Tukkie 2013 autumn

TukkieAutumn 2013 Volume 19 Number 1
TUKS wen WEER Varsitybeker!

3
TUKKIE
Voorbladfoto/Cover photo
Champions again! UP-Tuks successfully defended the Varsity Cup and
beat Maties 44-5 at the Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch, on 8 April.
Weer die kampioene! UP-Tuks het die Varsitybeker behou toe hulle Maties
op 8 April in die Danie Craven-stadion, Stellenbosch, met 44-5 verslaan
het.
Foto/Photo: Yunus Mohamed, FOTO24
Menings in Tukkie is dié van die betrokke persoon en nie noodwendig die
standpunt van die Universiteit van Pretoria nie. Tukkie word uitgegee deur
die Universiteit van Pretoria se Departement Universiteitsbetrekkinge.
Enige redaksionele navrae of inligting kan gestuur word aan:
Marissa Greeff
E-pos: marissa.greeff@up.ac.za
Tel: 012 420 5193
Adresveranderings
Gee asseblief kennis van adresveranderings of kansellasies deur na:
E-pos: alumni@up.ac.za
Tel: 012 420 3533
Faks: 012 362 5088
Meld die kode wat op u adresetiket verskyn in alle korrespondensie.
Opinions expressed in Tukkie are that of the individual concerned and not
necessarily the view of the University of Pretoria. Tukkie is published by the
University of Pretoria’s Department of University Relations.

Any editorial queries or information can be sent to:
Marissa Greeff
Email: marissa.greeff@up.ac.za
Tel: 012 420 5193

Change of address
Please send notification of change of address or cancellations to:
Email: alumni@up.ac.za
Tel: 012 420 3533
Fax: 012 362 5088
Quote the code that appears on the address label in all correspondence.
Redakteur/Editor:
Marissa Greeff
Skrywers/Writers:
Manie Bosman
Marissa Greeff
Meropa Communications (Pty) Limited
Nicolize Mulder
Sanku Tsunke
Foto’s/Photos:
EYEscape Studios, tensy anders vermeld
EYEscape Studios, unless otherwise indicated
Taalredigering/Subediting:
Meropa Communications (Pty) Limited
UP Taaleenheid/UP Language Unit

Uitleg/Layout
Francois van der Westhuizen, Departement Universiteitsbetrekkinge/
Department of University Relations
Verspreiding/Distribution:
Prestige Bulk Mailers
INHOUD
CONTENTS
Rektor se Boodskap/Principal’s Message 5
Steeds Varsitybeker-kampioene 6
And the winners are...TuksAthletics
Assupol TuksCricket 2012/2013 season best in
years
7
Welcoming Day 2013 attracts the full
spectrum of SA’s rainbow nation
8
Tuks alumni’s hat trick 9
Nuwe Viserektor voorspel blink globale
toekoms vir UP
10
It’s goodbye, but not farewell to Prof Crewe 11
Bioprospecting plants to benefit humankind 12
Nie net produksiediere baat by
Onderstepoort se nuwe mobiele kliniek nie
16
Onderstepoort help met dieregesondheid
in Mamelodi
19
Prof Apostolides’ cup of tea 20
Pioneering nutritional programme helps
heal cheetah leg deformities
24
Navorsing oor pasiënte met suikersiekte se
lewenswyse
26
UP honours academic achievers 28
Tukkienuus/Tukkie news
Autumn Graduation Ceremonies make
UP proud
34
Honorary doctorates to notable
scholars
35
Erkenning aan emeritusprofessore 36
UP awarded research chairs 37
Prestigious AU award for Prof Mike
Wingfield
38
Merietebeurs vir slim matrikulant 39
Drieling word dokters 40
CSA plans Centre of Excellence 41
hpc planning for 2016 and beyond... 42
In memoriam: Ben Alberts 43

4
Universiteit van Pretoria • University of Pretoria • Yunibesithi ya Pretoria

5
TUKKIE
Geagte Tuks-alumni en vriende
In my openingsrede vir die akademiese jaar 2013 het
ek die behoefte aan verbeterde kommunikasie tussen
al die gemeenskappe van die Universiteit van Pretoria
beklemtoon.
Alhoewel Tukkie slegs een van die kommunikasie-
kanale is, bied dit ‘n baie belangrike platform vir
skakeling met alumni en vriende in ons poging om
bewustheid van ons prestasies te verhoog, beter
begrip vir die uitdagings wat die Universiteit in
die gesig staar te kweek en die nuwe inisiatiewe
te beklemtoon in die strewe ter bereiking van ons
doelwitte.
Ek vertrou dat die meeste van u bewus is van die
Universiteit se ambisieuse Strategiese Plan, UP2025,
wat reeds van stapel gestuur is. Ons visie is om ‘n
voorste navorsingsintensiewe universiteit in Afrika
te wees wat internasionaal erken word vir gehalte,
relevansie en impak asook vir die ontwikkeling
van mensebydraes, die skep van kennis en vir
betekenisvolle plaaslike en internasionale bydraes.
In 2013 spits ons ons daarop toe om ons doelwit te
bereik om die voorkeuruniversiteit te wees vir die
meerderheid begaafde jong Suid-Afrikaners, en ook
vir die meerderheid begaafde plaaslike en buitelandse
personeel.
Alhoewel ons nog ‘n lang pad het om te
gaan om hierdie doelwitte te bereik, kry die
indrukwekkende navorsing wat reeds by die
Universiteit gedoen word, gestalte in die
bladsye wat volg. Dit weerspieël ook ons
vermoë om wêreldklastalent te lok en te
behou, waarop Tuks uiters trots is.
Ek vertrou dat u die berigte oor
ons gehalte, relevansie en impak
sal geniet en dat dit dialoog
en verdere skakeling met u
as gewaardeerde alumni en
vriende van die Universiteit sal
aanspoor.
Vriendelike Tukkie-groete
Professor Cheryl de la Rey
Visekanselier en Rektor
Dear Tuks alumni and friends
In my opening address of the 2013 academic year, I
emphasised the need for improved communication
across, and between, University of Pretoria
communities.
While Tukkie is just one of the channels we have
to engage with one another, it is a very important
platform to connect with alumni and friends as we
seek to raise awareness and understanding of our
achievements, challenges and new initiatives.
As I trust most of you already know, we have
embarked on the University’s ambitious Strategic
Plan, UP2025, which includes the vision of being
a leading research-intensive university in Africa,
internationally recognised for our quality, relevance
and impact, and for developing people, creating
knowledge and making a difference locally and
globally.
Our work for 2013 will be intensified to meet our
objective of being the university of choice for the
most talented young South Africans, and also the
preferred choice for the most talented staff in the
country and internationally.
While we still have a long way to go to realise
these objectives, the University’s already
impressive research achievements
are given a human face across the
accompanying pages, which also reflect
our ability to attract and retain world-
class talent, of which Tuks is immensely
proud.
I trust that you will enjoy reading
these narratives, which attest to our
quality, relevance and impact, and
that they will prompt dialogue and
further engagement with you as
valued alumni and friends of the
University.
Warm Tukkie greetings
Professor Cheryl de la Rey
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
Rektor se Principal’s
Boodskap Message

6
As jy ’n Tuks-ondersteuner is, sal die gebeure wat
hulself op 8 April in die Danie Craven-stadion
afgespeel het nog lank in die geheue ingebrand bly as
een van die heuglikste dae in die epiese rugbystryd
tussen Noord en Suid.
Dis nou reeds geskiedenis wat op dié dag in die
Varsitybeker-eindstryd tussen UP-Tuks en Maties
gebeur het. UP-Tuks se klinkende sege met 44-5 was
die grootste nog in Varsitybeker-geskiedenis en die
vyf drieë wat die wenspan gedruk het, ook ‘n nuwe
rekord.
Hierdie ontsagwekkende vertoning is nie uit die lug
gegryp nie, maar was die eindproduk van ses maande
se harde werk, deeglikheid en deursettingsvermoë
wat deelnemers en kampioene van mekaar onderskei.
As verdedigende kampioen kon die 2013-seisoen
nie op ‘n slegter noot vir UP-Tuks begin het nie. Die
nederlaag in die groepfase teen die NWU-Pukke het
seergemaak, so ook dié teen Maties en NMMU. Tog
het die hoofafrigter, Nollis Marais, aanhou glo dat
UP-Tuks die potensiaal het om hul titel met welslae te
verdedig.
Hoe reg was Nollis nie, want UP-Tuks se vertoning in
die halfeind en finaal het gewys dat hy nie sy gelyke in
die 2013-reeks gehad het nie.
Daar is eindstryde en eindstryde. Sommige vergeet jy gou, ander bly
jou ‘n langer tyd by.
Deur Morris Gilbert
STEEDS VARSITYBEKER-
KAMPIOENE
Foto: Pretoria News

