Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Prof Abdon Atangana, South Africa’s top-ranked scientist in Mathematics

08 March 2022 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studios)

Prof Abdon Antangana — Prof Abdon Atangana, a Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS) and South Africa’s top-ranked scientist in Mathematics, wants to prepare the next generation of African professors.

A new book written by Prof Abdon Atangana, Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with one of his students, on the flow of groundwater, suggests several new and modified models to better predict anomalous behaviours of the flow and the movement of pollution within complex geological formations.

Mathematical Analysis of Groundwater Flow Models is one of two books Prof Atangana published recently that he wrote with his students. The other, Fractional Stochastic Differential Equations: Applications to Covid-19 Modeling, provides a thorough conversation on the underpinnings of COVID-19 spread modelling. He wrote the book with a postdoctoral fellow, Dr Seda Araz Igret from SIIRT University, Turkey. Since 2016 he has published a total number of six books, some of which are still under evaluation by Springer and Elsevier.

Time to prepare next generation of African professors

This highly cited researcher is excited about collaborating with his students on projects such as these as he feels it is time for him to prepare the way for the next generation of African professors. Prof Atangana is ranked at No 219 in the world rankings and No 1 in South Africa by Research.com, a leading academic platform for researchers.

According to the platform, which recently released the 2022 Edition of its Ranking of Top 1000 Scientists in the field of Mathematics, the ranking is based on the H-index metric provided by Microsoft Academic and includes only leading scientists with an H-index of at least 30 for academic publications in the field of Mathematics.

“Both books are important for me because they are first-time published books with my own students. There is a time to prepare the way for yourself and a time to prepare ways for the next generation. It is time for me to prepare the way for the next generation of African professors. I wish that the next time this list (https://research.com/scientists-rankings/mathematics/za) [is released] many of my students [will] appear,” says Prof Atangana.

About his book with Dr Igret, he says it presents the dynamic of COVID-19 spread behaviour worldwide. It is noticed that the spread dynamic followed process with nonlocal behaviours, which resemble power law, fading memory, crossover, and stochastic behaviours. Fractional stochastic differential equations are therefore used to model spread behaviours in different parts of the world.

“The content coverage includes a brief history of COVID-19 spread worldwide from December 2019 to September 2021, followed by statistical analysis of collected data for infected, death and recovery classes,” says Prof Atangana.

Mathematical analysis of Groundwater Flow Models serves as a valuable resource for graduate and PhD students as well as researchers working within the field of groundwater modelling, says Prof Atangana. It includes features such as:

• Modified numerical and analytical methods for solving new and modified models for groundwater flow and transport

• New flow and transform models for groundwater transport in complex geological formations

• Examination of fractal and crossover behaviours and their mathematical formulations

Top-ranking scientist

Prof Atangana was also recently elected as a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and received the World Academy of Sciences Award for Mathematics (TWAS -Mohammad A Hamdan, 2020) on 1 November 2021.

Very recently, he was also ranked No 1 in the world in Mathematics, No 186 in the world in all the fields, and No 1 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. Fewer than 6 200 or 0.1% of the world’s researchers were included on this list in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with fewer than 10 of the scientists hailing from South Africa.

“While my name is ranked No 1 in South Africa and No 219 in the world, this shows the impact of my research that has been done since 2013. It is worth noting that this ranking disadvantages younger researchers. For example, I got my first publication in 2013 but the researcher who was ranked No 1 started in 1972. To make the ranking fair, the total H-index should be divided by the number of years of publication. I am very proud to see that despite this disadvantage I am still topping in South Africa and am No 219 in the world.”

News Archive

UFS Odeion School of Music (OSM) launched

2011-09-15

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Odeion School of Music will be launched at the first Dean’s Concert in the Odeion on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday, 16 September 2011.

The former Department of Music, in the Faculty of Humanities, has been transformed and will henceforth be known as the Odeion School of Music (OSM). This follows in the path of the corporate transition currently taking place at the university, which aims to reflect the progressive and dynamic striving towards excellence, as endorsed by the UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, and his management group.

Two years ago the faculty formulated a new mission with the aim to become an international faculty of excellence. An important component of it has been to create a pro-active marketing strategy and policy towards internationalisation and curriculum development.

The name Odeion School of Music portrays not only an excellent asset in the Free State, but also nationally and internationally. The school’s new name bears the respected Odeion brand and a number of successful and respected ensembles operate under this brand. These include the acclaimed residential Odeion String Quartet, as well as the Music Department’s student ensembles, the Junior Odeion String Quartet, the Odeion Sinfonia, and the Odeion Choir.

According to Prof. Nicol Viljoen, the Chairperson of the OSM, the name change was motivated by the following objectives:

The idea of a school within the Faculty of Humanities not only reflects an academic profile that does justice to the intention of the Department to reposition itself, but also simulates the current identity of the unit. This encompasses diverse thematic entities not only from an academic perspective, but also from a community and cultural perspective. The unit does this through providing services, which include arts entertainment, the provision of facilities, as well as a strong emphasis on community development.
With regard to an international perspective, it provides attractive possibilities not only from the perspective of a marketing and publicity profile, but also with regard to the identity of the unit.
Hypothetically the new name allows more flexibility to complement the profile with reference to newly anticipated developments. These include the application of prestigious international experts as artistic fellows, membership to progressive European, jointly developed degree programmes and curriculum development initiatives, the founding of a chair in Orchestra Conducting, a master’s degree in Arts Management, as well as the incorporation of bio-kinetics in the teaching methodologies of performance practice, to name but a few.
From a management perspective it could also consolidate the perspective of scarce skill specialisation.
To give momentum to the establishment of the OSM, Mr Marius Coetzee was appointed as Innovation Manager. He is a former Project Manager of the European Degree in International Music Management – a joint degree initiative between three Universities from Norway, the Netherlands and Finland, funded by the EU in Brussels. His aim will be to develop and investigate aspects such as internationalisation, marketing, pro-active recruitment strategies, curriculum development and innovative teaching methodologies.

Mr Coetzee said music conservatories, from both European and American perspectives are managed and maintained as highly successful and substantial brands. From the European perspective some examples include the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland), the Liszt Academy in Budapest (Hungary), the Grieg Academy in Bergen (Norway) and the former Sweelinck Academy in Amsterdam (Netherlands). Similar to the South African milieu, the majority of music conservatories in the USA and Canada are resident within an academic university.

However, unlike the South African reality, the majority of these institutions have a value-added identity portrayed by a specific name. Such an example is the renowned Peabody Conservatory of the University of Baltimore or the Jacobs School of Music at the Indiana University Bloomington, to name but a few.

The Dean’s Concert will highlight performances of students in the school. The concert will probably become a regular event in future Spring Music Festivals.

Media Release
15 September 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept