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29 March 2022
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Story Teli Mothabeng
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Photo Supplied
Philmon Bitso, Student Recruitment Officer, with the top-10 cohort of the class of 2021 Free State Star of Stars.
The Department of Student Recruitment Services at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its annual Free State Star of Stars competition at the Amanzi Private Game Reserve during the first week of March. The event saw some of the brightest young minds in the Free State inducted as UFS first-year students into this year’s top-10 cohort for the competition. This marks the first Star of Stars event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This new cohort consists of a dynamic group of academically gifted students from Quintile 1-3 schools in the Free State who are currently enrolled for different UFS academic programmes, ranging from Medicine, Law, Education, and various Bachelor of Science courses. Many of these students had to overcome insurmountable challenges to perform as well as they did in their Grade 12 academic year and to become part of the top-10 cohort for the class of 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Student Recruitment Services was forced to take a different approach to celebrate these deserving students; consequently, a weekend-long induction camp was the substitute for the annual gala dinner.
Apply for the 2022 Free State Star of Stars competition
The UFS realised the need to establish a platform that recognises and celebrates the diverse and, in most instances, difficult circumstances that disadvantaged schools (Quintile 1-3) are facing. Consequently, the Star of Stars competition was developed and established in 2016. This competition provides disadvantaged Grade 12 learners from all districts in the Free State an opportunity to showcase their excellence, while motivating them to aspire to achieve more.
Six from Physics receive doctorates at UFS Winter Graduation
2015-07-08

From the left are: Prof Koos Terblans, Dr Shaun Cronje, Dr Hendrik van Heerden, Dr Pieter Barnard and Prof Pieter Meintjes. Photo: Stephen Collett |
The Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS) is extremely proud of six graduands who received doctorates at this year’s Winter Graduation which took place from on the Bloemfontein Campus from 1-2 July 2015. Three of the graduands are personnel in this department.
According to Prof Koos Terblans from the Department of Physics, it seems to be the most PhDs awarded at the university during one graduation ceremony.
The following people received doctorates:
1) Dr Shaun Cronje (UFS)
He investigated the loss of surface atoms during segregation of Sb from Cu using a computational model and experimental measurements.
2) Dr George Tshabalala (UFS)
He synthesised and characterised down-conversion nanophosphors.
3) Dr Hendrik van Heerden (UFS)
He searched for pulsed high-energy non-thermal emission from the nova-like variable system AE Aquarii.
4) Dr Pieter Barnard (SASOL)
He investigated the surface segregation of S in Fe and Fe-Cr alloys using computational models and experimental methods.
5) Dr Luyanda Noto
He investigated the luminescence mechanisms of tantalite phosphors.
6) Dr Alida Odendaal (UFS)
She investigated the multi-wavelength properties of a sample of Magellanic cloud and Galactic supersoft X-ray Binaries.