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05 November 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah
Prof Moffett’s latest offering collates hundreds of mountain research material into one accessible reference book.

Prof Rodney Moffett recently published a new book focusing on various scientific articles published between 1808 and 2019. The book, A Scientific Bibliography of the Drakensberg, Maloti and Adjacent Lowlands, has 534 pages and covers material appearing in accredited journals, plus unpublished but traceable reports, documents, presentations, and dissertations.

“The scientific articles range from palaeobotany with 17 entries, to rock art with 502 entries, as well as 252 theses and dissertations,” said Prof Moffett.

He said it took 18 months to compile the book, typing the manuscript himself – mostly at night.

In the foreword, Dr Ralph Clark, Director: Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), says: “This bibliography is a labour of love, and will inspire a new generation to take up the baton for excellent research in this fantastic mountain system. We are proud to publish this under the ARU banner as a contribution to growing and consolidating mountain-passionate relationships in Southern Africa, and to encourage our journey towards developing a holistic understanding and sustainable use of these iconic mountain landscapes.” 

Other books

Prof Moffett is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State, and an associate of the Afromontane Research Unit on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus. He was previously Professor of Botany on the Qwaqwa Campus when it was part of the University of the North, retiring in 2000. Since then, he has remained active, publishing scholarly works on ethnobotany and other natural history subjects.

His four recent books, also published by Sun Press, are: Sesotho Plant and Animal Names and Plants used by the Basotho (2010), A Biographical Dictionary of Contributors to the Natural History of the Free State and Lesotho (2014), Basotho Medicinal Plants – Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho (2016), and A Field Guide to the Clarens Village Conservancy (2018). A second revised edition of Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho – 

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Researcher on polymer science on sabbatical in Qatar
2014-09-09

 

Prof Riaan Luyt
Photo: Supplied

Prof Riaan Luyt from the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus has started a 12-month sabbatical in Qatar. This follows an invitation by the Qatar University in Doha to work as a research professor at the university's Centre of Advanced Materials.

In the 21 years that he has spent on the Qwaqwa Campus, Prof Luyt has published more than 165 research papers in international scientific journals and has had over 1 850 citations by other international scientists. He also reviews scientific research on polymer science in more than 10 journals.

“There were no science laboratories when I first came here and I made it my mission to establish them as soon as possible as I was passionate about research then, as I am now,” said Prof Luyt.

He has supervised twenty five master’s and eight doctoral students and is currently supervising five master’s and six doctoral students. Prof Luyt also serves on the International Advisory Board of eXPRESS Polymer Letters – one of the leading polymer science journals.

In 2012, he was listed as the second-best researcher at the UFS and is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences. He has mentored many students who are now leaders in the industry. One of his current doctoral students came to the university as a student in the University Preparatory Programme (UPP), who had not passed matric well enough to be admitted. Yet, Prof Luyt mentored her to where she is today –  currently finalising her PhD in Polymer Science.

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