7
TUKKIE
Photo: Jaco Joubert
It was a daunting task to improve on these results,
but the coaches and players took to the task and
exceeded high expectations. The club now boasts
ten trophies that were won by various teams in the
2012/2013 season, setting a new club record.
It has been an incredible season that will not be easily
forgotten by everyone at TuksCricket. The results for
the season were as follows:
• winners of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) National
Club Championships for the second year in a row;
• winners of the NCU Premier League for three years
in a row;
• winners of the NCU Knock-Out Competition for
four years in a row;
• winners of the NCU T20 Club Competition;
• winners of 11 trophies in the last three years;
• unbeaten at University Sports South Africa
(USSA) during the last two years; and
• ranked number 1 club team in South Africa.
Assupol TuksCricket 2012/2013
season best in years
And the winners are... TuksAthletics
The victorious TuksAthletics
team that won the Varsity
Athletics series decisively.
The Tuks team won all three legs of the Varsity Athletics series which was concluded on their home track at
the Absa Tuks Stadium at the end of April. The other two Varsity meetings were held in Stellenbosch at the
Coetzenburg Stadium and in Johannesburg at the UJ Stadium. Seven other university teams competed in the
series.
The Tuks team also won the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Championships in Durban, collecting 355
points over two days, with NWU Pukke in second place and University of Johannesburg (UJ) in third place.
The TuksAthletics team was the winners of the very exciting new Varsity
Athletics series.
The 2012/13 season has been the best season in years for TuksCricket who emerged from the
2011/2012 season as the Northern Cricket Union (NCU) Premier League winners, the National Club
champions and the NCU Knock-Out winners, as well as the 2012 TuksSport Club of the Year.
This picture was taken when Tuks 1 won the Premier League this season.

8
WELCOMING DAY 2013
attracts the full spectrum
of SA’s rainbow nation
Some 10 000 first-year students, their families
and friends flocked to UP’s campuses, with the
Amphitheatre of the Hatfield Campus packed to
capacity for each of the three welcoming sessions.
Even the Musaion auditorium, from where the
overflow of visitors could follow proceedings in the
Amphitheatre, was packed.
The Director of the Department of Student Affairs,
Dr Matete Madiba, addressed the audience in the
Amphitheatre, and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal,
Prof Cheryl de la Rey, delivered her welcoming
address.
The new first-year students used the opportunity to
explore campuses and locate buildings ahead of the
orientation programme that started on Monday, 28
January. They also visited faculties and interacted
with staff and senior students. Hatfield businesses
were represented in stalls on the lawn in front of the
Aula.
Mr Tshiamo Maimane, a first-year civil engineering
student, participated in UP Alumni’s annual tree-
planting ceremony symbolising the new group
of students who will themselves become alumni.
Three crossberry trees (Grewia occidentalis)
were planted by Prof Cheryl de la Rey, Mr Leon de
Kock, representing the TuksAlumni Board, and Mr
Maimane.
From Boksburg and Bothaville, to Tlhathaganyane and Tzaneen – they came from all
over the country to Welcoming Day on Saturday, 26 January.

