December 2014 Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment University of Cape Town December 2014 Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment University of Cape Town Vol. 11 Issue 4Vol. 11 Issue 4

Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

Wishing everyone a peaceful and restful time over the holidays and a very merry Christmas to our staff

members who will be celebrating Christmas.

A launch for the newly acquired Agilent network analyser was held in the NEB foyer on Tuesday 2 December. A/Professor Riana Geschke invited DVC Professor Francis Petersen, aca-demic staff, students, guests from in-dustry and a representative from the NRF to celebrate the acquisition of this sophisticated instrument. The Microwave laboratory is part of the Radar Remote Sensing group’s op-erations in the Department of Electrical Engineering. In January 2013, Riana joined the group to complement the group activities by extending the micro-wave and Radio Frequency aspects of the work done in the group. Her exper-tise in measurements, component de-sign and applied computational electro-magnetics fills a gap in the group, which is otherwise particularly strong on sig-nal processing, systems modelling of radar systems and parallel computing. On looking at the capabilities of the Microwave Lab, it was clear to Riana that an upgrade was necessary as the equipment did not cover even the fre-quency range of existing projects. With her interest in hardware design at fre-quencies beyond the microwave range, she decided to look for funding for a new network analyser. This is a sophis-ticated instrument that can character-ise devices and entire systems up to 67 GHz Riana applied to the University Equipment Committee in February 2013 and to the NRF National Equip-

ment programme in October 2013. In January 2014, she received a letter from the NRF advising that her applica-tion was successful, and R2,16 million was awarded. Dr Romilla Marahaj, Ex-ecutive Director of the Department of Human Infrastructure Capacity Devel-opment at the NRF, said, “Riana’s pro-posal was very well written and a good example on how to write a successful proposal. It is always a pleasure to attend the equipment launches, but I am particularly pleased when it is a female grant holder and in this case, one in the field of engineering. Only 20% of the NRF grant-holders are

women.” The instrument cost about R3.5 million and the balance of the money came from the University Equipment Committee, the Faculty Equipment Committee and the Dean’s discretion-ary fund. The Agilent network analyser ar-rived in August 2014, and work has been done in the lab to accommodate the new instrument. Riana said, “The instrument is upgradable, and the mod-el of use is to invite industry to partici-pate and to co-fund any upgrades as required by joint projects.”

New sophisticated equipment for the Microwave Lab

Dr Daniel O’Hagan, A/Professor Riana Geschke, Dr Maharaj, Professor Francis Petersen and Professor Barry Downing

In this edition

Page 2 Page 3 Page 7 Page 9

P7

2 2 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

On 8 November, Dr Dyllon Randall, an alumnus from the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCT, won 3rd place at the Falling Walls Lab competition which was held in Berlin. One hundred young scientists, young entrepreneurs and innovators from 34 countries had three minutes to present their research projects, ideas and initiatives concerning social challenges and the big issues of the future. Dr Randall presented a profit-making opportunity for wastewater treatment. The title of his talk was "Breaking the wall of wastewater using Eutectic Freeze Crystallization". Valuable resources can be recovered from wastewater using the technology, thus also reducing the environmental impact of this "waste". Dr Randall presented his talk at the Falling Walls Conference in front of 600 guests as one of the three “Falling Walls Young Innovators of 2014”. The winners were selected by a high-calibre international jury from academia and industry under the direction of Professor Carl Henrik Heldin, Chairman of the Nobel Foundation, and Dr Martin Sonnenschein, Managing Director Central Europe at A.T.

Kearney. Randall graduated from UCT with his PhD in 2010 and worked as a Research Officer in the Department of Chemical Engineering before joining Aurecon, a global consulting company. Randall said, "Participating in the

Falling Walls Lab competition was an amazing opportunity to meet like-minded people who also want to make a difference when it comes to some of the most pressing issues facing society."

Left to right: Dr Martin Sonnenschein, Managing Director Central Europe at A.T. Kearney, Dr Randall, 3rd Place Winner at the 2014 Falling Walls Lab finale and Professor Carl-Henrik

Heldin, Chairman of the Nobel Foundation

Falling Walls young innovator 2014Falling Walls young innovator 2014

copyright: Kay Herschelmann.

Every year, final-year stu-dents of electrical, elec-tronic and computer engi-neering at UCT, Stellen-bosch University and CPUT complete an intensive de-sign project. The best stu-dent projects nominated by the institutions compet-ed against each other at the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) Western Cape stu-dent papers evening. Anna-Marie Du Plooy, a final-year Mechatronics student under the supervision of Robyn Ver-rinder, received the award for her project titled Investigation of Visual Feature Tracking Schemes for Pose Estimation on an Underwater Robot).

Nicholas Hoernle came third at the National SAIEE Competition which was held in PE on 20 November. He was supervised by Samuel Ginsberg and his thesis topic was titled Design and Prototyping of a Low Cost Solution to Anti-Retroviral Non-Compliance in South Africa.

SAIEE Western Cape award SAIEE Western Cape award

Robyn Verrinder and Anna-Marie Du Plooy

Professor Kobus Van Zyl from the Department of Civil Engineering has recently published a new book titled Introduction to Operation and Maintenance of Water Distribution Systems. The aim of this book is to assist service delivery by making information on proper operation and maintenance practices available in a practical and accessible way. The book

focuses on water distribution systems including pipes, pumps valves, storage reservoirs, meters and other fittings. IT does not deal with other equally important elements of the water supply chain such as the protection of water sources, raw water systems, water treatment plants and plumbing systems. In addition it focuses on technical issues of operation and maintenance, and does not deal with associated factors such as hum resources management, data systems, funding, and public participation and accountability. Information taken from the

Introduction in the book.

New book for Prof Van ZylNew book for Prof Van Zyl

3 3 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

US—China: Going in the right direction, but far and fast enough? The US and Chinese Presidents announced on 11 Nov 2014 that

the US is to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025

China is to peak CO² emissions around 2030, with the intention to peak earlier, and to increase the non-fossil fuel share of all energy to around 20% by 2030. The announcements seem to be a politically significant move by G2, with potential to create momentum. At least they promote collective action, rather than a tenor of ‘I will if you will’. But what do these announcements add up to, assessed against science and equity? Read more on the ERC blog

USUS——China climate goalsChina climate goals

Sam Wegener, a 2013 civil engineering graduate, was awarded the 2014 South African Institution of Civil Engineering Barry van Wyk Award – for his under-graduate thesis titled The Effect of Vibra-tory Pile Driving on the Original Gravity Structure Quay Wall at Ben Schoeman Dock Berth 603, Port of Cape Town. The award is presented annually to the author of the best final-year disserta-tion on a Geotechnical Engineering topic at a South African university. This is the fourth time in six years that a UCT civil engineering graduate has won this na-tional prestigious award in Geotechnical Engineering.

Sam said, “Special thanks must go to Dr Kalumba and Charles Warren-Codrington - a truly potent team of su-pervisors who provided invaluable help. And to Simon Allen, Wanda Ellison, An-drew Holmwood and John Zietsman - without you the research would not have been possible.” “Sam’s success would not have been possible without the help, support and cooperation of his sponsors, Stefanutti Stocks Marine (Pty) Ltd. Appreciation also goes to ZAA Engineering Projects and Naval Architecture (Pty) Ltd for providing the necessary documents and infor-mation used in this study and for allow-

ing him to use their modelling software,” said Dr Kalumba.

National prestigious Geotechnical Engineering award National prestigious Geotechnical Engineering award

Sam Wegener and Dr Denis Kalumba

On 20 November, 16 recipients of the Klaus-Jürgen Bathe Leadership Scholar-ships were presented award certificates by Dr Max Price. The programme was established at UCT in March 2014 through an R11-million gift from Prof Jür-gen Bathe. Professor Zingoni, director of the programme, explained “The primary goal of the programme is to produce graduates with outstanding leadership qualities and a strong sense of social jus-tice, who will go on to play leading and significant roles in business, government, industry and civil society in South Africa and on the African continent.” The pro-gramme is open to undergraduate stu-dents in all faculties of UCT. The scholar-ship has a value of R120 000 per year, plus a six-week internship in the USA, Germany or South Africa valued at up to R80 000. Five of the sixteen awards for 2015 went to engineering, four to humanities, three to commerce, and two each to sci-

ence and health sciences. Of the 16 recipients, ten are female and six are male. Prof Zingoni said, “The first phase will run for 5 years. This will see 26 scholars enrolled on the programme by 2016. Looking ahead, the plan is to grow the programme to a level where 30 students are supported at any given time, with scholars being continuously replaced by new ones as they gradu-ate.” In his address, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Max Price said, “We see this new Pro-gramme as being an integral part of the broad strategy for developing leader-ship qualities of UCT graduates, and enhancing social responsiveness. In the face of challenges like climate change, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, diminishing natural resources and increasing global conflicts, it is clear that the world will need good leaders.” He added “This programme is one of the few where merit is the sole criterion for

selection. The students who will be re-ceiving their certificates this evening rep-resent some of the best all-rounded tal-ent we have at UCT. I have no doubt that this scholarship will become one of the most prestigious and highly sought-after in South Africa, enjoying a status similar to that of the Rhodes scholarships”.”

Klaus Jurgen Bathe Leadership awardsKlaus Jurgen Bathe Leadership awards

The five engineering students are from left: Nam-hla Mabombo (Mechatronics), Nozipo Gwaza

(Civil), Keabetswe Skee (Chemical), Ryan Hudson (Mechanical) and Matthias Schulz (Electrical).

4 4 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

On 13 November the Department of Chemical Engineering hosted a group of 40 science teachers from schools in the greater Cape Town area on their annual teachers’ afternoon. The afternoon has been running for over 20 years and has become a fixed feature in many teachers’ agendas. It has proved to be an excellent opportunity for the department to share ideas about science and teaching. Welcoming everyone, Professor Jenni Case expressed her delight at seeing so many old and new faces amongst the teachers. She stressed the importance of this afternoon as not only a way to con-nect, but also an opportunity to thank the teachers for their tireless efforts as they ultimately prepare excellent poten-tial first-year students year after year. The programme formally kicked off with a presentation by Dr Pieter Levecque on the new chemical engineer-ing curriculum that is being rolled out. The ensuing discussion brought up useful considerations for the department. Dr Robert Pott of the Centre for Bioprocess

Engineering introduced the topic of bio-technology through a thought-provoking presentation on hydrogels and biomedi-cal applications. It was then time for a more hands-on part as groups rotated through three activities: DNA extraction, polymer beads preparation from kelp and a demonstration of the Scanning

Electron Microscope. The afternoon con-cluded with an informal session for the teachers to network with chemical engi-neering staff. The teachers commented that they felt enriched and excited, and the chemical engineering staff loved the opportunity to meet the teachers. Article by Dr Pieter Levecque

Chemical Engineering’s annual teachers’ afternoonChemical Engineering’s annual teachers’ afternoon

Dr Siew Tai with the teachers in a lab

Two students from the Department of Chemical Engineering were part of a team who competed in the final stage of the Copenhagen Competition, re-cently held in Denmark. The team was Takunda Chitaka (currently studying towards an MPhil in sustainable mineral resource develop-ment), Timothy Ndamira (who's study-ing toward an MSc in Chemical Engi-neering) and a student from Law and Economics. The Copenhagen Competition is an invitation-only interdisciplinary negoti-ation competition, taking students from around the world into a simula-tion of real multilateral negotiations. The aim of the negotiations is an agree-ment in an area of potential global reg-ulatory coordination. The topic this year was the Sustaina-ble Energy Trade Agreement (SETA), and the competition was concerned with various fields relating to international trade laws, environmental protection and sustainable development. Students on each team represented a fictional

state in the SETA negotiations and pro-posed one item of particular importance to be placed on the final negotiating list for SETA. UCT's team proposed that sustaina-ble three-way catalytic converters be placed on a positive SETA list of prod-

ucts to be given duty-free status by member countries, thereby promoting almost immediate effects in reducing climate change in a relatively cost-effective manner. Article from UCT News Photo supplied.

UCT among the finalists of negotiation competitionUCT among the finalists of negotiation competition

5 5 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

In December 2012, Masego Mosupye and five other UCT students from the Depart-ment of Chemical Engineering did their six-week vacation work at the South Afri-can Navy. Masego was so excited as since 2011 she had been trying to join the navy on their University Reserve Training Programme, with no luck. So when the vac work opportunity present-ed itself, she knew it was a blessing. “The experience was wonderful and made me want to stay in the navy even more,” said Masego. At the end of the six-week vac work, she asked if she could return, and the Navy agreed. During 2013, she spent her vacations working for the Navy and at the end of the year she

asked if she could join permanently. She was told that she would have to attend basic military training, which she agreed to. Masego still had an elective remaining to complete her degree, so the depart-ment granted her an exam without attendance and she wrote the exam and completed the main project of the course whilst undergoing military training. She said, “It wasn’t easy at all since the train-ing was mentally, physically and emotion-ally straining.” She added, “It was all worth it as I am now working at the Naval Engineering Section as an engineer-in-training, and I absolutely love it!”

Chemical Engineering graduate joins the NavyChemical Engineering graduate joins the Navy

Andreas Elombo graduated from UCT in 2009 with a BScEng (First class honours) in electrical engineering. He obtained an MScEng at the University of Stellenbosch, where he graduated cum laude in 2012, and currently he is doing his PhD at Oxford University. He was delighted to meet up with Dr Andrew Markham, who taught him Control Engineering at UCT and is now in the Computer Science Department at Oxford University. He was also thrilled to get the opportunity to meet Dr Rampehle, who was a keynote speaker at the

Intercollegiate Model African Union Summit 2014 which was held at Oxford University. Andreas wrote to share his appreciation of the role that UCT played in his life. “It gives me a lot of pleasure and pride to be associated with UCT,” he said. Andreas is from Namibia and was working for NamPower when he was admitted to Oxford University. The photograph is of Andreas at the matriculation ceremony which constitutes the formal admission to Oxford University as a student.

Electrical Engineering graduate at Oxford for his PhDElectrical Engineering graduate at Oxford for his PhD

The civil engineering classes of 1972 to 1974 held a 40-year reunion from 17 to 19 October. The reunion was a resounding success thanks to Manidisa Zitha’s coordination and a dedicat-ed reunion committee chaired by Terry Wallace (Class of 1974). Also on the committee were: Colin Hall (1973), Alastair Bishop (1973) and Peter Silbernagl (1972). The reunion weekend began on Friday evening at the newly opened Snape Building. Professor Neil Armitage, HOD of the Department of Civil Engineering, gave an informative presenta-tion that gave the alumni insight into the expansive progress in the academic field of civil engineering since the 70s. Professor Armitage then took them on a tour to see some of their old lecture theatres, and the new labs in the New Engineering Building before meeting up in the foyer for a cocktail event. Saturday night proved to be a memorable dinner for alumni and their partners at Kelvin Grove. The invited keynote speaker and former lecturer, Professor Sparks, exhibited his vast knowledge of tales of the Spartans in their David and Goliath campaigns. The dinner gave the alumni more opportunities to catch up and resume old friendships.

Kirstenbosch’s lush gardens were the ‘surprise venue’ for breakfast on Sunday which was enjoyed by all. The alumni de-cided to contribute towards a bursary for a civil engineering student in need and raised R15 500 which was greatly appreci-ated by the Faculty. The success of the 40th Civil Engineering Reunion has opened the door for a 50th anniversary one.

Civil Engineering 40th ReunionCivil Engineering 40th Reunion

6 6 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

Faculty News Welcome to new staff Ms Rachmat Harris joined the Department of Electrical Engineering in October as an Admin Assistant.

Mr Masimthembe Swayiza joined the Department of Civil Engineering as a Technical Assistant in the workshop.

Mr Niels Lüchters is now a permanent member of staff and is a research officer in the Centre for Catalysis Research. Mrs Clare Pomario joined the Centre for Minerals Research in November as an Admin Assistant. Miss Joyce Mwangama joined the Department of Electrical Engineer in December as a lecturer. Ms Sonja Spamer joined the School of Architecture in December as a lecturer. Mr Werner van der Ross joined CoMSIRU in the Department of Civil Engineering in December as an Admin Officer Mrs Eunice Jacobs will join Minerals to Metals in the Department of Chemical Engineering on 1 January 2015. Ms Natalie Bent will join CERECAM as an Admin Assistant from 1 January 2015. Mr David Oyedokun will join the Department of Electrical Engineering as a lecturer from 1 February 2015.

Elizabeth (Libby) Rose Holmes was born on 14 October to Dr Kirsten Corin from Chemical Engineering, and her husband

Andrew. Older sister Catherine is totally smitten with her new

sister.

CONGRATULATIONS

Graduation

Penny Park-Ross from the Centre of Materials Engineering will be capping her daughter, Robyn, at the Humanities ceremony on 16 December. Robyn is graduating with Bachelor in Social Science, majoring in Political Studies and Public Policy and Ad-ministration.

Penny with her daughters Jo on the left and Robyn on the right.

Obituary

Deborah Ojuka, a first-year electri-cal engineering student, passed away on 1 December 2014 in Con-stantiaberg Hospital. Deborah suffered from a number of health problems. Her family is from Ugan-da and they will be returning there to bury her. Her father is A/Professor Edward Ojuka from the Sports Science Institute. The De-

partment of Student Affairs and IAPO are assisting the family during this difficult time. Ms Renee Smit, a senior lecturer in the Department, said, “Deborah was a beautiful, strong and determined young woman, and this is a great loss.” Our thought and prayers are with the family.

