POTCHEFSTROOM CAMPUS

Electronic Services

About Us

The Physics Building was completed in 1954 and Prof. Pieter Stoker started out there with research on measurements in Antarctica at the SANAE base.

There were no electronic instruments available that could measure what Stoker needed to measure and that could also survive the extreme conditions in Antarctica. Stoker asked for three technicians to be appointed to develop equipment. They were Ernst (Blikkies) Blignaut, Leon Ehlers and Wim Verhagen.

In 1971 these three people from the Department of Physics were transferred to the newly founded Department of Electronic Services (ELS), with Mr Wim Verhagen as head. He was later succeeded by Dr Cobus van der Walt and others.

In due course the need arose for Electronic Services to also install diverse systems like access control and alarm systems, and thus ELS gradually undertook more operational tasks.

Currently ELS acts as support service, without breaking all ties with the academic world.

Although ELS no longer develops equipment, we have retained a limited ability to integrate extraordinary systems. We are proud and protective of this ability within the Iterests of the University.

ELS currently has 23 staff members and fulfils its task by handling projects from all quarters – from concepts to installation, as well as follow-up care.

1.1 Head of Department's welcome

Welcome to Electronic Services. My name is Danie Stoop

ELS provides a service to every person on the Potchefstroom Campus without anyone actually realising it.

Our services accompany you – student, lecturer or visitor – from the moment that that you pass though the vehicle entrance to where your building is secured, where you are sitting in the lecture hall, do your work in the laboratory, use access control, live in a residence or make use of the cafeteria or the dining halls, listen to PukFm or even solder components on a printed circuit board, which was manufactured and provided by us!

We also lease certain services for which a short-term need exists.

We work in a very dynamic field where new technology evolves daily, and sometimes vanishes just as fast!
In such a changing world it is particularly important to ensure stable, working systems that can provide a service for a number of years. ELS has been successfully performing this role for more than thirty years.

We are a dynamic team who really want to fulfil the need for electronic systems of the people around us in the interests of the University.

Feel free to contact us with your needs.

 1.2 Mission and vision

At ELS our focus is to be of service to the campus in such a way that the total life-cycle cost of electronic systems is as economical as possible and that the activities we are involved with support the Potchefstroom Campus plan