NWU researchers excel

For the first time in the North-West University’s (NWU) history, a Researcher of the Year, a Junior Researcher of the Year and a Research Entity of the Year were announced during the Research Excellence Award ceremony recently held in Potchefstroom.

Prof Ian Rothmann of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences on the Potchefstroom Campus was announced as the 2007 Researcher of the Year and Prof Louis Kotzé of the Faculty of Law, also on the Potchefstroom Campus, as the 2007 Junior Researcher of the Year. The Research Entity of 2007 is the Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research (AUTHeR) with Prof Esté Vorster as Director. This entity is within the Faculty of Health Sciences on the Potchefstroom Campus.

Recognition was also given to 11 researchers who received new ratings from the National Research Foundation (NRF), as well as to 22 who were re-rated and four newly appointed NRF rated researchers from other universities.

According to Prof Amanda Lourens, Institutional Director: Research Support, obtaining an NRF rating is an excellent achievement since only 10% of researchers at South African universities succeed in obtaining such ratings. The NWU research awards scheme is based on outstanding research performance in a specific reporting year, and this year’s awards were based on the 2007 research output.

The winners of the S2A3 and ABSA medals for the best master’s students in the fields of Science, Engineering and Technology and in Social Science and Humanities respectively were also acknowledged during the gala dinner. Mr Petrus Jansen van Vuren of the Faculty of Natural Sciences won the S2A3 medal and Prof Nico van der Merwe of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences the ABSA medal. Both are from the Potchefstroom Campus.

For more information about the research award scheme, please contact Prof Amanda Lourens at Amanda.Lourens@nwu.ac.za or (018) 299 4848.

Present at the Research Excellence Award ceremony were from left Prof Mariëtte Löwes, Vice-Rector: Academic, Potchefstroom Campus, Prof Amanda Lourens, Institutional Director: Research Support, Prof Annette Combrink, Rector: Potchefstroom Campus, Prof Ian Rothmann, Researcher of the Year, Prof Esté Vorster, Director of AUTHeR, the Research Entity of the Year, and Dr Theuns Eloff, Vice-Chancellor, NWU.