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Brewing UCT invited to Castle Rock festivalBrewing UCT invited to Castle Rock festival

On Friday 31 October, Brewing UCT attended the Castle Rock Experience in Ceres, where they were invited to show-case one of their craft beers and provide entertainment as part of a night of craft beer, cider, wine and food. The evening was entitled “The Science of beer, food & laughter”, with Brewing UCT compris-ing the “The Science of beer” aspect of the event. It was held at the Olive Rock function venue in Ceres and hosted 150 beer-and-wine enthusiasts. Brewing UCT's Captain, Brian Willis, a PhD candidate in CeBER, represented the team, which consists of postgraduate students, post docs and staff, who are all based within the Department of Chemi-cal Engineering. Brian led the audience through a vari-ety of anecdotes, including the story of his first brewing experience, a pineapple beer. He recounted the history of brew-ing at UCT with a particular focus on re-cent successes achieved by the team at

brewing competitions since 2012. Brewing UCT presented their Amber Ale, called Humulone, which is named after the primary bittering compound from the hop plant. It has a strong litchi aroma from the hops, and sufficient body to balance the bitter notes which linger in the aftertaste. It was well received by guests, with some hailing it their favour-ite beer of the evening.

Brian appreciated the opportunity to share his passion for beer with a fresh group of keen listeners, and to network with individuals who showed interest in working with both Brewing UCT and oth-er CeBER research groups. Report by Brian Willis and Candice Maz-zolini Photographs: Candice Mazzolini

Lumkani, the innovative heat detector connected to other detectors to alert informal-settlement communities of any fires close by, received first place for the Startup finals at the 2014 Global Entre-preneur Summit (GES) held in Marrakech in Morocco. Global Innovation through Science and Technology received over 500 appli-cations from 61 countries for the Tech-I competition 2014. After expert review, the semi-finalists received over 400 000 votes globally to determine the 30 final-ists who pitched in the Innovation Village over two days of the GES. The finalists were able to work with mentors and trainers building up to the final presenta-tions. David Gluckman presented Lumkani and received the award on be-half of the Lumkani team. Lumkani has also gone on to win the Western Cape Premier’s Entrepreneur-ship Recognition Award in the category of Best Student Business Idea. The Western Cape Minister of Eco-nomic Opportunities, Alan Winde, said

one of his key goals was to fos-ter a strong culture of entrepre-neurship. He said: “The annual Premier’s Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards is the showcase event for entrepre-neurship in our province. It al-lows us to identify inspiring, high-potential entrepreneurs, and to recognise them for the important role they are playing in putting Western Cape business on the global map, and for cre-ating growth and jobs in our economy.” This year, the Awards received more than 300 entries – a more than 300% increase compared to the inaugural com-petition last year. The awards recognise five categories: emerging business, es-tablished business, green business, social enterprise and student business idea Lumkani is currently rolling out a pilot phase in four low-income communities in different informal settlements where devices will be sold at the retail price of R90. The company is testing a number of

strategies in this pilot to unearth mean-ingful insights that will inform a large-scale local and global roll-out. In July’s newsletter we reported on two other international awards that the team received for Lumkani. The team consists of Samuel Ginsberg (Lecturer in Department of Electrical Engineering), Max Basler (Industrial designer), Emily Vining (Social Science), David Gluckman (Business Science), and Paul Mesarcik and Francois Petousis (Mechatronics).

More awards for Lumkani (previously known as Kusela)

Emily Vining and Francois Petousis with a mem-

ber of the community with an installed device.

The South African Institute for Civil Engineers (SAICE) hosted

a National Research and Investigation Project presentation competition in Johannesburg which involved top undergraduate civil engineering students from six of the leading universities in South Africa. The students had to make a presentation to a panel of judges, who had to decide on a winner. This is the first event of its kind in South Africa.

The Civil Engineering Department sent Mr Idrees Solwa, this year’s best-thesis winner, to represent UCT. His presentation was centred on his work Introduction to Operation and Maintenance of Water Distribution Systems supervised and co-supervised by Prof Kobus van Zyl and Prof Alphose Zingoni respectively. Idrees’s presentation was adjudged the best.

8 8 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

Best presentation

The Department of Electrical Engineering is delighted to announce that Joyce Mwangama and David Oyedokun will be joining the Department as lecturers. Joyce joined from 1 December and David will join on 1 February.