9
TUKKIE
Elsabé de Waal from Ashlea Gardens laughed when
asked if she had more talented children to send to
the University of Pretoria. Her triplets, Inge, Minette
and Corné de Waal, are among the almost 10 000
first-years at Tuks. They are also among the more
than 2 000 talented matric academic achievers the
University was proud to receive — between the three
of them they obtained 13 distinctions in their final
matriculation exams.
‘It is really an exciting time for us as a family,’ Elsabé
said. ‘Both my husband Schalk and I studied law
at Tukkies. In fact, that is where we met. It is quite
special that all our children are also studying there.’
The three are, however, attending classes on
two different campuses. Minette, who obtained
distinctions in Afrikaans and Life Orientation,
registered for Foundation-phase Education at the
Faculty of Education on the Groenkloof Campus.
Minette has always loved children and horses — she
excelled in endurance horse riding while her sister,
Inge, who also attended Hoërskool Menlopark, was
more interested in drama and writing. Inge’s shelves
are also filled with books on psychology — she started
a BA degree in psychology. She obtained distinctions
in Afrikaans, English, Life Orientation, Tourism,
Economics and History.
Brother Cornel concluded his secondary education at
the Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool on a high note, getting
his As in History, Economics, Afrikaans, Biology and
Life Orientation. Apart from making a success of his
planned BCom Law degree, he wants to take part in
the extramural musical activities the University has
to offer, specifically the Sêr Competition. He has also
started playing rugby with an u/19 group at Tuks.
The triplets attend University as dailies. ‘They’ll study
from home, but later, if they consider postgraduate
studies that might change,’ Elsabé said.
‘They are great, easy-going children and we are
looking forward to what lies ahead.’
Tuks
alumni’s
hat trick
Thank goodness there
are only three to send to
university!
‘‘
In this photograph: Minette, left, and Inge de Waal are standing next to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Cheryl de la Rey
and their mother, Elsabé. In the back row are from left Prof André Boraine, Dean of the Law Faculty with Schalk and Cornel.

10
Prof Pretorius het as ondervisekanselier
(Akademies) en Dekaan van Gemeenskaps- en
Gesondheidswetenskappe aan die Universiteit van
die Wes-Kaap (UWK) gedien voordat hy in 2005
by Monash aangesluit het. Met ’n agtergrond in
Sielkunde, het hy doktorsgrade aan die Universiteit
van Wes-Kaapland en die Universiteit van die
Vrystaat verwerf en ook ’n na-doktorale genootskap
aan Yale voltooi.
Prof Pretorius is van mening dat dit voorbarig sou
wees om kommentaar te lewer oor geleenthede en
uitdagings wat die Universiteit van Pretoria in die
gesig staar alvorens hy tyd gehad het om met die
bestuur, personeel en studente in gesprek te tree. Hy
is egter deeglik bewus van die realiteite en kritieke
uitdagings wat alle Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite in
die gesig staar namate hulle aanvaar wat dit beteken
om ’n hoëronderwysinstelling in ’n transformerende
samelewing te wees.
‘In die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is dit van kritieke
belang dat hoëronderwysinstellings ’n balans moet
vind tussen navorsing en onderrig. Aan die een kant
moet ons ons navorsingsonderneming ontwikkel
ten einde ’n kompeterende nasie te wees, en aan
die nader kant is die rol van onderrig en leer van
kernbelang vir die land en die ontwikkeling van sy
mense.’
Prof Pretorius glo dat sy ervaring aan die stuur van die
Johannesburg-kampus van die Australiese Monash-
Universiteit hom by die Universiteit van Pretoria sal
help, aangesien dit ook ‘n multikampusomgewing is.
Professor Pretorius is van mening dat ‘een van
die lesse wat te leer is by goed funksionerende
multikampusstelsels wêreldwyd is dat jy by jou
plaaslike gemeenskap betrokke moet raak. Die
multikampus-Universiteit van Pretoria bied ’n unieke
geleentheid vir differensiasie ten opsigte van sy
gemeenskapsending, met ’n stads- en ’n landelike
kampus wat die potensiaal het om betrokke te raak
by hul onderskeie gemeenskappe in verskillende
dog gelyke betekenisvolle maniere, eerder as om ’n
benadering te volg waar alles en almal oor dieselfde
kam geskeer word.
Met bykans 25 jaar se ervaring in die
hoëronderwysomgewing agter die rug (hoofsaaklik
in senior bestuursposte), glo prof Pretorius dat
daar ruimte is vir groter samewerking tussen Suid-
Afrikaanse universiteite.
‘Daar is binne die Australiese universiteitstelsel
sterk klem op normstelling. Alles word normeer teen
ander hoëronderwysinstellings, van bedryfsmarges,
leningskoste tot studentetevredenheid. Hierdie data
word ingevoer in jou jaarlikse beplanning en stel
jou in staat om deurlopend te assesseer hoe jy in
vergelyking met jou portuurgroepe vaar.’
‘My gevoel is dat daar in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks
tans baie meer samewerking tussen universiteite is as
wat tien jaar gelede die geval was, maar dit is steeds
nie op optimale vlakke nie. Alhoewel ek verstaan
dat ons in ’n kompeterende omgewing funksioneer,
glo ek dat ons ons individuele oogmerke beter sal
kan verwesenlik as daar meer ‘samedinging” is — ’n
mengsel van samewerking en mededinging,’ sê prof
Pretorius.
Nuwe Viserektor
voorspel blink
globale toekoms
vir UP
Die nuwe Viserektor, prof Tyrone Pretorius, het in
Mei ‘n nuwe leierspos by UP ná agt jaar as pro-
visekanselier van Monash Suid-Afrika aanvaar.
Prof Tyrone
Pretorius

