Note from the Dean Forestry students do it safely!

Note from the Dean

October 2014 #26

October 2014 #26 Page 1

Forestry students do it safely!

On 29 July 2014, the AngloGold mining group announced the win-ners of their second quarter safety campaign from their SA division surface operations. The winning team included four Forestry stu-dents from the NMMU George Campus.

Siphelela Zekani, Koyisa Mgedezi, Precious Hlesa and Onke Nxusani are in their 2nd year of study and were fortunate to be placed with the AngloGold Ashanti mine dump rehabilitation project for their ex-periential year.

This project is managed by Prof Is-abel Weiersby from WITS Universi-ty. Indigenous and exotic trees are planted to rehabilitate old mine dumps and to absorb harmful metals and chemicals that result-ed from previous mining activities. These trees are established as com-mercial woodlots and later harvest-ed and utilised for numerous wood products. The students’ mentor, Mr Leon Hoenderdos, said that he is proud of these students and lauded them as hard working and true am-bassadors of NMMU.

Siphelela Zekani said: “When we entered the competition we were not very optimistic of our chances and winning the 1st prize in this prestigious competition never crossed our minds.

We took part as a team and while we were innovative in our ideas for the competition, we managed to follow all the competition rules.” After winning their division in the initial round, they proceeded to the finals and started to believe that it was possible for them to win. Pre-cious Hlesa added:

“We were highly motivated and worked even harder to impress the judges. Our final presentation was described as original, humorous and educational.” Koyisa Mgede-zi confirmed: “This achievement meant a great deal to us and we were rewarded for our hard work, diligence and commitment.” Onke Nxusani concluded by stating, “We are proud to be part of NMMU and appreciate the investment that our lecturers made in us and want to thank everyone who supported and motivated us.”

From left to right – Onke Nxusani, Koyisa Mgedezi, Precious Hlesa and Siphelele Zekani.

This month’s newsletter is again a bumper issue, with articles describing our Faculty’s activities across the world. I am abso-lutely amazed at the extent of the activities reported – from deep in the forests of the Tsitsikamma, to the remote island of Okinawa, from research presentations in Matjiesfontein to a presentation in Amsterdam! Such is the richness of the diversi-ty of our Faculty and institution.

I was thrilled to be invited to the annual Postgraduate Student Symposium which this year was hosted by our George campus students (page 3). Congratulations to the organisers for such a successful program.

We extend a warm welcome to Prof Bernd Siebenhüner, who has been appointed as Visiting Professor in the Faculty until 31 March 2015. Prof Siebenhüner is Vice-President of Olden-burg University – one of our partner universities with which we enjoy several collaborative projects running in different Departments across the Faculty. Bernd will be accompanied by his wife, Malve von Möllendorff; an academic in her own right - she will be based in Education but will also be busy with research projects in our Faculty. Please welcome Bernd and Malve as they spend the next few months in the Faculty.

As a Faculty we appreciate the fact that one of our Masters graduates from a few years back, Mr Baxter Mabinya, has with his wife chosen to invest in an award to recognise future stu-dents who excel (page 7). And what an opportunity for the student who wins the award – to receive on-going mentoring. Thanks, Baxter!

Last evening, our SRC representative, Chemistry Honours student Sendibitiyosi Gandidzanwa, was awarded the trophy for the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership. Congratulations, Sendi; you have excelled, and we are indeed proud of you!

As the term draws to a close and we prepare for the examina-tion period, I would like to wish all our students much success.

You may have had a tough year, but hang in there. Put everything you have into the coming exams; your hard work will be re-warded. Remember, you have all our sup-port. Best wishes!

Prof Andrew Leitch (Dean of Science)

Geosciences dig up great things in OctoberMatjiesfontein Conference

AEON staff and NMMU post-grad students took part in a highly successful INKABA con-ference and field excursion to Matjiesfontein during late Sep-tember to early October. 70 stu-dents and their mentors from 9 higher education institutions (as well as the Hartebeestpoort Observatory, and the Council for Geoscience) attended.

The venue was a converted station on the main train line passing through Matjiesfon-tein where some of the talks had to stop and wait for the occasional train rumbling and brake-squealing noises to abate. The standard of pres-entations was very high, as was that of posters (Claire Geel from NMMU taking home first prize).

The theme of the conference was centred on the word IP-HAKADE which means to ob-serve the present and consider the past to ponder the future. Presentations embraced such

diverse topics (other than pure geology) as entomology, space geodesy, energy, geohydrology, geochemistry, geophysics and sociology.

Claire Geel and Bastien Linol led us on field excursions to Tar-kastad, Laingsburg, Oudtshoo-rn, Uniondale and Steytlerville. These excursions through the Cape Fold Belt were very instruc-tive for geological and non-geo-logical participants, with many “WOW” moments of spectacu-lar geology experienced by all.The success of this and all previ-ous INKABA conferences can be attributed mainly to the organ-izational skills and scientific ex-pertise of Prof Maarten de Wit (AEON).

He continues to inspire students and staff across many disci-plines at NMMU to engage in new challenges in line with his newly developed visionary Earth Stewardship Science projects at the university.

Geology students enjoy a break on the rocks

While most students enjoyed a restful break during the Septem-ber holiday, the Geology Hon-ours and Third Year students were hard at work on their an-nual field trip in the Southern Cape.

For some of the students this was their first experience of the great outdoors and sleeping in tents. The Southern Cape of-fers a wide range of geological environments and processes for students to study.

The first two days were taken up mapping the geological struc-tures at Storms River Mouth. The site is ideal for studying the folding of the rocks of the Cape Supergroup. On day three, the touring party got to describe the palaeo-alluvial fans of the Enon Formation in the Plettenberg Bay area. The next two days

the students got to enjoy look-ing at modern sediments. This entailed describing the beach processes at Lookout Beach, as well as the various sedimentary environments and processes of the Keurbooms Estuary.

Wading through the mudflats proved to be quite taxing for some. Armed with their knowl-edge of the modern sedimenta-ry environments, the students spent the following few days mapping and describing the palaeo-estuary and nearshore deposits of the Robberg Forma-tion.

Even though the trip was physi-cally quite demanding for many of the students, trips like these provide invaluable field-work training for students, and are enjoyed by all with an interest in geology.

Honours and Third Year Geology field-trip 2014 group photo

Prof Martin de Wit doing what he does best, sharing great knowledge

Jade Greve and Maria Shipapo measuring sedimentary structures on Lookout Beach.


Post Graduate Symposium in GeorgeThe two-day 2014 Post-Graduate Symposium was hosted on George Campus by the School of Natural Resource Management. The pro-gramme included a full day field trip, half a day of presentations by the students and half a day where the SRU undertook a Café Dia-logue with the students. Six students from the School of Environmen-tal Sciences (PE) travelled to join the 17 students in George to share their research, have discussions and generally interact.

The first day was opened with words of welcome by Prof Leitch and Prof Johnson. Part of the welcoming involved students introducing themselves and the topic of their research. Research topics in the group were as diverse as the group themselves, but linkages were continuously established throughout the two days.

Students from George used the opportunity to take the group to the site where they are conducting research and presented the story of their journey and findings. Several sites in and around George were visted, including: the Groenkop Forest Gazebo, Touw River Estuary, Wilderness Beach, and Bergplaas. Lunch was enjoyed at the Wood-ville Big Tree. The day ended with a braai on the deck of the George Campus Staff Lounge, with more informal discussions and exchanges of ideas.

On day two, PE students had an opportunity to present their research and results. The day was concluded with Café Dialogues. Students used this opportunity to find out about interdisciplinary research, and how to bridge the gaps often associated with it. The students’ main

concerns were the egos of certain researchers, and identified this as a challenge that had to be overcome to facilitate more interdiscipli-nary opportunities. Administrative and financial challenges were also identified as stumbling blocks.

“The willingness to participate from all the students regardless of the field they are in. The field trips helped me see what the other stu-dents are busy with, it helped put it into perspective and it was very informative. The Dean showing up is always appreciated,” said Jama Mashele (MSc Botany).

Post-grad students with staff at the Groenkop Gazebo. (Back Row) Kutelani Tshivhase, Prof J. Louw (HoS NRM); Dr C Coetsee (NRM Lecturer), Liaan Minnie, Prof Q. John-son (CP George Campus), Adriaan Grobler, Jessica Leaver, Andrew Jackson, Dr Yashwant Rawat (Research Associate), Aneri Roos, Tatenda Mapeto, Megan De Jager, Prof A. Leitch (DoF Science), Musa Khapayi; (Middle Row) Willem Matthee, Sikhumbuzo Nxumalo, Dr Tim Pittaway (Agri Lecturer), Kate Southey, Abigail Crisp, Thea Buckle, Samantha McCulloch, Peet Botes; (Front Row) Jama Mashele and Donovan de Swardt.



A GeoGebra conference, hosted for the third consecutive year by the Govan Mbeki Math-ematics Development Unit (GMMDU) at NMMU was attended by over 65 delegates, mostly secondary school teachers from vari-ous districts in the Eastern Cape and further afield.

The theme of the 2014 regional conference that was held from 2-4 October on the South Campus of the NMMU was: GeoGebra for Curriculum Support in the 21st Century Math-ematics Classroom.

GeoGebra is an open source, dynamic graph-ics mathematics software programme used to encourage and facilitate teaching and learning of geometry, algebra, graphs, calcu-lus and statistics the world over. GMMDU is one of 145 GeoGebra satellite institutes in 65 countries and only the third in Africa.

Plenaries, presentations as well as practical workshops on investigations, demonstra-tions and conceptualisation of mathematic results using GeoGebra were presented.

The annual GeoGebra conference forms part of more comprehensive research and de-velopment initiatives linked to the GMMDU and the FRF Chair in Maths Education pro-grammes.

GeoGebra conference

Congratulations to team “The Finite State Automata” from our Computing Sciences Department who placed 10th in sub-Saharan Africa and 1st in the Eastern Cape. 87 teams from various countries participated in the competition.

Team “NMMU1” was placed 17th in sub-Sa-haran Africa and 3rd in the Eastern Cape. The team members are Charl Esterhuyse, Dylan Enslin and Joshua Oliver.

The Finite State Automata

NMMU working with Oceans and Coasts on estuary management

NMMU, together with CSIR, is working with Oceans and Coasts (Department of Envi-ronmental Affairs) on the implementation of the Integrated Coastal Management Act and the National Estuary Management Pro-tocol (NEMP).

According to Prof Janine Adams the pro-ject includes a review of available estuary management plans to ensure alignment with the NEMP. A Step-by-Step Guide for the development of estuary management plans is being written and a national estuary management course will take place in De-cember. This is an accredited short learning programme of NMMU.

At the recent Estuaries Management Proto-col workshop in East London Janine met up with some of her former students who now hold important positions in estuary man-

agement nationally. Mr Matoti was award-ed his MSc degree in 1999, Ms Kotsedi in 2011 and Ms Nondoda in 2012.

(From left) Project manager, Vuyo Madlokazi (Estu-aries Management, Oceans & Coasts); Ayanda Ma-toti (Acting Director Specialist Monitoring, Oceans & Coasts), Daisy Kotsedi (Estuaries Management, Oceans & Coasts), Tabisile Mhlana (Intern, Oceans & Coasts) and Janine Adams (Professor in the Bot-any Department, NMMU) and Sibulele Nondoda (Coastal Zone Management, Cacadu Region).