Joyce graduated from UCT with her BSc in Electrical & Computer Engineering in 2008. She went on to complete her MSc in 2010 and registered for her PhD in August 2011. She is a doctoral student in the Communications Research group with Mr Neco Ventura. She recently received a best-paper award at the 17th annu-al Southern African Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference. Joyce has received five prestigious awards in just two years. She received the L’Oreal UNESCO for Women in Science Fellowship, was named a Google Anita Borg Scholar, and received a DST doctoral fellowship. The faculty awarded her a Special Faculty prize for her community involvement. She has been actively in-volved with the IEEE student branch and is presently the IEEE Region 8 Women in Engineering Chair, which entails coordinating IEEE women in engineering activities

and initiatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Joyce said, “I am indeed very happy and excited to be offered a post by UCT’s Electrical Engineering Department as a member of the teaching/research staff (lecturer). For me, it feels like a natural pro-gression as I have really come to enjoy being a researcher. Most former students can't wait to leave varsity as soon as they finish their degrees but I seem to have prolonged my stay at every opportunity. This is a testament to the high regard that I hold for the university and thus I feel privileged to be able to continue on as one of the academic staff." David Oyedokun graduated from UCT with a BSc in Electrical Engineering in 2005. He completed his MSc in 2010 and is due to graduate with his PhD in June 2015. David has been a very active member of IEEE and has held a number of leadership positions. He received the Region 8 Young Professionals Award, a special recognition to acknowledge his achievements. David was a member of the EBE student council in 2006, he was a mentor for first-year electrical engineering students, and over the years has been actively involved in IEEE. He is presently still involved with the EPICS – a high educational outreach programme with high schools. For the past year David has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the South African National Space Agency in Hermanus. David said, “I am glad to join the new generation of academics which has the po-tential not only to sustain UCT's great academic legacy, but to take the academic expe-rience at UCT to new heights!"

Electrical Engineering growing their own timber

Sundran Naicker, Director of Nyeleti Consulting Idrees Solwa and Manglin Pillay, CEO of SAICE

99 Faculty NewsletterFaculty Newsletter

Dr George Vicatos from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and his MSc student Severin Tenim won the “Cutting Edge” award for the design and development of a low-cost, mechanically operated prosthetic hand. The awards formed part of the Popular Mechanics annual FutureTech Conference 2014. It is an exciting one-day event where inventors and entrepreneurs from all over South Africa showcase their inventions, which fosters and raises innovation awareness in South Africa. This is the second win for Dr George Vicatos. The prosthetic hand offers a functional and aesthetically appealing device at a low cost compared to products currently on the market, making it suitable for application in the South African public healthcare sector. A patent application has been filed for this invention, and a working prototype has been well received at various expos and is currently undergoing evaluation by a practising prosthetist.

Story and photograph from the RCIPS website.

Cutting Edge Award Cutting Edge Award

The Division of Geomatics received a generous equipment do-nation from Initio Africa, the South African agents for Topcon. During the AfricaGeo conference held in July, the Topcon representative for Asia, the Middle East, and Africa spoke to A/Professor Julian Smit. He said that Topcon was interested in connecting with UCT as they would like to introduce their brand to the students. Through Initio Africa, they donated a 2011 Top-con laser scanner which Geomatics will use for their undergrad-uate teaching programme. Topcon International will donate the software that is needed to process the data from the scanner. “This will give the students much-needed hands-on experi-ence with laser technology that today’s Geomatics industry re-quires,” said A/Professor Smit. “It is exciting times for the divi-sion as with the scanner we will be able to provide a service to other departments in the Faculty and work on interdisciplinary research projects.”

A/Professor Julian Smit with Sven van Duffelen, marketing manager of Initio Africa

Laser scanner donation to Geomatics

Motlokoa Khasu is a very happy young man. An anonymous alumni donor has paid off his fee debt so he can graduate in December. Khasu failed design in his final year and had to return to UCT to redo the course. He took a year off in 2013 to try and raise the funds but was unsuccessful. With the turmoil in Lesotho it was very difficult to get support from anyone. He returned to UCT determined to graduate. He passed his design course but still would not be able to graduate because of his fee debt. Along came the anonymous donor who wanted to help someone who could potentially help and contribute to others in the future (in the technical realm of EBE). Khasu said, “I have not recovered from the shock yet. It happened at my lowest point. It is really a blessing to have people like this.” The funder, on receiving a thank-you letter from Khasu, said, “Receiving a letter like that is reward beyond measure! He seems to have the kind of integrity that is sorely needed in this world.”

Anonymous donor helps student to graduateAnonymous donor helps student to graduate

A representative for Popular Mechanics with Dr George Vicatos and Severin Tenim