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Lebakeng soars: Allan Gray nominee and beacon of achievement

18 October 2024 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Supplied

The University of the Free State (UFS) celebrates Lebakeng Mokhele, a remarkable student nominated for the prestigious Allan Gray Student Achievers programme. This recognition highlights Mokhele’s exceptional academic journey, fuelled by dedication and a commitment to making a difference.

Mokhele is a beneficiary of the Centre for Global Change, exemplifying the positive impact of the centre.

Triumph over adversity

Despite facing significant challenges during his first year, Mokhele persevered and achieved remarkable success. Starting his academic journey on foot and enduring seven months without electricity, he demonstrated exceptional discipline and dedication to his studies.

Using a candle for light, Mokhele diligently pursued his academic goals, ultimately earning the prestigious title of Best First-Year in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics. His achievement was even more impressive considering the obstacles he overcame. Mokhele's story serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of maintaining focus in the face of adversity.

Mokhele’s story is one of perseverance. Growing up, he wanted to become a medical doctor. He credits his mother as his unwavering pillar of support. Additionally, he acknowledges Dr Amon Magwiro and Annemarie van Noordwyk for their guidance and mentorship.

A Well-Rounded Achiever

Currently pursuing an Honours in Business Management, Mokhele has a list of impressive accomplishments:

Top achiever awards across various departments
Best academic performer among all students in 2019
Golden Key International Honour Society member
Best performer in the Department of Business Management in 2020

Ambitious Goals and Aspiring Vision

He aspires to earn a PhD in Business Management while simultaneously establishing a thriving mixed farming enterprise. The Allan Gray programme offers him an opportunity to network and gain exposure to the financial industry – a developing passion sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leadership and Community Focus

His dedication extends beyond academics. He is actively involved in extracurricular activities, including organising community soccer tournaments. He demonstrates strong leadership through his roles as:

President of Enactus UFS
Treasurer of Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development in Maluti-a-Phofung
His farming venture currently employs workers and plans for expansion are underway. Through his ‘bucks n bucks’ consultancy, he assists aspiring entrepreneurs.

Sharing his Wisdom

Mokhele emphasises the importance of applying knowledge and seeking information. He encourages fellow students:

Focus on discipline: It is the key to overcoming challenges.
Find your ‘why’: Drive yourself with a clear purpose.
Never give up: Success is possible even when facing setbacks.

Gratitude and Acknowledgement

Lebakeng expresses his deepest gratitude to his family, lecturers, the Centre for Global Change (including Prof Otomo and his team), and everyone who have supported him.

A Final Note

For those interested in learning more about Mokhele’s business venture, visit his website: www.bucksnbucks.co.za

News Archive

Einstein's gravitational waves as creative as Bach's music, says UFS physicist

2016-02-19

Description: Gravitational waves Tags: Gravitational waves

Profile of the gravitational waves of the colliding black holes.

Prof Pieter Meintjes, Affiliated Researcher in the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State, welcomed the work done by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) science team.

For the first time, researchers from two of the American Ligo centres, in Washington and Louisiana respectively, observed gravitational waves directly, 100 years after Albert Einstein said they existed. "My study field in astrophysics involves relativistic systems. Therefore, Einstein's view of gravity is crucial to me. I consider the theory as the highest form of human creativity - just like the music of JS Bach. Over the past 100 years, the theory has been tested through various experiments and in different ways.

“The discovery of gravitational waves was the last hurdle to overcome in making this absolutely unfaltering. I am therefore thrilled by the discovery. It is absolutely astounding to imagine that the equations used to make the predictions about the gravitational-wave emissions when two gravitational whirlpools collide - as discovered on 14 September 2015 by LIGO - are basically Einstein's original equations that were published way back in 1916 - in other words, 100 years ago.

“The LIGO detectors have been operational since the early 1990s, but they had to undergo several stages of upgrades before being sensitive enough to make detections. LIGO is currently in its final stage, and is expected to function at optimal sensitivity only within a year or two. To be able to conduct the measurements at this stage is therefore a fantastic achievement, since much more funding will certainly be deposited in the project,” Prof Meintjes says.

Description: Prof Pieter Meintjes Tags: Prof Pieter Meintjes

Prof Pieter Meintjes
Photo: Charl Devenish

The search for gravitational waves by means of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is one of the focus points in research by both Prof Meintjes and PhD student, Jacques Maritz. This involves the study of radio signals from pulsars that might show signs of effects by gravitational waves. They are looking for signs of gravitational waves. The gravitational waves discovered and studied in this manner would naturally vary much more slowly than the signal discovered from the two colliding gravitational waves.

The discovery will definitely provide renewed impetus to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project to use the dispersion of pulsar signals, and to search for the impact of gravitational waves on signals as they travel through the universe. According to Prof Meintjes, the SKA will definitely contribute fundamentally to the Frontier research, which will provide a good deal of publicity for the UFS and South Africa, if significant contributions are made by local researchers in this field.

Video clip explaining gravitational waves

The Department of Physics will present a general, non-technical talk concerning the recent detection of gravitational waves by the 2 Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories (LIGO):

Wednesday 24 February 2016
11:00-12:00
New lecture auditorium, Department of Physics

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