August saw Grade 9 and 11 learners across the Eastern Cape putting their maths and science knowledge to the test in the prov-ince’s first “MathSci” competition – com-pletely run on Mxit.

The pilot MathSci competition consisted of 20 curriculum-aligned multiple choice questions for both maths and physical sci-ence.For each round, there was one maths test and one science test.

Test questions were presented to learners in a scrambled format – and test scores and solutions were available immediately after submission of a completed test.

“ This will enable learners from anywhere in the country to access valuable sylla-bus-aligned scaffolding support for inde-pendent learning at virtually no cost,” said Olivier.

Mxit MathSci


The SRU plays an important role in making stakeholders aware of their roles as environmental stewards. They are currently working with farmers, associations, local communities and officials in the Wilderness area to stim-ulate a culture of stewardship. To them, stewardship means voluntarily caring for the environment, making sure re-sources are equally distributed and that nobody is unfairly deprived of access to resources, and caring for the interests of society as a whole, including future generations. Stewardship is an ethic of caring for the earth and its resources, reducing consumption and taking ac-tion to care for the environment and the interests of society.

The SRU continuously engages with so-ciety by organizing deep and open con-versations, which they call ‘Sustainabil-ity Dialogues’, with stakeholders. These dialogues may include small group meetings where people are asked to identify places of special value to them, as well as threats to such areas. They also include group meetings, where role players with different interests get together in their Sustainability Cafés to share their fears and aspirations.

Dialogues even include individual and small group conversations, addressing various associations and forums, and facilitating open conversations and listening to, rather than just talking to people.

During 2014 the postgraduate students and staff hosted three large panel dis-cussions, conducted scores of group conversations, and interviewed scores of individuals and community leaders. They appointed a dedicated Knowledge Broker, and attended every available community meeting, even if only to show a presence but mostly to facili-tate conversations. Participatory map-ping exercises with farmers, ratepayers associations, township residents and conservation interest groups were also conducted.

Regular articles are written and pub-lished in local community newspapers, or information is fed to journalists to raise awareness. This year for the first time the postgraduate students and staff jointly taught a module in Envi-ronmental Stewardship to first-year students in Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation, respectively, in the hope

that some of them will embrace the stewardship ethic and take it with them when they leave NMMU.

All this information is being captured in databases and Geographic Informa-tion Systems, and used later, almost like a ‘mirror’, to reflect stakeholders’ fears, special interests, values and aspirations to them. The end result of all this will be the formation of catchment manage-ment forums that are truly representa-tive of the different interest groups in society, and that play an active role in managing the Garden Route’s ecosys-tems for the benefit of everyone.

“This is a long term project, founded in the theories of social learning, com-mon pool resource management, mo-tivational theory and adaptive co-man-agement. Apart from publishing our insights and new social learning the-ories in peer reviewed journals, our vision is that 10 years from now there will be a revolution in the way land us-ers manage their ecosystems, together, around a common stewardship vision,” said Prof Christo Fabricius.

Sustainability Research Unit as catalyst for Ecosystem Stewardship in the Garden Route


Our Dean leads trip to Okinawa, Japan

In mid-October, our Dean Professor Andrew Leitch visited the OIST - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univer-sity to explore collaborative programs with NMMU.

OIST is a new type of interdisciplinary re-search university – a graduate school offer-ing a 5-year PhD program in Science.

About 50 cutting-edge laboratories form the hub of the OIST Graduate University, con-ducting research in a range of fields includ-ing physics, chemistry, mathematics, marine sciences, neuroscience, and life sciences. The absence of a departmental structure, along with leading research within each discipline, promotes science without borders. OIST has 52 faculty members and over 360 research-ers, of whom approximately 170 are inter-national, and about 230 administrative staff who support the researchers.

Over half of the faculty and students are recruited from outside Japan, and all edu-

cation and research is conducted entirely in English. The graduate school accepts and ful-ly supports ca. 20 students per year, creating a near one-to-one staff-student ratio. By the time they graduate, students have accumu-lated not only abstract knowledge and prac-tical skills but also the kind of professional connections necessary to launch their careers as world-class researchers.

