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03 January 2023
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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.
Chantel Swart honoured for best Ph.D.
2011-11-11
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Dr Chantel Swart, one of our Prestige Scholars.
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Chantel Swart, one of the Prestige Scholars of the University of the Free State (UFS), received the South African Society for Microbiology (SASM) award for best Ph.D. at a gala dinner in Cape Town this week.
Her Ph.D. was about her important breakthrough in the use of nanotechnology in biological and medical research. The title is The influence of mitochondrial inhibitors on zoospore and ascospore development.
According to Prof. Lodewyk Kock, who was her study leader, assisted by two co-supervisors, Chantel’s achievements would not have been possible without the collaboration of Proff. Hendrik Swart (Physics) and Pieter van Wyk (Microscope Centre), both from the UFS.
Chantel’s award follows on invitations she has received to international conferences in Beijing (Medichem 2011) and later in November 2011 to Philadelphia (Biotechnology 2011).