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
Message by the Dean
In an overview like this, it is not possible to sensibly introduce all the excellent research undertaken in 2008. Instead, some highlights of the faculty’s research activities will illustrate the breadth of topics and the focus on application that is a hallmark of the faculty’s approach.
Student participation and training in research was further developed by the introduction of more credit for research activities, formal training in research methodology, the development of a research management tool to encourage interaction between students and supervisors, and encouragement of the public presentation of research results by way of poster sessions at departmental level.
The intake of graduate students increased again in 2008 and bodes well for the research outputs of the faculty, although the majority of students still study part-time. This is an encouraging indication of the demand for the faculty’s students, but places a damper on the rate at which results are produced. The challenge for the faculty is to find levels of support for research activities that will attract full-time students.
Encouraging developments are the Department of Science and Technology chairs in Artificial Intelligence, Carbon Materials, Fluor Materials Science and Process, the Sentech Chair in Broadband Communication, the multi-industry sponsorship of a Chair in Maintenance Engineering, the location of the Hub for Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management, sponsored by the South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI), and the Injection-enhanced Silicon in Avalanche (InSiAva) project on light-emitting diodes, where significant venture capital support was obtained for the further development of this promising technology for on-chip communication.
These, as well as existing and pending developments in research initiatives, bode well for the future and have the potential to significantly increase the faculty’s research outputs.
Prof RF Sandenbergh
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