Unisa online - Research and Innovation starts the year at high speed

From left: Prof Vallabhapurapu, Dr Mothudi, Ms Fungura,
Dr Tibane, Ms Nkobane, Dr Dhlamini, Prof Setati, Dr Ho,
Prof Reddy (Director of Snist) &
Prof Vasudeva Rao (Principal of Snist)

The year 2012 started at high speed for the Research and Innovation portfolio with Prof Mamokgethi Setati leading a team of Unisa nanotechnology and functional materials researchers to India from 3 to 13 January 2012. When asked why nanotechnology, Prof Setati said: “Nanotechnology is not just a new field of science, engineering and technology conducted at the nanoscale, but a multidisciplinary field of study that has great potential for technological innovation. It brings together researchers from the sciences, engineering, and even social sciences and law.”

The delegation included Prof Vijaya Vallabhapurapu (Physics Department), Dr Simon Dlamini (Physics Department), Dr Bakang Mothudi (Physics Department), Dr Malebo Tibane (Physics Department), Dr Wei Hua Ho (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering), Ms Nonhlanhla Fungura (Department of Chemical and Civil Engineering) and Ms Molebogeng Nkobane (master’s student in the Department of Chemical and Civil Engineering).

This tightly scheduled mission targeted institutions in Hyderabad, Chennai and Cochin. At each of the institutes, there were presentations by members of the Unisa delegation, and active discussions and exchanges with Indian researchers.

An important part of the visit included Unisa’s co-hosting of the International Conference on Nanotechnology and Functional Materials with Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology (SNIST) in Hyderabad. This conference is one of the results of a visit by Prof V Vasudeva Rao to Unisa in 2011, funded through the Unisa International Fellowships Programme. The conference was held between 4 and 7 January 2012. Prof Vasudeva Rao (SNIST) and Prof VV Srinivasu (Unisa) served as the chairman and co-chairman of the conference respectively. The conference commenced with an opening session in the afternoon of 4 January and ended with the closing ceremony on 7 January. Prof Setati gave the presidential address during the opening ceremony, in which she spoke about India-South Africa relations encouraging an atmosphere for good research collaborations. Prof V Vallabhapurapu, co-chair of the conference, spoke about the significance of the conference in the global context of the emergence of nanotechnology as the major transformation for the next generation.

In addition to India and South Africa, the conference was attended by eminent scientists from the USA, UK, Germany, Mexico, Malaysia, Ethiopia and South Korea. One keynote lecture, six plenary lectures and 29 invited lectures were presented, as well as 43 oral and 26 poster presentations. A total of 105 abstracts were accepted for presentation at the conference and they covered the following themes of nanoscience and nanotechnology: polymers and nanocomposites; functional materials; MEMS, NEMS, nanosensors and devices; nano-thermal fluids and refrigerants and nano mechanics; patenting trends in nanotechnology; nano biotechnology; nano energy materials; nano synthesis; nano magnetics and nano scale physics and nano materials: environmental and other applications.

Dr Mokhotjwa Dlamini, Dr Bakang Mothudi and Dr Malebo Tibane from Unisa made presentations at the conference, which were very well received, attracting interest and offers of collaboration with members of the audience. Reports of this very successful conference were published in all the major newspapers in India including India’s national daily newspaper, The Hindu. Click here to read the report in The Hindu newspaper on 6 January 2012.

During the visit, members of the Unisa delegation also presented their research work at the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad, the International Advanced Research Centre (ARCI), the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the University of Madras, and the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT).

The members of the delegation all talked about the value of the visit to India. Dr Tibane indicated that she is planning to work with Dr Suhash Ranjan Rey, of the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the IIT, Hyderabad, to explore projects in alloy design. Dr Mothudi and Dr Dhlamini showed interest in the work done by some members of the Department of Physics, particularly Prof Saket Asthana and Prof Manish Niranjan who specialise in nanomaterials and modeling the band gap of the semiconductors. Both parties have discussed the possibility of collaborations and suggested that while the IIT Hyderabad Department of Physics focuses on modeling, Dr Mothudi and Dr Dhlamini can work with them on the synthesis of the nanomaterials. Modeling the band gap and experimental analysis can help to propose the energy transfer mechanisms, illustrated by some of the nano-phosphors doped with different rare earth ions. 

Dr Ho plans to explore working on carbon “worms” with researchers at ARCI. The carbon worms have been shown to have a good ability to absorb oil and with design of a proper system, can have good applications in helping to clean up oil spills thus preventing environment disasters such as the one currently off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Prof Vallabhapurapu is very keen to start working with Prof Anantharaman of the Cochin University of Science and Technology on nano magnetics and electron spin resonance.

Members of the delegation were highly impressed by the microscopy facilities at the University of Madras which Prof Sriman, the Director of the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, indicated that Unisa academics can have access to as part of the collaboration. Ms Nkobane and Ms Fungura were especially inspired by the knowledge displayed by the students especially the female students at the Cochin University of Technology.

On their return Prof Setati said: ”Overall, it was a successful mission that exposed our young and emerging researchers to top class researchers and state of the art facilities in some of the institutes in India. We plan to invite at least two of the researchers we met while there for further interaction with our emerging researchers.”