Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
03 January 2023
|
Story Lacea Loader
|
Photo Evert Kleynhans
Dr Dolf van Niekerk.
The University of the Free State (UFS) would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of South African author, Dr Dolf van Niekerk, on his passing.
Dr Van Niekerk, the recipient of an
honorary doctorate from the UFS, passed away on 31 December 2022. The UFS awarded a Doctor of Letters to Dr Dolf van Niekerk during its April 2021 graduation ceremony.
Dr Van Niekerk was a celebrated author who also achieved fame as a dramatist and radio presenter. An alumnus of the UFS, he received a BA degree from the university cum laude in 1949. He also played a role in academia and was an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria until his retirement in 1994. His work includes 27 books in philosophy, poetry, fiction, drama, and memoirs, for which he has received numerous awards. These include the
Eugene Marais Prize, the MER Prize, and the Scheepers Award for Youth Literature.
“Dr van Niekerk is a Kovsie alumnus with a deep connection to the Free State. He played a significant role in the country’s literary history, and it was an honour for the university to award him with an honorary degree. A wordsmith of note, Dr van Niekerk’s contributions to South African literature, radio, and stage will live on," says
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.
Inaugural lecture on high energy universe delivered at the UFS
2009-03-25
 |
Prof. Pieter Meintjes from the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently delivered his inaugural lecture on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. The topic of the lecture was “The high-energy universe: Exotic objects and cataclysmic outbursts”. According to Prof. Meintjes, head of the department’s Astrophysics Group, we are entering a golden age regarding synergies of very large and very small objects. “Astrophysicists are playing a leading role in studying nuclear fusion in extreme environments such as neutron stars and graviation spots. This knowledge can be used by future generations to produce useable energy. Rotating gravitation spots can also produce “wormholes” in the universe, which makes space trips on galactic outer galactic scale a reality for generations to come. “The Astrophysics Research Group already plays a prominent role in multi-wavelength astrophysics in South Africa,” said Prof. Meintjes. At the inaugural lecture were, from the left: Prof. Hendrik Swart, head of the Department of Physics, Prof. Meintjes, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector, and Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collett |