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UFS part of another successful Tritech National Science and Technology Fair in 2023

10 November 2023 | Story Ouma Ngoepe | Photo SUPPLIED

Liezl Geldenhuys (ZZ2), Mellisa Pringle (Lasec), Ouma Ngoepe (CMBG), Prof Maryna de Wit (SFSD), Dr Mariana Erasmus (CMBG), Bernadine Taljaard (ZZ2), Khezwo Nematshema (SFSD), Shahiëda Cloete (SFSD), Jan Andries Viktor (SFSD), Vuyelwa Nkoi (SFSD).

The Centre for Mineral Biogeochemistry (CMBG) at the University of the Free State (UFS) was part of another successful Tritech National Science and Technology Fair 2023 – an exciting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) research competition.

The UFS has partnered with Tritech and other sponsors since 2021 to bridge the gap between high school and tertiary education. Tritech, which started in 2008 and is open to all Grade 7-12 learners, aims to equip them for tertiary education by introducing them to scientific research and incorporating modern technology in research. This is an annual competition that starts at the regional level and goes all the way to the national level, with the national competition held at the Merensky High School, in Tzaneen, Limpopo from 20-21 October 2023.

Schools from across the country take part in the fair, but learners compete in groups rather than schools.

Every year the Tritech Nationals are divided into four main activities over the weekend:

On the Friday afternoon the learners present their STEM projects in which they have identified a problem in a community, do research to find a solution, do experiments to test if the solution will solve the problem, then test the solution in the community, and lastly, present their findings to a group of judges and learners in similar fields. Fields include Life Sciences, Engineering and Design, Maths, Science and Technology, Environmental and Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Agricultural Sciences.
Friday evening is usually a fun activity for the learners.
On Saturday morning the learners are exposed to work-related activities that give them insight into professions they could pursue in the science field. This activity is sponsored and presented by the UFS.
The last activity of the weekend is the prize-giving on Saturday afternoon where the learners get rewarded for the quality of their projects and honour, celebrate, and encourage excellence.

“Every year the CMBG includes different departments from the UFS in alignment with the theme for the event, to ignite a lasting passion for innovation toward promising careers in the STEM fields. In 2022 the theme for Tritech was “Crime Scene Investigators” and the CMBG team created a very realistic crime scene and laboratory setup to teach the learners about Forensic Science. The learners scored our CSI activity as the best for the weekend and we knew that for the 2023 Nationals, we had our work cut out to do even better,” says Dr Erasmus.

Learning about food health and safety

This year, Prof Maryna de Wit and her students from the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development (SFSD) joined the CMBG team, to introduce learners to food health and safety, food preservation, food systems and development, as well as sensory analyses.

Island, shipwrecks, and wilderness survival

Dr Mariana Erasmus, Deputy Director of the Centre for Mineral Biogeochemistry (CMBG), spearheads the Tritech team from the UFS. CMBG, as part of its community outreach programme, is not only a sponsor of the event but is also the organiser of the main activity together with another UFS department.

Dr Erasmus says the theme for Tritech 2023 was “Survival MasterChef”, where for the two activity events, the Tritech learners were “stranded” on an island. This exercise was a great way to promote leadership qualities, encourage creativity and confidence, promote teamwork and active communication, and increase critical thinking in learners, while they got to know more about food health and safety practices.

“It was all island, shipwrecks, and wilderness survival at this year’s event where learners had to survive after being ‘stranded’ on an island. To escape, the learners had to build a boat and while they waited to be rescued, they needed to adapt to island life to survive by preparing healthy meals, as well as preparing meals and drinks to treat dehydration and scurvy,” says Dr Erasmus.

“During the prize-giving, some of the learners received shadowing opportunities at the UFS and other sponsors to advance their education. Bronze, silver, and gold medals, together with participation certificates, were awarded to other deserving learners.”

Learners taking part in the “stranded” on an island exercise during the Tritech National Science and Technology Fair 2023.

Panelists of the 2023 Tritech National Science and Technology Fair

Tritech National Science and Technology Fair in 2023

Learners took part in various activites.

News Archive

Nanotechnology breakthrough at UFS

2010-08-19

Ph.D students, Chantel Swart and Ntsoaki Leeuw

Scientists at the University of the Free State (UFS) made an important breakthrough in the use of nanotechnology in medical and biological research. The UFS team’s research has been accepted for publication by the internationally accredited Canadian Journal of Microbiology.

The UFS study dissected yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil by peeling microscopically thin layers off the yeast cells through the use of nanotechnology.

The yeast cells were enlarged thousands of times to study what was going on inside the cells, whilst at the same time establishing the chemical elements the cells are composed of. This was done by making microscopically small surgical incisions into the cell walls.

This groundbreaking research opens up a host of new uses for nanotechnology, as it was the first study ever in which biological cells were surgically manipulated and at the same time elemental analysis performed through nanotechnology. According to Prof. Lodewyk Kock, head of the Division Lipid Biotechnology at the UFS, the study has far reaching implications for biological and medical research.

The research was the result of collaboration between the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, the Department of Physics (under the leadership of Prof. Hendrik Swart) and the Centre for Microscopy (under the leadership of Prof.Pieter van Wyk).

Two Ph.D. students, Chantel Swart and Ntsoaki Leeuw, overseen by professors Kock and Van Wyk, managed to successfully prepare yeast that was exposed to over-used cooking oil (used for deep frying of food) for this first ever method of nanotechnological research.

According to Prof. Kock, a single yeast cell is approximately 5 micrometres long. “A micrometre is one millionth of a metre – in laymen’s terms, even less than the diameter of a single hair – and completely invisible to the human eye.”

Through the use of nanotechnology, the chemical composition of the surface of the yeast cells could be established by making a surgical incision into the surface. The cells could be peeled off in layers of approximately three (3) nanometres at a time to establish the effect of the oil on the yeast cell’s composition. A nanometre is one thousandth of a micrometre.

Each cell was enlarged by between 40 000 and 50 000 times. This was done by using the Department of Physics’ PHI700 Scanning Auger Nanoprobe linked to a Scanning Electron Microscope and Argon-etching. Under the guidance of Prof. Swart, Mss. Swart en Leeuw could dissect the surfaces of yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil.

The study noted wart like outgrowths - some only a few nanometres in diameter – on the cell surfaces. Research concluded that these outgrowths were caused by the oil. The exposure to the oil also drastically hampered the growth of the yeast cells. (See figure 1)

Researchers worldwide have warned about the over-usage of cooking oil for deep frying of food, as it can be linked to the cause of diseases like cancer. The over-usage of cooking oil in the preparation of food is therefore strictly regulated by laws worldwide.

The UFS-research doesn’t only show that over-used cooking oil is harmful to micro-organisms like yeast, but also suggests how nanotechnology can be used in biological and medical research on, amongst others, cancer cells.

Figure 1. Yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil. Wart like protuberances/ outgrowths (WP) is clearly visible on the surfaces of the elongated yeast cells. With the use of nanotechnology, it is possible to peel off the warts – some with a diameter of only a few nanometres – in layers only a few nanometres thick. At the same time, the 3D-structure of the warts as well as its chemical composition can be established.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
18 August 2010

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