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12 February 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Prof Angelique van Niekerk and CP Naude
Charl-Pierre Naudé with Prof Angelique van Niekerk after launch and discussion of his book.

Die Ongelooflike Onskuld van Dirkie Verwey is the debut novel by Charl-Pierre Naudé, research fellow in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Naudé has published four volumes of poetry and is a poet by profession. Die Ongelooflike Onskuld van Dirkie Verwey is his first leap from poetry to prose. He is also a former winner of the Ingrid Jonker Prize for poetry.

The book, published by Tafelberg, was launched on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on Thursday 30 January 2019 where Naudé was in conversation with Dr Francois Smit, also from the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, during which the two of them attempted to analyse the world of the main characters; however, Naudé did not want to give away too much. ”I think people should read the book,” he said.

Spiritual and physical worlds

 

“The novel is a first-person narrative told by one of the characters. I wanted to play a certain bluff to determine exactly who the author of this book was,” said Naudé. The book is not totally explicable. “I wanted the reader to feel that it is not absolutely true.”

''The book seeks to combine the spiritual and physical worlds,” said Naudé. Die Ongelooflike Onskuld van Dirkie Verwey is essentially a love story in which the two worlds merge, but nonetheless never mix.

 

Creative writing course revived

 

“The book is Charl-Pierre’s creative output which forms part of his creative writing course,” said Head of Department, Prof Angelique van Niekerk. This is the first book published after the revival of the creative writing course at the UFS in 2015 – and what a book to kick off with!

“It is of great importance for our department to have been part of this book,” Dr Smith said.

Read here the article published in Huisgenoot.

News Archive

UFS researcher runner-up in 2014 Women in Science Awards
2014-08-18

 

Prof Jeanet Conradie
Photo: Supplied

Prof Jeanet Conradie, professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS), was the runner up in the senior category for Distinguished Women Researchers: Physical and Engineering Science in the Department of Science and Technology’s 2014 Women in Science Awards. With this award, female scientists and researchers are encouraged and rewarded, and also profiled as role models for younger women. 
 
Science and research, by which new concepts are discovered, is her great passion. Due to this keen interest in science, Prof Conradie studied a variety of subjects during her undergraduate years, providing her with a vast knowledge and the necessary background for her current main research interest, which is a combination of various scientific fields. Her PhD in Chemistry, as well as her strong background in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics and Applied Maths, influenced her choice of research interest and expertise to gradually develop in the direction of computational chemistry, which is a beautiful combination of chemistry and physics. 
 
Today, Prof Conradie’s research expertise is in computational chemistry, using the super computer and appropriate software to simulate, understand and predict the behaviour of atoms and molecules in real life. The use of computational chemistry makes it possible to study chemical reactions and phenomena that are impossible or too dangerous to study experimentally. Her research team also performs experimental work in the laboratory to combine and compare with the computational analysis. Based on the results obtained, new materials with specific properties are developed. 
 
“We are very proud of Prof Conradie. This award is the result of 14 years of hard word, a lot of it after hours. We are fortunate to have someone like you as colleague who puts guidance to students and learners first in research, teaching and community service,” said Prof André Roodt, Head of the Department of Chemistry at the UFS. 
 
Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research said: “Prof Conradie serves as a role model for younger academic scholars in higher education through her motivation, productivity and drive. She also serves as an example of how female scientist can reach the top of their profession while juggling both professional and family responsibilities. This is well deserved recognition for her outstanding research achievements”

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