Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
Prof Roelf Sandenbergh, Dean
Telephone number: 012 420 2440
Fax number: 012 362 5173
E-mail address: dean@eng.up.ac.za
Message by the Dean
Research is seen as an essential and integral part of the
activities of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment
and Information Technology. The research skills of
students are already developed at undergraduate level
and further developed at postgraduate level in formal
courses on research methodology.
Academic staff members are strongly encouraged to
develop their research skills and research agendas to
position themselves for National Research Foundation
(NRF) rating evaluation and leading their own research
groups.
The research agenda of the Faculty is aligned with the
needs of industry and the professions, with the aim of
also making significant contributions at international
level. Increasing student numbers, especially at
undergraduate level, and strong competition for
human resources, have led to increasing demands on
human resources and the loss of some established
researchers. This has made the recruitment of full-time
postgraduate students difficult, leading to a decrease in
accredited publication outputs.
Significant progress has, however, been made with the
recruitment of staff and postgraduate students, as well
as the expansion and renewal of the Faculty’s research
facilities – supported by government, the University and
industry – to place the Faculty in an excellent position
for future growth in research activities. Departments
are encouraged to develop and consolidate research
activities and to promote the alignment of student
research with those of supervisors (especially in the
professional postgraduate programmes) to increase
the quality and impact of the research outputs. The
quest remains to improve both the participation of staff
in research activities and the number and quality of
research outputs for the future.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST)
research chairs in the Faculty are functioning well
and have made significant contributions to building
a research ethos in the Faculty. The Chair in Fluoro-
material Science and Process Integration – based in the
Department of Chemical Engineering – aims to lead and
support the development of South Africa’s significant
fluor mineral resources into bulk and speciality
chemicals. A fluoropolymer laboratory was developed at
the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA)
and the ability and to produce tetrafluoroethylene
(TFE) and hexafluoropropylene (HFP) by pyrolysis of
polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) was demonstrated, as
well as to separate and purify these monomers, and to
polymerise the TFE to PTFE.
The DST Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials –
based in the Institute of Applied Materials (a joint activity
with the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences)
– established a graphene synthesis laboratory and is
continuing its development of synthetic graphite from
local pitches, the processing of bulk graphite using
mass production techniques analogous to those used in
polymer processing and the use of graphite intercalation
compounds as functional additives in polymers.
Contributions were also made to malaria control
measures with the development of a long-life mosquito
net, an insecticidal paint and the use of local clays as
controlled release devices for insecticides.
The DST Chair in Artificial Intelligence – based in the
Department of Computer Science – is making significant
international contributions in the field of computational
intelligence. Contributions were made, inter alia, to the
development of particle swarm optimisation algorithms
that include a fuzzy operator for multi-objective
optimisation of local area network topology design, new
particle swarm optimisation and differential evolution
algorithms for multi-objective optimisation in dynamic
environments, single-objective optimisation in dynamic
environments and the tracking of multiple optima in
changing environments.
The National Hub for the Postgraduate Programme
in Energy Efficiency and Demand-side Management
(EEDSM), sponsored by the South African National
Energy Research Institute (SANERI), is functioning
well and has already established significant training,
monitoring and research activities. Research projects
undertaken so far include industrial and residential
energy optimisation, renewable energy, power systems,
heat transfer, fuel efficiency, motor and transport
efficiency, and energy-efficient architecture and
housing.
Research, as an integral part of the Faculty’s activities,
was furthered by internal research seminars and poster
sessions by staff and students, by increasing the
research requirements of the Faculty’s postgraduate
programmes, by focusing on research skills and
achievement as part of the requirements for the
appointment and promotion of academic staff, and
by pursuing opportunities to increase the Faculty’s
research funding and facilities. The activities in the
Faculty were also made more accessible to the
wider public through the publication of the magazine,
Innovate.
Departmental visits by the Faculty’s Research
Committee, as well as 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-fertilisation and interdepartmental cooperation.
The excellent progress that some departments have
made with their research also served as a stimulus to
others.
Conference participation by staff members was
encouraged and supported to increase the international
exposure and profiles of staff members. The feedback
received is indeed very encouraging and contributed
significantly to the research profile of the Faculty. The challenge is to convert more of the conference contributions
into journal publications. Several staff members and students received awards for excellent papers presented at
conferences. Prof Thoko Majozi received the prestigious Bill Neal-May Gold Medal from the South African Institution of
Chemical Engineers for outstanding achievement and international recognition.
Consolidation of research activities was encouraged and several departments responded by focusing their research
activities such that sustainable groups with the potential to significantly contribute both locally and internationally
were formed. Typical examples of these are the research groups in thermofluids, energy efficiency and demand-side
management, applied materials, reactor engineering, transportation engineering, broadband and wireless multimedia
communication, artificial intelligence, pyrometallurgy, mine safety, heritage and cultural studies, strategic development
planning, information and communication technology for sustainable development, information literacy and book
publishing.
International peer review of the Faculty’s research activities was increased by the appointment of leading researchers
as external examiners for theses, encouraging peer review of the staff through the NRF rating system and encouraging
publication of research in leading international journals. The Faculty focuses on positioning its staff for NRF rating
application and has been able to maintain the number of staff members who hold NRF ratings in a competitive
environment.
Strong links with the industry were enhanced, and most of the research in the Faculty was done with at least some
support from industry. Typical examples are the support of SANERI for the National Hub for the Postgraduate
Programme in EEDSM, Eskom for a large number of research projects through its Tertiary Education Support
Programme (TESP) initiative, Arcelor-Mittal for the Industrial Metals and Minerals Research Institute and that of Anglo
American for the Chair in Pyrometallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, which
enables cutting-edge education, research and industrial linkages on metals processing and finishing. Furthermore,
Sentech supported the Chair in Broadband Multimedia Communications in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and
Computer Engineering, Telkom supported the Centre for Teletraffic Engineering for the Information Society, and Sasol
provided support for research on reactor engineering, environmental engineering and tribology in the Department
of Chemical Engineering. The Chair in Maintenance Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical
Engineering and the Graduate School for Technology Management was founded with the support of Anglo American,
Eskom, Exxaro and Sasol.
The further development, application and commercialisation of research are priorities for the Faculty. Good progress
was made with the further development of silicon-based light-emitting devices, initiated in the Carl and Emily Fuchs
Institute for Microelectronics (CEFIM) and further developed through a joint initiative with the South African Intellectual
Property (SAIP) Fund as the injection-enhanced silicon in avalanche (INSiAVA) initiative. This project has the
potential to significantly enhance the performance of electronic devices by using silicon-based light sources for data
communication and visual displays.
The very significant progress that the Faculty has made with its research initiatives during 2010 is indeed very
encouraging. Research is now well established as a core activity in the Faculty and, although it has to be balanced
with the many other demands placed on the Faculty, the foundations for sustained growth into the future are being
established. The support and investment of government and the University in the future growth of the Faculty is indeed
encouraging and the completion of the construction of additional facilities will significantly increase its teaching and
research capabilities in the near future.
Prof Roelf Sandenbergh
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