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21 April 2021
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Story Eugene Seegers
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Photo Supplied
Adelia Chauque graduated with distinction during the April Virtual Graduations hosted by the UFS.
On 20 April 2021, 693
South Campus students graduated during a
virtual ceremony, with 213 of them achieving distinctions. One of these is
Adelia Chauque, the newly elected South Campus SRC member for Policy and Transformation. During her journey as a student, Adelia says that she had numerous obstacles to overcome. For instance, she mentions that her “biggest challenge was completing my tasks with an unstable data connection during the pandemic”. Despite this impediment, Adelia managed to excel in her studies and obtained her qualification with distinction.
Adelia says her family was her biggest support system. “Due to the network problems that I faced my family had to drive me around until we found a stable connection that enabled me to write my tests.” Other support came from the university itself. “I received a lot of support from the academic adviser, Mr Chwaro Shuping,” she says. “Although he couldn't arrange for me to return to campus, he called regularly to ensure that I was still academically active.”
After overcoming these hurdles, Adelia is continuing her academic journey. “I am enthusiastic and eager to learn or to better myself. Due to that, I am furthering my studies by enrolling for a second degree programme in
Administration majoring in Industrial Psychology. I am very ambitious, in the sense that I strive for perfection and consistency with an organised and maintainable future, therefore being part of the SRC enables me to assist students and myself with a secured and comfortable learning environment to achieve our goals at the institution.”
Adelia balances her responsibilities in the SRC portfolio of Policy and Transformation on the South Campus by having a schedule planned that ensures she does not fall behind. She concludes, “During the morning, I attend my prescribed lectures to ensure that I will continue to slay academically. Then I am visible in the SRC office from 12:00 to 16:30. After hours, I contribute my time to study, but I remain available to students who prefer texting.” The university is keen to see the heights to which Adelia will attain in the coming years.
“I am enthusiastic and eager
to learn or to better myself.”
Adelia Chauque, South Campus SRC:
Policy and Transformation.
An astrophysics pioneer at Kovsies
2014-01-05
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| Prof Pieter Meintjes |
Over the last decade Prof Pieter Meintjes’ strong background in astrophysics led to the development of a course of excellence at the University of the Free State.
Today we present an Astrophysics degree at our university, from first-year courses to PhDs.
Meintjes matriculated at the Sybrand van Niekerk High School in Sabie and completed a BSc in Physics and Mathematics at the North-West University in 1988. In 1990 and 1993 he respectively obtained his MSc and PhD in Physics from the same university.
Hereafter he spent a post-doctoral year at the Max Planck Institute for Space Science near München in Germany. In January 1997, Meintjes was appointed as a senior lecturer at our university’s Department of Physics. He was promoted to Professor in Physics in 2008.
Prof Meintjes is a member of the South African Institute for Physics (SAIP) and during 2002-2004 he was also co-chair of the astrophysics and space science group of SAIP. He serves on the executive committee of the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP) and is often a visiting lecturer at the University of Cape Town. He is a NRF-supported researcher and author and co-author of 70 publications in high-profile international journals and published conference issues.
During 2011-2013 he successfully delivered three PhD students along with one MSc student. His PhD students also delivered addresses at international conferences in Champery (Switzerland), Heidelberg (Germany), Paris (France), Barcelona (Spain) and Milan (Italy), Cape Town and the Kruger Game Reserve.
Over the last two years he has also been the author and co-author of six publications in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), as well as various publications in the Astrophysical Journal in support of the international planet search programme. A further 12 publications also came forth from Meintjes’ international conference contributions.
During the recent H.E.S.S. meeting in Namibia, Meintjes was appointed as the latest member of the highly-regarded international cooperation with H.E.S.S.
His membership of the H.E.S.S. group is due to his knowledge on gamma rays, which entails research on high-energy astrophysics.