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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.
New president for Convocation
2012-07-31
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New era for UFS Convocation. From the left are Judge Joos Hefer, former president of the Convocation; Prof. Johan Grobbelaar, newly elected president; and Prof. Nicky Morgan, Vice Rector: Operations.
Photo: Tharina Naude
31 July 2012
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Prof. Johan Grobbelaar of the Department of Plant Sciences has been appointed as the new president of the convocation of the University of the Free State (UFS). He replaces former Judge of Appeal Joos Hefer whose five year term expired.
The convocation consists of all permanent academic staff, all permanent support services staff, and students who have obtained a formal qualification from the UFS.
Judge Hefer referred to the changes that have taken place at the university over the past few years in his speech and said it was an honour to have served in this position. “We reached a situation where one can express satisfaction about what has happened at the university.”