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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.
Dr Dirk Strydom named 2015 Free State Agriculturist of the Year
2015-11-30
Dr Dirk Strydom, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State, was chosen as the 2015 Free State Agriculturist of the Year by the Agricultural Writers Central Region.
Photo: Sonia Small |
Dr Dirk Strydom, a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) at the University of the Free State (UFS), was presented with the title of 2015 Free State Agriculturist of the Year.
Dr Strydom, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, received the award on 23 October 2015 from the Agricultural Writers Central Region, the professional association promoting the image and standards of agricultural journalism in South Africa.
“A driven and ambitious young academic,” is how Dr Strydom is described.
According to the Agricultural Writers, Dr Strydom is blessed with the rare skill of bringing to his engagement with the agricultural community at large the same excitement and focus with which he approaches his students and his research.
“Strydom has perfected the art of disseminating complicated theory, and the intricacies of the South African Futures Exchange to the agricultural community.”
Dr Strydom epitomises the new generation of young scholars emerging from the PSP. This new breed of academic is very aware of the need to translate published scholarly discourse into practical usefulness for the broader public.
Hence Dr Strydom’s emphasis on the duty of the scholar to share vital innovation, intricate research, and its applications, not only with students but with the community at large.
The award is recognition for Dr Strydom’s work by the agricultural community.
He was also the recent recipient of an award from the Brahman breeders for his “outstanding scientific contribution” to their industry.