Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS trauma surgeon inducted as American College of Surgeons fellow

04 November 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

Dr Emmanuel Arko-Cobbah, Senior Lecturer and Medical Specialist in the Department of Surgery at the University of the Fee State (UFS), says he hopes his induction as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), will show the world that South Africa also produces great doctors from whom they can learn.

The ACS is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment. Dr Arko-Cobbah was inducted on 19 October after a rigorous process. He was part of 1 800 candidates from around the world, but mostly from North America, with about 600 from other countries outside of the US and Canada.

Dr Arko-Cobbah, a trauma surgeon, says it feels surreal as it has always been his dream to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, although it often felt like an impossible dream. “I truly thank God, and I am very grateful, because to me, it feels like it's all part of His plans for me, that is why He is making these things possible for me.

“As a trauma surgeon, it makes me feel I have achieved even beyond our borders, and it gives me the opportunity to also share the knowledge we have locally with the rest of the world. We have a lot to offer, but we tend to get underestimated because of where we’re from,” says Dr Arko-Cobbah.

To become a fellow of the ACS, applicants go through a selection process after applying and then they need to be nominated by three different fellows of the American College who are in good standing. If their nominations get accepted, an interview follows whereafter the reports are reviewed by the committee which then decides the outcome.

South Africa produces great doctors

According to Dr Arko-Cobbah, he hopes to put the UFS on the map with this lifelong fellowship so that the world can know South Africa also produces great doctors and that they can learn from these doctors. “The other side of the coin is for me to inspire others to also aim to get into the American College, and to dream even bigger than this. If I could do this, then anybody can. Partner with God, and dream big dreams, and make big plans. That is what I was taught by Pastor At Boshoff since I was a student, and God has always been faithful.”

After qualifying as doctor and becoming a general surgeon at the UFS, and super specialised as a trauma surgeon, Dr Arko-Cobbah completed a Surgical Leadership Programme with Harvard University in Boston, in the US. “God has always been good to me, and I am forever grateful to the support of my wife and family and continued inspiration and mentorship from Prof André Loubser. I am grateful to the late Prof Theron, and the UFS Surgery Department, past and present, for always pushing me to be better.

News Archive

Four modernised controlled environment cabinets inaugurated

2006-07-27

Photographed in a controlled environment cabinet were at the back from the left: Mr Adriaan Hugo (head of the UFS Electronics and Mechanisation Division), Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS) and Prof Koos Terblans (lecturer at the UFS Department of Physics). In front is Mr Koos Uys (engineering consultant from Experto Designa who helped with the cooling systems of the cabinets).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Different look for research in controlled circumstances at the UFS

Research in controlled circumstances at the University of the Free State (UFS) turned a new page today with the inauguration of four modernised controlled environment cabinets of the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences.

“The controlled environment cabinets, which are situated next to the glass houses on the eastern side of the Agriculture Building on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein, were installed in the early 1980’s. The cabinets, used for research purposes in controlled circumstances by the UFS for many years, became dysfunctional and needed to be repaired and put into use again,” said Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS.

“The cabinets are used by the agronomics, horticulture and soil science divisions of the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences to control factors such as the temperature, the intensity and quality of light, synthesis and humidity. This is done 24 hours a day, with hourly intervals,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

The cabinets are ideally suited to determine the joint and separate effects of these factors on the growth of plants. The adaptability of plants to climate can also be investigated under controlled circumstances. All of this leads to a better understanding of the growth and development process of plants, more specifically that of agricultural crops.

“The effect of these environmental factors on the effectiveness of insect killers such as fungus killers, insecticide and weed killers can also be investigated and can help to explain the damage that is sometimes experienced, or even prevent the damage if the research is timeously,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

A new cabinet can cost between R2-3 million, depending on the degree of sophistication. “Although controlled environment cabinets have been used for agricultural research for a long time, it has become costly to maintain them and even more impossible to purchase new ones,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

According to Prof Van Schalkwyk the cabinets were re-built by die UFS Electronics and Mechanisation Division. Some of the mechanisms were also replaced and computerised.

“The re-building and mechanisation of the cabinets were funded by the faculty and because the work was done by our own staff, an amount of about R1 million was saved. The maintenance costs will now be lower as the cabinets are specifically tailor made for our research needs,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

Where all monitoring was done manually in the past, the cabinets can now be controlled with a computer. This programme was designed by Prof Koos Terblans from the UFS Department of Physics.

According to Prof Van Schalkwyk the modernisation of the cabinets is part of the faculty’s larger strategy to get its instruments and apparatus up to world standards. “With this project we have proved that we can find a solution for a problem ourselves and that there are ways to get old apparatus functional again,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
26 July 2006

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept