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08 May 2024
Photo SUPPLIED
The Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Paul Oberholster, has the pleasure of inviting you to the inaugural lecture of Prof Dirk Opperman.
Date: 21 May 2024
Time: 17:30
Venue: Equitas
Click here to RSVP before Wednesday, 15 May 2024. Alternatively, contact Christelle van Rooyen on +27 51 401 9190.
About Prof Dirk Opperman
Prof Dirk Opperman obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of the Free State in 2008. This was followed by postdoctoral research on directed evolution with Prof Manfred T Reetz at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (Germany). In 2010, he was appointed in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry. He subsequently established structural biology at the UFS, and his current research focus lies at the interface of evolutionary and structure-function relationships of biocatalysts, and their application in green chemistry. He is an NRF B-rated researcher with co-authored papers in Science, Nature Communications, and Angewandte Chemie.
His research has been funded by both local and international organisations, ranging from industries such as SASOL to the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF, UK). He has a long-standing collaboration with researchers at the Delft University of Technology (TUDelft, the Netherlands) and is currently part of a European Research Area Network Cofund (ERA-NET Cofund) partnership on Food Systems and Climate (FOSC) that develops biocatalysts for upcycling waste.
Acting Rector visits USA universities
2009-04-17
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Prof. Verschoor (second from the left, front) and the delegation during the visit to the Appalachian State University.
Photo: Supplied |
| The Acting Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof. Teuns Verschoor, recently returned from an extensive visit to the United States of America (USA). He was accompanied by Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Director International Affairs, and Mr Arthur Johnson, Coordinator at the International Office. An institutional agreement has been signed between the UFS and Appalachian State University (ASU), which will focus on staff and student exchange, within the ambit of service learning initiatives. Prof; Mabel Erasmus, Head of Service Learning at the university’s Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development (CHESD), joined Prof. Verschoor and the delegation for the ASU part of the visit. Proff. Verchoor and Stroebel also interviewed potential Fulbright Senior Specialists to participate in the conceptualisation of the proposed International Institute for Diversity. They had discussions with Mellon Foundation representatives and it is planned that the UFS will participate in a networking and showcasing event to potential international donors later during 2009 at Princeton University under the auspices of Seton Hall University, New York. Discussions took place with several staff at Cornell University, including Prof. Alice Pell, Vice-Provost for International Affairs, and Prof. Muna Ndulo, Director of the Institute for African Development. It has been agreed that an institutional memorandum of agreement will be signed between the UFS and Cornell early in the second semester following the assumption of duty of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor Designate, Prof. Jonathan Jansen. Prof Jansen is an alumnus of Cornell University |