Spu-NAS

Today, the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences (FNAS) hosted an inspiring colloquium, bringing together brilliant minds to discuss innovative research, groundbreaking discoveries, and impactful ideas shaping our future. 🌍✨

The event featured: engaging presentations, thought provoking discussions and a vibrant exchange of ideas and collaborations among participants from diverse backgrounds

We are proud of the incredible talent and dedication showcased today, a true testament to the excellence within FNAS! A huge thank you to all the speakers, organizers, and attendees for making this event a success

South Africa

OWAMI MASHABA SOARS AS SPU AMBASSADOR

Owami Mashaba, a BSc Hons Biological Sciences student, is proudly representing SPU on a remarkable journey. After her outstanding presentation at the Arid Zone Ecology Forum (AZEF) held from 17 to 19 October, she earned the prestigious Best Student Oral Prize for her talk on "Enhancing Water Use Efficiency of Riparian Plants and their Impact on Aquatic Life in the Riet and Lower Vaal River." Additionally, Ms Mashaba has been appointed as the student representative on the AZEF Committee. Congratulations, Owami, your future looks brighter than ever!

The School of Natural and Applied Sciences (SoNAS) in collaboration with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) hosted its first Lego Robotics training on the 23-25 March 2023. The training laid a foundation for The World Robot Olympiad™ (WRO) which is an event that brings learners together all over the world, integrating science, technology, education, and robotics to develop their creativity and team-work skills through educational robotics competitions. The training was a success and learners came in numbers

SPU STUDENTS JOIN NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON GLOBAL CHANGE ISSUES

SPU’s Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre (RVSC) is currently attending the fifth National Global Change conference at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. The conference runs from 30 January to 2 February and focuses attention on the Department of Science and Innovation’s Global Change Research Programme. Five SPU Honours students and two post-doctoral fellows (who are funded by the Centre) will be presenting their research. They’re looking forward to this, as well as interacting with conference delegates and learning more about the diversity of global change issues facing the South African landscape. The Centre will garner important exposure at the conference and adding to its growing collaborative networks.

SoNas took part in the SA ARMY KIMBERLEY CAREER EXPO 10-13 October 2022. Learners from various schools in kimberley and neighbouring areas came in numbers. Information sharing, programme offerings,demonstrating and guiding learners about various careers and funding available in different fields was the core business of the week

We learned alot from ARC about the different applications of UAVs, sensors and drones and how they can be used in science. Followed by an interesting presentation given by Ms. Varsha Ramdeen from Anton Paar about the different laboratory instruments that they offer such as density meters, refractometers, polarimeters, instruments for sample preparation and synthesis, viscometers, rheometers, and instruments for material characterization

2nd day of SoNAS Research day and Postgraduate Expo kick started with Professor Justine Daramola (Key Note Speaker) an Applied Software Engineer from (Department of Information Technology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology). His talk about Explainable AI and he highlighted the different areas in which machine learning can be applied. We had some interesting oral presentations from various colleagues in Computing, Data Science, Emerging technologies & Mathematical Sciences.

SoNAS Research Day and Postgraduate Expo was attended by academics working in research as well as students in 3rd year and those in post grad

Ms Dewidine van der Colff ,Red list Scientist and Guest speaker from SANBI spoke about the status of species in South Africa based on the most recent Biodiversity Assessment lead by SANBI in collaboration with other Universities Expo

School of Natural and Applied Science (SoNAS) hosts its 1st Official Research Day & Postgraduate Expo from 4-5 October 2022. The first day started with a warm welcome from the Professor Gelebe (Head of School) and Opening lecturers from various Head of Departments

RVSC AT SPU TURNS 1: The Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre (RVSC) Birthday Lunch is taking place today at the SPU South Campus. The centre is the first research centre to be established at SPU, and has been in operation since 1 September 2021.

RVSC AT SPU TURNS 1: The Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre (RVSC) Birthday Lunch is taking place today at the SPU South Campus. The centre is the first research centre to be established at SPU, and has been in operation since 1 September 2021.