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UFS geared up to be a leading astronomical research institution

31 January 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

UFS unveiled new spectrograph — Assisting Prof Richard Gray with the installation of the spectrograph and the polarimeter were the Electronics and Instrumentation departments at both the UFS and the ASU. Left from the spectrograph, are from the left, front: Innes Basson, Head of the Department of Electronics and Instrumentation, Prof Pieter Meintjes, Senior Professor in the Department of Physics, Mark Jackson, Department of Electronics and Instrumentation, Hélène Szegedi, Lecturer in the Department of Physics, and Prof Richard Gray. At the right, from the spectrograph, front, are Natali Matchelt, master’s student, Izak van der Westhuizen, Lecturer in the Department of Physics; Barend Crous, Department of Electronics and Instrumentation; middle: Wian Smit, master’s student, Joleen Barnard, master’s student; back: Kobus Krüger, Department of Electronics and Instrumentation, Henri Roodt, Department of Electronics and Instrumentation; and Dr Hendrik van Heerden, Department of Physics.

The University of the Free State (UFS) is gearing up to be a leading academic institution in astronomical research. The institution successfully mounted a spectrograph with a polarimeter to the Boyden Observatory 1,5-m telescope that will provide scientists with visual access to both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

The instrument, which can be accessed from Boyden, an astronomical research observatory and science education centre a few kilometres outside Bloemfontein, will allow researchers such as the Astrophysics Group at the UFS to do simultaneous polarimetry and spectroscopy of astronomical sources. This is vital for the research they are working on.

Mounting the spectrograph to the telescope and installing the polarimeter completed the upgrade of the 1,5-m telescope and is a leap forward for the astrophysics group at the UFS. The upgraded telescope with the spectropolarimeter, with a valued cost of R1.5 million, will also provide unique opportunities for collaborative research between the Astrophysics Groups at the UFS and researchers from the Appalachian State University (ASU). This adds greatly to the astrophysics research capacity at the university.

Prof Richard Gray, who 2019 started with the development of the astronomical spectrograph for the UFS Department of Physics, is a world-renowned expert in stellar spectroscopy, from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at ASU in North Carolina in the US. He was mainly responsible for the development and building of the instrument.

Prof Pieter Meintjes, Senior Professor from the UFS Department of Physics, describes the moment that installation was completed as a feeling of enormous relief. “It took many hours of hard work, planning and testing to marry the 90-year 1,5-m telescope with the new sophisticated instrument,” he says.

Adding value to graduate programme

Besides the development and installation of the spectrograph, Prof Gray also designed and built a polarimeter which can be integrated with the spectrograph. When placed inside the spectrograph, this piece of equipment transforms the spectrograph into a spectropolarimeter, giving it additional functionality. “This allows us, for example, to detect and analyse polarised light. It enables us to study the effect of magnetic fields in astronomical sources which introduce various polarisation signatures that can be detected with the polarimeter,” explains Prof Gray.

“I am fascinated by the polarimetric capabilities that we never had before. It is a great step forward,” remarks Prof Meintjes.

“The Department of Electronics and Instrumentation at the UFS played an enormous role in the building of several components of the instrument that Prof Gray designed, as well as getting the 1.5-m telescope research ready so that the completed instrument could be mounted to the telescope”, says Prof Meintjes

He envisages that the research instrument will be ready for research purposes by March this year. Up till then researchers, graduates, and third-year students will have the opportunity to spend time on the spectrograph to familiarise themselves with it.

Prof Richard Gray posing with the polarimeter. With him is Prof Pieter Meintjes. (Photo: Leonie Bolleurs)

“Once installation is finalised, the UFS will be the only academic institution in South Africa with access to a 1.5-m telescope paired with a spectrograph. This gives us an edge in terms of our astrophysics programme and the training we provide our students. It also adds so much value to our graduate programme,” he says.

New instrument provides much flexibility

The spectrograph offers Prof Meintjes many possibilities for his research, and he is eager to put the instrument to use. To study binary systems as well as the jets of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), you need a spectrograph, preferably with polarimetric capabilities. It can also be applied to finding elements at the surface levels of stars so that their chemical composition can be determined.

“In the past, we needed to send our researchers to Sutherland and they were never guaranteed clear skies. Having this facility gives us so much flexibility,” he says.

Prof Brian van Soelen from the Department of Physics will be a key user of the spectrograph for his research. He is also playing an important role in terms of postgraduate training and research where the spectrograph is applied.

Photo: Mart-Mari Duvenhage

The polarimeter converts the spectrograph to a spectropolarimeter. This instrument, which is mounted on a telescope (in the case of the UFS, it is mounted on the Boyden 1,5-m telescope) enables the user to detect whether radiation from astronomical objects are polarised and to analyse the level of polarisation of the light. Scientists can then, for instance, study the effect of magnetic fields in astronomical sources, which introduce various polarisation signatures (typically with a characteristic level of polarisation).

News Archive

Access meets quality in UFS-Varsity College partnership for law degree

2012-07-30

At the event were, from the left: Mr Frank Thompson, CEO of ADvTECH, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, and Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS.
Photo: Johan Roux
30 July 2012

The University of the Free State (UFS) and Varsity College this week officially launched a partnership whereby the university’s Faculty of Law will offer a four-year Bachelor of Law qualification through the UFS School of Open Learning on eight Varsity College campuses nationwide. This new degree will be offered as early as 2013.

This is the fulfilment of a dream, said Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the university. He was one of the speakers at the event that was attended by staff members and management from the, Faculty of Law, the university’s South Campus, Varsity College and ADvTECH.

The UFS Faculty of Law is one of the oldest and most distinguished faculties of law in South Africa, and has a close association with several overseas universities which ensures that the institution is internationally recognised.

“I am very positive and enthusiastic about this new partnership. We want to make this an enriching experience for staff and students from both the university as well as Varsity College,” Prof. Henning said.

The CEO of ADvTECH, Mr Frank Thompson, said he is overjoyed about the project and its potential. Varsity College is a brand of the ADvTECH Group, a JSE listed company invested in human capital.

“This is a new beginning for Varsity College and the UFS. Learning together, the slogan for this project, is very appropriate. We are excited to add new students to the university and Varsity College’s line-up,” Mr Thompson said.

Varsity College is part of the Independent Institute of Education (IIE), the leading provider of private higher education in South Africa. According to Dr Felicity Coughlan, Director of the IIE, the partnership between the IIE and the university is an example of the potential that is inherent in public-private partnerships to increase the range of high quality options available to students.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, who also was one of the speakers at this event, said with this partnership, students will get the best of both worlds in accessing higher education.

The Faculty of Law will ensure that students obtain both a thorough grounding in legal theory, as well as a solid practical foundation, and Varsity College, through a strong commitment to innovative teaching and learning, will empower more students to become legal graduates of the highest calibre. Thus, the innovative partnership between the UFS and Varsity College will produce a Bachelor of Law degree that is highly sought after in the legal profession.

This partnership is the first of its kind, paving the way for increased collaboration between public and private tertiary institutions to best serve the education sector and the future of graduates.

“This is what is possible when two dynamic partners like the university and Varsity College come together,” Prof. Jansen said.

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