Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
Prof RF Sandenbergh, Dean
Telephone number: 012 420 2440
Fax number: 012 362 5173
E-mail address: roelf.sandenbergh@up.ac.za
Preface by the Dean
Research forms an integral part of the activities of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology with the aim to not only provide a sound basis for the programs in the faculty, but to also contribute to the knowledge and application in the fields and professions served by the faculty.
Departments were encouraged to develop research areas relevant to the areas served by the programs offered, and staff members were encouraged to join and build existing and emerging research groups. Significant growth in the accredited research outputs by the faculty was achieved in 2005, and the quest is to improve on both the participation of staff and the number and quality of the outputs for the future. During 2005 several initiatives were launched to further develop research in the faculty.
Research as an integral part of our activities was furthered by internal research seminars and poster sessions by our staff and students, by increasing the research requirements of our graduate programs, and by focussing on research skills and achievement as part of the requirements for appointment and promotion of academic staff.
Departmental visitations by the faculty research committee, and other interested staff members, during which the departments presented their research planning and outputs, were used to increase awareness of the research activities in the faculty and to stimulate cross fertilization and cooperation. The excellent progress that some departments made with their research also served as a stimulus to others.
Publication workshops by a professional in communication, supported by senior researchers and a journal editor, were held to develop the professional writing skills of emerging researchers and to facilitate publication of completed research. The workshops were well received, but made it clear that sustained effort will be required to further develop the skills of emerging researchers.
Conference participation by staff members was encouraged, and supported by the faculty, to increase the international exposure and cooperation of staff members. The feedback received is indeed very encouraging and contributed significantly to the research outputs achieved.
Consolidation of research activities was encouraged and several departments responded by focussing their research activities in such a way that sustainable groups with the potential to significantly contribute, both locally and internationally were formed. An example of this is the research groups in the Department of Computer Science, namely Information and Computer Security Architectures (ICSA), Computational Intelligence (CIRG), Distributed Components and Middleware (Polelo), and Software Engineering – Theoretical and Applied Research (Fastar/Espresso), which are already making significant international contributions.
International peer review of our research activities was increased by the appointment of leading researchers as external examiners for theses, encouraging pear review of our staff through the NRF rating system, and encouraging publication of research in leading international journals.
Strong links with and support of the research in the faculty by industry was again achieved with most of the research projects receiving some support from industry. Typical examples are the industry support of the Industrial Metals and Minerals Research Institute in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, which enables leading edge research on metals production and finishing, and of the research on various aspects of water treatment and supply in the Departments of Chemical and of Civil and Biosystems Engineering.
The further development, application and commercialisation of research are priorities for the faculty. Innovation Fund funding was obtained for the further development and commercialisation of silicon light emitting devices that have the potential to significantly enhance the speed of electronic devices by using these devices for on chip communication. The faculty is also involved with the development and commercialisation of software applications at the Coach Lab, housed on the Innovation Hub, with the support of industry.
HIV/AIDS is a disease demanding attention from every individual in South Africa. The faculty made several contributions to the prevention and control of the disease. Researchers in the School of IT focussed on the employment of advanced ICT technologies in combating the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, to address such issues as: How readable are the HIV/AIDS brochures distributed by the government to citizens in South Africa? What are the unique design features of a system for anti-retroviral clinics? How do we maintain the privacy of patient data in an HIV/AIDS system? What sampling techniques can be used to enable efficient data mining of very large patient databases? In the School of Engineering control theory is utilized to design treatment strategies.
During 2005 the faculty made significant progress with its research initiatives and not only achieved a significant increase in formal research outputs, but also strengthened the foundations for sustained growth in its research activities into the future.
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