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08 May 2024
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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.
Kellogg Foundation impressed by MUCPP
2009-05-12
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The USA-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the funders of the Mangaung-University of the Free State Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP), is determined to help this programme leverage financial independence to sustain itself long beyond its funding. This was said by its Senior Vice President, Mr Jim McHale, during his latest visit to the MUCPP to get an update on its work. We want to look at how we can help the organisation to get through this very critical time of developing its strategic plan and looking at how it can create its own entity moving forward, he said. We want to continue to partner with them during this time through both funding as well as moral support. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has been a partner of MUCPP for nearly 15 years now. Pictured at the function were, from the left, front: Mr Benedict Mokoena (Acting Director: MUCPP), Ms N.A. Phupha (Mangaung Municipality) and Mr Jabulani Khethelo (Chairperson: MUCPP Board of Trustees). Back, from the left: Prof. Basie Wessels (MUCPP), Mr McHale and Prof. Teuns Verschoor (Acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor: UFS).
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe |