The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s (SAIMM) Western Cape Branch held a national conference on 3 – 4 August 2017 at Philippi Village, Cape Town. Over 100 delegates attended the conference over the two days it was held. Philippi Village, which is an entrepreneurial business centre constructed in what was a cement factory, was an appropriate place for the conference, which was aimed at providing a platform for young researchers to showcase their talent under the conference theme ‘Resourcing the Future’. Four plenary speakers gave addresses covering the importance of mineralogy in mining, energy utilisation, discovery of new platinum deposits in Limpopo, and sustainability in mining and the future generations. The organising committee comprised of postgraduate students, of whom Janco Strydom from the Department of Process Engineering was the Treasurer. Postgraduate students from the Department of Process Engineering presented eight of the 41 presentations at the conference. All the speakers gave outstanding presentations. Christiaan Coetzee, a master’s student at the Department, won the prize for ‘best poster overall’ for his poster titled “Characterizing the role of organic additives in copper electrowinning”. The award was handed over by Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Internationalisation at the University of Cape Town. At the conference dinner Marzahn Theart, an alumni from the Department of Process Engineering who now works for Arcelormittal, received the prize for the best mineral processing final year student in 2016.
Increased food security through improved postharvest systems using renewable and sustainable energy for rural communities: 4th – 8th September 2017, Stellenbosch, South Africa Discipline: Postharvest Technology, Sustainable Energy and Food Processing UK coordinator: Dr Yaodong Wang, Newcastle University South African partner country coordinator: Dr Annie Chimphango, Stellenbosch University Kenyan partner coordinator: Prof Christopher Kanali, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology The programme, ‘British Council Researcher Links’, will provide opportunities for early career researchers from the UK, South Africa and Kenya to interact, learn from each, share research expertise, network and explore opportunities for building long-lasting research collaborations for improving processes and efficiencies in postharvest systems that specifically target vulnerable communities. The workshop will explore ways of improving postharvest systems for rural communities to improve food security in Kenya and South Africa. The workshop will provide a unique opportunity for sharing research expertise and networking. During the workshops early career researchers will have the opportunity to present their research in the form of brainstorming and discussion of specific case studies with established researchers from the UK, Kenya and South Africa. There will be a focus on building up links for future collaborations and participants selected on the basis of their research potential and ability to build longer term links. The British Council and the Newton Fund will cover the costs related to the participation in the workshop, including: travel (both international and local), accommodation and meals. Costs for the visa will also be covered; however participants will be responsible for making all the necessary arrangements. The British Council accepts no responsibility for any problems which may occur when the participants are in-country. For more information regarding the eligibility criteria and aplication documents go to the workshop webpage.
Process Engineering researchers and students recently attended the 29th European Symposium on Applied Thermodynamics in Bucharest, Romania. Dr Jamie Cripwell (pictured above, right) and Ms Sonja Smith (pictured above, middle) received the Soft Matter poster prize for their poster, “Comparing the holistic predictive strength of different SAFT Variants”. Jamie is a postdoctoral fellow in the Separations Technology Research Group and Sonja recently graduated with a master’s degree (cum laude) from the department under the supervision of Prof Cara Schwarz and Prof Andre Burger (pictured above, left). Professor Hansie Knoetze and Prof Cara Schwarz also attended the conference.
The Department of Process Engineering recently visited schools in the Western Cape to promote the field of engineering at Stellenbosch University. Dr Margreth Tadie was invited to present a keynote at Edgemead High School at their Science and IT day, and it was a great success. Mr August Engelbrecht from the Faculty of Engineering, and Prof Lingam Pillay from the Department of Process Engineering, also visited Star Schools in Cape Town to talk to their grade 11 and 12 learners about study options and career opportunities in the field of engineering. If you want our lecturers to visit your school, contact our Department Chair, Prof Steven Bradshaw, at chemengchair@sun.ac.za.
The XXVIII International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC) was held in Québec City, Canada from 11 – 15 September 2016. Two papers from the Department of Process Engineering were presented at the congress by Prof Steven Bradshaw, Professor Christie Dorfling, Dr Edson Charikinya, and Dr Margreth Tadie presented a poster.
A team of the Separations Technology Research Group from the Process Engineering Department recently attended the 24th IUPAC International Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics in Guilin, China. The conference provided a gathering place for like-minded researchers to share their respective applications of thermodynamics.
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