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Microscope donation helps learners to access the wonders of natural science

02 December 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

Read more — Prof Koos Albertyn handing over a donation of eleven microscopes to Anzell Spelding, a teacher at Luckhoff Combined School.

With a donation of microscopes, the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently contributed to better quality education for a group of 60 learners in the Life Sciences class at the Luckhoff Combined School.

Anzell Spelding, a teacher at the school – with a newly built science laboratory but little equipment – contacted the department a while ago to enquire whether they have any microscopes available to donate. As the department recently acquired a new set of microscopes for undergraduate teaching in the field of Microbiology, ten fully functional microscopes and two other microscopes (for parts) were donated to motivate the learners to choose science as a career.

“This donation puts scientific instruments in the hands of children at an early age, opening their eyes to the possibility of careers in science. Exposing learners to science at an early age can spark enthusiasm and a love of learning that might otherwise never appear,” said Koos Albertyn, Professor in the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.

“These microscopes will enable learners to look at specimens at a microscopic level and therefore access the wonders of natural science at the tiniest and most fascinating level,” he added.

News Archive

UFS research on yeast nanorobotics

2006-05-09

Ten members from the University of the Free State's (UFS) Lipid Biotechnology Research Group in the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology will be presenting their research on yeast nanorobotics (nanotechnology) at three international conferences in Europe during May and June 2006.

It is one of the biggest group of students from the department to present their research overseas.

The conferences to be attended include the 2nd International Conference on Non Mammalian Eicosanoids, Bioactive Lipids and Plant Oxylipins held in Berlin, Germany; the 3rd European Conference on Computational Mechanics (ECCM-2006) held in Lisbon, Portugal and the 25th International Specialised Symposium on Yeasts (ISSY 2006) held in Helsinki, Finland. The UFS Lipid Biotechnology Group is also co-organising the conference in Berlin.

The group members are in front from the left Ms Chantel Swart (M Sc student), Ms Ntsoaki Leeuw (M Sc student) and Ms Monique Goldblatt (M Sc student).
Middle from the left Mr Olihile Sebolai (Ph D student and recipient of the Free State Premier Excellence Award), Ms Ané van Heerden (M Sc student) and Dr Catrine Strauss (post-doctoral student).
At the back are from the left Mr Desmond Ncango (M Sc), Dr Carlien Pohl (Senior Researcher), Prof Pieter van Wyk (Head: UFS Center for Confocal and Electron Microscopy) and Prof Lodewyk Kock (Head: UFS Lipid Biotechnology Group).
Photo: Stephen Collett

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