OIST is beginning to set an example that is attracting the attention of the other more conservative and traditional institutions on the “mainland” of Japan, and is setting new global trends in addressing complex prob-lems through exploring transdisciplinary solutions.

We were extremely well received and a pro-gram was prepared to give us a good overall sense of the flavour of the institution.

During the visit we were hosted by Prof George Iwama, the Provost and Vice-CEO of OIST, a fascinating Marine Biologist, recently appointed from Canada (although he grew

up in Okinawa). The Photograph shows our dean in deep discussion with George about OIST and transdiciplainary science.

We also met with: Prof Evan Economo, head-ing a Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, an evolutionary biologist and expert in the study of ants. He showed us stunning 3D images taken with the X-ray CT scan techniques that reveal the inner components of ants and other insects; Dr Shah Payal, an ecological economist, working on the socio-econom-ic-environmental effects of de-forestation in Indonesia;Prof Amy Shen, working in the field of microfluidic biochemical processing; Prof Santoshi Mitarai, head of the Marine Biophysics Unit, working inter alia on deep ocean marine live (e.g. the Ruwyka trench – some 7.5 km deep 90 km south of Okinawa) flanking Japan; and on life around black and white smokers at 1-2 km below sea-level.

During further meetings and discussions over dinner with Prof Jonathan Dorfen, President and CEO of OIST, painted a clear overview of the institute, its goals and planned develop-ments. A particle physicist and sport fanat-ic, originally from South Africa and still an ardent Springbok rugby fan, explained that the Government of Japan has demonstrat-ed great vision and has provided sustained support in establishing and growing OIST. He is confident that OIST will be a leader in transforming the way science and education is carried out globally.

The Dean declared the visit a great success, and our VC senses that OIST will be a good bet for getting a significant collaboration es-tablished with Japan. We would do well to partner with such a novel and forward look-ing community.

A visit to the OIST website (www.oist.jp) is well worth while, particular for students who might contemplate applying to OIST for study in buildings that reminded me of a ‘James Bond movie’.

OIST is a new type of interdiscipli-

nary research university – a grad-

uate school offering a 5-year PhD

program in Science.

The Faculty is ProudXandri Schoultz

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University awarded the S2A3 bronze medal to Xandri Schoultz who is currently a PhD student in the Chemistry Department.

This year she also received the NMMU Award for the best Master’s Degree by Disserta-tion in Science, Engineering & Technology, The Rupert Gesinstigting Award (for aca-demic excellence at Master’s level) and the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for the best post-graduate student in Science, Engineering and Technology.

(From Left) Prof Tommy Gerber (HOD: Chemistry), Xandri Schoultz and Ms Jaci Barnett (Director: Innova-tion Support & Technology Transfer).

Nicholas KwarikundaWell done to Nicholas Kwarikunda, a Physics PhD student and member of the Centre for Energy Research’s PV Group, for winning the best poster prize in the Concentrator Photo-voltaics (CPV) section at the 29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EU PVSEC) held in Amsterdam at the end of Sep-tember.

The EU PVSEC is the largest international con-ference for Photovoltaic Research and Tech-nologies, Industries and Applications.

Congratulations Nicholas!

Nqobizwe NgubaneCongratulations to Nqobizwe Ngubane (left hand side) who is the first recipient of the Mabinya Scholarship.

Alumnus Baxter Mabinya (MCom, 2007) and his wife Elize decided to donate this privately sponsored award which includes on-going mentorship from them as a cou-ple.

The award will continue throughout Nqobi-zwe’s studies. Baxter is the Group Strategy Executive for Dimension Data Africa & Mid-dle East. Well done Nqobizwe!

