SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE FUTURE

Umezuruike Linus Opara grew up in a farming village in rural Nigeria and nearly didn’t make it to secondary school because of financial constraints. Yet, he went on to perform so well at university that his bachelor’s degree earned him a scholarship to do his PhD. Later, he sacrificed a comfortable job in Oman in order to relocate to South Africa — a country he hardly knew at the time — to take up a DSI-NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Postharvest Technology.

Prof Umezuruike Linus Opara's SARChI Chair comes to an end in 2024, but he has already ensured the continuation of its impactful work through a new entity — the Africa Institute for Postharvest Technology. "The institute was envisioned to leverage the successes we have had with the Chair thus far,” he says. “We have made a sure contribution towards building human capacity in terms of postharvest technology."

Tuberculosis (TB) is often thought of as a disease that affects only humans when, in fact, it is a multi-host disease [that affects many species]. A team of researchers, based in Stellenbosch University's ​Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, are determined to understand exactly how the transmission of TB occurs between wildlife, livestock, and people.

Shark-specific barrier technology developed by marine biologists from Stellenbosch University and their collaborators has been installed in the Bahamas by a client with a private island in the Bahamas. The installation of the 30-metre-long SharkSafe Barrier along a bay on one of the islands will further strengthen marine conservation efforts in the region.

“As a society, we need to understand how fires spread if we are to prevent them from becoming total disasters,” says Prof Richard Walls, who heads up the fire engineering team at Stellenbosch University (SU). “Urban fires can be incredibly dangerous, particularly in informal settlements.” Established in SU’s Department of Civil Engineering, this group of researchers is helping train the next generation of fire safety experts.

Prof Anriëtte (Annie) Bekker, a vibration science expert at Stellenbosch University, is willing to brave harsh conditions in pursuit of new knowledge. Her interest lies in how data from mechanical sensors and engineering models on board a polar vessel can help seafarers make more informed decisions towards safer ship operations.

An investigator tracking the path of COVID-19, a scientist deciphering the body’s own armour against antimicrobial resistance, and an immunologist studying the placentas of pregnant women for clues that can explain preterm births. These are but three of the scientists at Stellenbosch University who are contributing to research for impact in Africa, and the world at large.

Stellenbosch University and Cambridge University are leading the Radio Experiment for the Analysis of the Cosmic Hydrogen (REACH) project.It is to be put into operation in 2023 in the Northern Cape’s Karoo Radio Astronomy Reserve. The project aims to help determine how the first luminous objects in the sky formed, and in what manner they subsequently shaped the universe.

In her work on projects aimed at restoring personhood for missing and unidentified people of the past — both recent and ancient — Dr Kathryn Smith, Departmental Chair of Visual Arts at Stellenbosch University (SU), is unearthing shared histories and untold stories through art, science, and collaborative work.

Southern African ingenuity in antenna design is on display as part of what promises to be the USA’s next major national facility in ground-based radio astronomy. Namibian Prof Robert Lehmensiek and South African Prof Dirk de Villiers will help determine just how far into the yet-unexplored and often cloudy, dusty corners of the universe astronomers will be able to probe with the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).