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Prof Maxim Finkelstein selected as Ewha Global Fellow

26 February 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Supplied

Prof Finkelstein_web read more edit — Prof Maxim Finkelstein, A1-rated researcher from the University of the Free State, has been selected as the 2024 - 2026 Ewha Global Fellow by Ewha Womans University.

An esteemed researcher from the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof Maxim Finkelstein, has been named a 2024 - 2026 Ewha Global Fellow (EGF) by Ewha Womans University in South Korea.

Prof Finkelstein, an A1-rated researcher from the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, received this honour in recognition of his outstanding collaboration with Prof Ji Hwan Cha from Ewha’s Department of Statistics. Prof Cha nominated him as a leading expert in his field, highlighting their long-standing partnership and significant contributions to mathematical sciences.

According to Hyang-Sook Lee, President of the Ewha Womans University, the EGF programme “encourages distinguished scholars from all over the world to actively collaborate in research and education with Ewha faculty members.”

The genesis of a unique collaboration

Prof Finkelstein has collaborated extensively with researchers across Europe and the United States but his partnership with Prof Cha is particularly notable. “I started working at the UFS as a Professor in 1998 when he had just obtained his PhD,” recalls Prof Finkelstein.

At the time, Prof Finkelstein was already an established researcher, while Prof Cha was in the early stages. “His letter to me about one of my articles was sent to me by regular mail to my previous working address in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and did not reach me. We eventually connected around 2006, and our collaboration gradually took shape,” he explains.

Over the years, their partnership evolved into a balanced and mutually enriching research relationship. Their joint efforts have resulted in over 120 published papers and two books, setting new standards in the Mathematical Theory of Reliability and its applications. This collaboration has significantly influenced both their careers and contributed to Prof Finkelstein’s recognition with South Africa’s highest research accolades, including an NRF A1 rating in "Mathematical Sciences" in 2021, following his A2 rating in 2015.

A breakthrough in stochastic modelling

One of the major achievements of Prof Finkelstein's collaboration with Ewha has been their pioneering work in stochastic modelling. Their research led to the development of the Generalised Polya Process, a novel model for understanding natural and industrial point events - such as failures in electricity generation, lightning strikes, and hurricanes. By incorporating the ‘history’ of previous events, this model offers a more precise stochastic description of real-world phenomena.

The results of their research have been widely published and have paved the way for further exploration into more complex stochastic processes. Some of their key findings were summarised in the 2018 Springer book Point Processes for Reliability Analysis.

Looking ahead: Future collaboration and continued innovation

Despite being in the later years of his career, Prof Finkelstein remains deeply engaged in research and committed to his partnership with Ewha. Due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, his visits to Ewha were limited, but plans are now in place for future visits. During these visits, he will deliver lectures to students and collaborate with faculty members.

For Prof Finkelstein, continuing his nearly two-decade-long collaboration with Prof Cha remains a vital and exciting part of his academic journey.

News Archive

Another boost for sport at the UFS

2005-10-13

A contract formalizing the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was signed by Prof Verschoor and Mr Morne du Plessis in the historic Main Building of the UFS Bloemfontein campus.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has officially appointed Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd, which has former Springbok rugby captain Morné du Plessis as managing director, to manage its Centre for Exercise and Sport Science Services (CESSS) on the Bloemfontein campus.

According to Prof Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is another step in the implementation of the UFS’s wide-ranging sport strategy to improve sport facilities and elevate formerly marginalized sports such as soccer, hockey, netball, tennis etc.

Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is the manager of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa and coordinates and manages the national basketball high-performance programme of SA Basketball, as well as the Boxing Academy on behalf of Boxing South Africa.

“It is also actively involved with the sports plans of several tertiary institutions like that of the University of Johannesburg and the University of Stellenbosch,” said Prof Verschoor.

“Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was also appointed by the Ministry of Sport and Recreation to manage the allocation of sports codes to high-performance centres and to oversee the allocation of monies received from the National Lottery to these centres – this includes the CESSS at the UFS,” Prof Verschoor added.

In unfolding its national sports plan, the Ministry of Sport and Recreation has already identified the UFS-based CESSS as the high-performance testing centre for the national basketball teams whilst the national boxing teams are also earmarked to be trained at the UFS.

“We are glad to be associated with a company of this stature and look forward to work with them in the further development of sports at the UFS,” said Prof Verschoor.

According to Prof Verschoor, the CESSS will act as a centralised body that is responsible for the coordination and management of joint initiatives between professional service providers, research projects and KovsieSport.

“The centre will also coordinate and manage joint initiatives between various academic programmes in different academic subject fields such as sports medicine, bio kinetics, physiotherapy, dietetics, etc. ,” said Prof Verschoor.

These initiatives will help the UFS to become a centre and catalyst of sports development, to become internationally recognised in the field of exercise and sports science research and to become a centre for high quality sports performance enhancement.

Some of the objectives of the CESSS are:

To provide sports science services like to athletes, students, the general public and other stakeholders including certain national sport teams.
To provide the necessary teaching and training facilities and internship opportunities for UFS students in sports related fields of study will also be provided by the centre like human movement science.
To present skills-transfer programmes directed at the broader community like development of skills in various sporting codes.
To continue and extend the current chronic risk reversal programmes presented by the Department of Human Movement Science such as obesity management, cardiac rehabilitation and other lifestyle related conditions.

The centre was founded in 2003 and was until now managed by Dr Louis Holtzhausen, from Kovsie Health and a consultant, Dr Gary Vorster.

A contract formalizing the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was signed today by Prof Verschoor and Mr Morne du Plessis in the historic Main Building of the UFS Bloemfontein campus.

The manager of the centre appointed by Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is Mr Charles Store, an alumnus of the UFS, previously employed at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town and by the SANDF at 3 Military Hospital, Bloemfontein.

Media release
Issued by: Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
072-207-8334
12 October 2005

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