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10 November 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Prof Abdon Atangana was recently elected a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

Prof Abdon Atangana, Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), was recently elected a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

He also received the World Academy of Sciences Award for Mathematics (TWAS -Mohammad A. Hamdan, 2020) on 1 November 2021.

TWAS, described as the voice for science in the South, is working towards the advancement of science in developing countries and supports sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy, and diplomacy. 

Outstanding contribution to science

Prof Mohamed HA Hassan, President of TWAS, congratulated Prof Atangana on this prestigious achievement, “Your election as fellow is a clear recognition of your outstanding contribution to science and its promotion in the developing world. We will be honoured to have you among our members.”

Candidates elected as TWAS Fellows are scientists whose contributions to their respective fields of science meet internationally accepted standards of excellence, and they must have distinguished themselves in efforts to promote science in developing countries. 

Prof Atangana is known for his research to develop a new fractional operator, the Atangana-Baleanu operator, which is to model real-world problems. With this operator, he not only describes the rate at which something will change, but also account for disrupting factors that will help to produce better projections.

Among others, his models can advise people drilling for water by predicting how groundwater is flowing in a complex geological formation. Furthermore, his work can also be applied to predict the spread of infectious diseases among people in a settlement, forecasting the number of people who will be infected each day, the number of people who will recover, and the number of people who will die. 

These are only two examples of how his work can be applied to better the lives of people.

Promoting science in the developing world

Besides promoting science in the developing world, Prof Atangana’s work also contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – the global goals as set in 2015 that call for ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring that all people enjoy prosperity and peace.

Prof Atangana says the election as fellow is a clear recognition of his outstanding contribution to science and its promotion in the developing world. “My work over the past five years has made a great impact in all fields of science, technology, and engineering.”

To be elected as TWAS fellow in mathematics, made him the second South African researcher to be elected in the field of mathematics (the first person elected was Prof Reddy Batmanathan Dayanand, who was elected in 2003). This also placed him as the sixth African mathematician to be elected as a TWAS fellow.

Very recently, he also ranked number one in the world in mathematics, number 186 in the world in all the fields, and number one in Africa in all the fields, according to the Stanford list of 2% single-year table.

He was also named among the top 1% of scientists on the global Clarivate Web of Science list. Less than 6 200 or 0,1% of the world's researchers were included on this list in 2020, with no more than 10 of the scientists hailing from South Africa. 

Prof Atangana is also editor of more than 20 top-tier journals of applied mathematics and mathematics, and for some of these journals he was the first African to be selected as editor. 

News Archive

Kovsie student to participate in G8 2013 Summit
2013-06-06

A Kovsie student is heading to London to attend the June G8 2013 Youth Summit. Tumelo Moreri is part of a chosen few who will walk among world class leaders as a delegate of the African Union.

The summit provides a platform for young leaders where they are able to collectively voice their opinions. It also gives them the opportunity to gain valuable insights on international diplomacy in order to tackle 21st century challenges head on.

The African Union delegation, of which Tumelo is part, includes representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. It consists of a Head of Government, Sherpa, Press Secretary, Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Finance, Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Energy and Climate Change, Minister of Development, and Minister of Defence. They are responsible for developing and negotiating position papers with regards to the various ministerial positions.

Tumelo Moreri is a co-founder of Tomorrow’s Leaders Today in her home country, Botswana. She is currently the International Affairs Officer of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the Bloemfontein Campus. “The highlight for me is the fact that I am representing Africa. Africa’s voice will get to be heard through us,” says Moreri. “I see this as a huge opportunity to strive to make a contribution towards Africa and finding solutions unique to her problems. This will be a stepping stone to effecting change. This learning curve will shape and influence global discourse.”

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