KZN TRIO UP FOR ‘SCIENCE’ OSCARS
THREE of the finalists in what is regarded as the ‘Science Oscars of South Africa’ are from Kwazulu-natal.
The 2019/2020 NSTF-SOUTH32 Awards honour and celebrate outstanding contributions to science, engineering and technology (SET) and innovation.
Professor Faizal Bux, Professor Pragashnie Govender and Dr Abraham Singels are among the list of academics from around the country.
Bux, director and professor of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at DUT, said he was honoured to be a nominated finalist in two categories.
“One (of the awards) is the Lifetime Award; it is a very prestigious nomination and being on this platform with very eminent scientists in the country makes me thrilled, excited and honoured...” said Bux.
Govender, academic leader of research and associate professor of the Discipline of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Kwazulu-natal, is a nominated finalist for the TW Kambule-nstf: Emerging Researcher Award.
“My story is one of humble beginnings and many challenges.
“It’s in moments like these that I am reminded that I have been blessed to be surrounded, and inevitably, shaped by many people I have encountered in this life, especially a line of resilient women (my grandmother and mum) who strived in the face of adversity to give me the opportunities I have had,” she said.
Singels, a nominated finalist of the Special Annual Theme Award for Plant Health and Water Research Commission Awards, was unfortunately unavailable for comment at the time of publishing.
Singels is an honorary associate professor of the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science at the School of Agricultural Earth and Environmental Sciences at UKZN.
He is also the principal agronomist of the SA Sugarcane Research Institute and extraordinary professor: Department of Plant Production and Soil Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria.
● The winners of the 2019/2020 NSTF-SOUTH32 Awards will be announced at a virtual ceremony on July 30, at 7 pm.