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05 May 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Prof Hennie van Coller and Prof Hendrik Swart
Prof Hennie van Coller, left, received the the NP van Wyk Louw medal, and Prof Hendrik Swart, right, received the Havenga Prize for Physical Sciences.

The board of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK) recently (22 April) announced the winners of the 2022 prizes. The academy, which was established in 1901, aims to promote the use of Afrikaans in science and the arts.

Havenga Prize for Physical Sciences

Prof Hendrik Swart, NRF B1-rated researcher, SARChI Research Chair in Solid-state Luminescent and Advanced Materials, and Senior Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS), received the prestigious Havenga Prize for Physical Sciences.

He says it is an honour to receive this award. “When I look at the list of names that have received the award in the past, I am very humbled and surprised to receive such an award.”

The Havenga Prize, for which candidates are specifically judged on research publications and evidence of their promotion of Afrikaans, has been awarded annually for the past 77 years for original research in the natural sciences or a technical field. 

A collaboration with researchers from the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) on semiconductor materials that improve the efficiency of solar cells, resulted in Prof Japie Engelbrecht (Emeritus Professor, NMU) nominating Prof Swart for this award. He is involved in an NRF collaborative research project with NMU and Linköping University in Sweden.

Prof Swart has played an important role in the acquisition of numerous research devices for analysing the thin layer of phosphor, and the semiconductor devices that can be made from such materials. His research and zeal for his work led to the establishment of the national nano-surface characterisation facility (NNSCF) containing state-of-the-art surface characterisation equipment. 

The PHI Quantes XPS system, for instance, is the first in Africa and one of only 20 in the world. The Quantes XPS system uses X-rays to determine the chemical composition of molecules on the surface of a sample. The system is unique in the sense that it also has an extra X-ray source that can determine the chemical state below the surface, which was not possible in the past. This will help to dictate the position of defects in phosphor materials, which will consequently enable the department to create better phosphor for solid-state lighting as well as solar cell applications.

The most meaningful for him, however, was the production of several well-trained postgraduate students and the generation of high-impact, well-cited scientific publications.

This award, one of several awards he has received during his career, does not signify the end of the road. On the contrary, he is looking forward to improving solar cells by using the phosphor materials they have manufactured, applying it on glass windows doped with phosphors to generate electricity.

NP van Wyk Louw Medal and Alba Bouwer Prize for children's literature

The NP van Wyk Louw Medal was awarded to Prof Hennie van Coller, a researcher who is also affiliated to the UFS. Prof Van Coller, currently an emeritus outstanding professor and research fellow at the university, was a former Head of the UFS Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, as well as Chairperson of SAAWK. He is known for his impact on the literary world, both locally and internationally, through the quality of his scientific articles and books. 

According to SAAWK, the body awards the NP van Wyk Louw Medal for a person’s creative contributions to the exploitation, organisation, and continuous development of a section of the humanities, significantly contributing to the advancement of the humanities.

Jaco Jacobs, the children’s author of more than 170 books who recently presented the 35th DF Malherbe Memorial Lecture at the UFS, was also awarded for his work. Jacobs, also a UFS alumnus, received the Alba Bouwer Prize for children's literature. The prize, which is awarded every three years, was presented to Jacobs for the book Die boekwinkel tussen die wolke, written during the COVID-19 lockdown period. 

SAAWK will present the awards later this year during two virtual award ceremonies in July. 

News Archive

"May Month of Compassion" for UFS staff
2011-05-04

 

From the left: Louis van Wyk (Central Region, Events Coordinator of ER 24) and Prof. Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences
Photo: Gerda-Marie Viviers

The Health and Wellness Centre of our university has kick-started the “Action of Compassion” which is aimed at promoting physical health for staff members of our university. This initiative is done in collaboration with Medi-Clinic and Pathcare who will be offering medical screening tests from 3 May 2011 until 13  May 2011. This forms part of the “Wake up to your Wellness – Take Control” programme of the Health and Wellness Centre. The tests will be done at 27 stations across our Main Campus. On 16  May the Wellness Centre will be at the South Campus and the date for a visit at the Qwaqwa Campus is to be established later. “The reason why we are doing this, is to conduct a research on Staff Wellness, give the staff feedback on their health and to create a database using the information we receive, so we can evaluate the health of our staff members and have them view their own status over time and whether they are making the right wellness choices,” said Dr Annette Prins.

This is a once-a-year initiative. Last year an estimated 1 100 staff members participated. This year the Health and Wellness Centre hopes to increase the figures. The medical screenings will include services like blood pressure, weight, height and BMI which will be conducted by Medi-Clinic and the cholesterol and blood glucose screenings will be conducted by Pathcare.

 

4 May 2011

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