA and spend time at participating US universities where their co-promoters will be based.

“The University Staff Doctoral Programme (USDP) has allowed me to bring my idea of collaborative science to fruition. It’s an exciting opportunity,” Dollman said.

Dollman added that his PhD studies would focus on the machine and deep learning for prospecting for palaeontology. He is studying with the Appalachian State University. Other participating universities are Montana and Colorado State.

He has also had the privilege to work alongside a team of Geologists and Paleontologists from the universities of Birmingham, Zurich and Oxford in a project under the auspices of the University of the Witwatersrand’s Evolution Studies Institute (ESI) on a site in rural Eastern Cape.

“My role within this massive project is to perform a detailed survey of the sites and the surrounding area for later analysis. I used a drone known as the DJI Phantom 3 Pro with which I took hundreds of pictures that were later put together to create a detailed map,” he said.

“The maps allowed for virtual prospecting by the team and will in the long term serve as the basis for a predictive fossil model for the area.”

Dollman is a lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics on the Qwaqwa Campus.

News Archive

UFS appoints a Dean of Student Affairs
2009-12-08

The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Mr Rudi Buys as its new dean of Student Affairs.

Mr Buys is the Chief Executive Officer of iGubu Leadership Agency and has in this capacity been involved with student affairs by holding key clients in the higher education sector, including amongst others, the Universities of the Free State, Stellenbosch and Pretoria.

“Mr Buys has provided consultancy services to the Student Affairs Department of the UFS and he knows the strengths and weaknesses of the system, the climate and challenges. He also enjoys the trust of our students, is accepted by students across all races and has a sound knowledge of current student issues. He has a passion for youth/student leadership development and I am very pleased that he is joining this university,” says Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

"I consider the appointment an immense privilege – joining a higher education institution such as the UFS with a proud heritage and an even more significant future. I relish the opportunity to join the team at the UFS in realising the vision of an internationally renowned and socially responsive institution. I wish to thank the University for this vote of confidence and offer my utmost commitment in honouring the appointment. As the UFS has inspired me, I'm convinced that the institution will inspire our nation,” says Mr Buys.

Mr Buys has also worked as a Commissioner at the Western Cape Youth Commission, was spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Ministry and is a founding member of a number of civil society initiatives. His academic qualifications include an M.Theologia, B.Divinitatis (Hons Eq) and B. Theologia.

He will take up office on 4 January 2010.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
4 December 2009
 
 Mr Rudi Buys

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