Mr Andrew McEwan Congratulations to Andrew McEwan, a Senior Lecturer in the Forestry Pro-gramme at NMMU George (Science Faculty), who was recently elected as the President of the authoritative Southern African Institute of Forestry (SAIF). Andrew, who previously served as chairperson of the SAIF’s Southern Cape branch, specialises in Forest En-gineering.

The SAIF - an association for forestry related professionals – has as its main objectives the promotion of all aspects of forestry, the improvement of prac-tice in the professional and technical aspects of forestry, the enhancement of the status of members, the protection of members’ interests, and to represent

the profession of forestry in Southern Africa.

Well done Andrew!


Prof Tommy Gerber attended the 8th Inter-national Symposium on Rhenium and Tech-netium Science and Utilization in France recently.

The chairmen of the last three Symposia are pictured from left to right: Prof Tommy Gerber (NMMU), Prof Konstantin German (Frumkin Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) and Prof Massoud Fattahi (Univer-sity of Nantes).

8th Symposium

On Wednesday, 26 November we will be hosting a meet-and-greet for pro-spective Science students to meet and mingle with potential fellow students and lecturers. It will be taking place at Madibaz Café.

Parents will also be invited to meet key role players in the Faculty. The purpose of the meet-and-greet is to welcome the students and to answer any ques-tions they still might have before mak-ing NMMU their home.

We encourage staff in the Faculty to attend this function and join us in in-teracting and encouraging learners to make NMMU their choice for study.

SANAP Grant for polar research

NMMU’s Dr Pierre Pistorius (pictured) was recently awarded a South African National Antarctic Program (SANAP) grant to con-duct research on Marine Top Predators in the sub-Antarctic region, particularly at the Prince Edward Islands, over the next three years.

Over and above research equipment and running costs, the grant will allow for three post-graduate students to spend a year on Marion Island, salaried with all logistics costs covered. Seabirds, such as albatrosses and penguins, and seals generally target areas of high productivity, and the study will make use of recent developments in tracking tech-nology to better understand ocean utiliza-tion in a range of these top predator species to identify ecologically important areas for conservation based spatial planning.

Long-term dietary shifts will also be linked to

observe oceanographic and climate changes over the past decades allowing for a bet-ter understanding of recent climate-driven changes in the Southern Ocean.

Meet and Greet

Faculty in Brief Congratulations to Prof Carminita Frost on achieving a C2 rating from the NRF.

Congratulating Dr Martin Weigt on achiev-ing a Y2 rating from the NRF.

Congratulations to Nicolas Tonnelier on the birth of their first child – a son.

Warm welcome to Prof Bernd Siebenhuener - Visiting Professor until 31 March 2015

Goodbye (not farewell) to Prof Leitch who will be acting DVC (R&E) from 1 November.


Good Luck to all our staff members who are finalising DP marks and setting exam papers!

Prof Stefan Veldsman

Prof Stefan Veldsman has recently been ap-pointed as Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.

This is now his second homecoming – he started at UPE as a student in 1973, was ap-pointed as a Junior Lecturer in 1977 and was awarded a PhD in 1981. He then spent 1982 and 1983 in Johannesburg at the Rand Af-rikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg), returned to UPE in 1984 and was promoted to Professor in 1989. In August 1998 he moved to Sultan Qaboos University in Oman and after 16 years there, has returned to his alma mater.

He enjoys teaching, will pursue his algebra research and continue to make a contribu-tion to the further development of Maths at NMMU.

Welcome back Stefan!

Upcoming EventsOn Thursday 20 November, Prof Curtis Marean from Arizona State University will be presenting a public lecture at NMMU, under the auspices of the Science Faculty. Please diarise the following:

Date: 20 NovemberTime: 17:30Venue: South Campus Council Chambers

Prof Marean is an associate director of the Institute of Human Origins and professor at the School of Human Evolution and So-cial Change at Arizona State University in the USA. He is an expert in the field of ar-chaeology.

Formal information to follow.

Documents

Note from the Dean Forestry students do it safely!