11
TUKKIE
It’s goodbye, but not farewell
to Prof Crewe
After a decade as Vice-Principal at the University
of Pretoria, Prof Robin Crewe closes the door of his
management office and re-opens the door to his life-
long research passion as one of the world’s leading
authorities on honeybees.
Prof Crewe retires at the end of June, but will
continue in his role as Extraordinary Professor in the
Department of Zoology and Entomology, and will
return full-time to the laboratory he established on
campus 16 years ago.
After being Dean of the Faculty of Natural and
Agricultural Sciences from 1997 to 2003, Prof Crewe
was appointed Vice-Principal in September 2003. In
this position he has been responsible for a wide range
of management functions, including chairing the
Senate Research Committee, the Academic Planning
Committee, and the Senate Committee for Research
Ethics and Integrity.
In his present post he helped to establish a range
of programmes to support research activities at
the University, and managed the post-graduate
scholarship programme. The development of young
scientists is an area that is particularly close to his
heart, and it’s a theme he will continue to promote
after June when he will be setting up the Centre for
the Advancement Scholarship.
A Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of
London, the Royal Society of South Africa and a
founder member of the Academy of Science of South
Africa, Prof Crewe believes that increased support
and development for the research function in general
— and for young scientists in particular — has been a
distinctive feature of South African higher education
since he started his academic career.
One of the notable changes that I have seen over the
years has been the significant increase in investment
in research activities by some major flagship
programmes, such as the Centres of Excellence and
the SA Research Chairs Initiative,’ says Prof Crewe.
‘When I started out as a young researcher it was
basically sink or swim. But now there are a number
of programmes which assist young scientists to
get into their fields. I am very optimistic about the
generation of young researchers at the University, and
am convinced there is a significant cohort of young
scientists who are going to be making really important
research contributions in future.’
As evidence of this confidence, Prof Crewe cites the
fact that when the Academy of Science of South
Africa decided to assist with the establishment of a
young Academy some two years ago, they did not
know how many nominations there would be for the
available 25 places.
‘The nomination process yielded 160 nominations of
outstanding young scientists, a clear indication that
there’s real depth of academic talent in this country,’
says Prof Crewe.
His own academic contributions to the field of
behavioural ecology have been no less immense. The
author of more than 120 articles in peer-reviewed
journals, Prof Crewe is a former president of the
Academy of Science of South Africa and President
of the Network of African Science Academies. His
reputation as one of the world’s leading minds on the
social organisation of honeybees has taken him to
every continent — bar Antarctica — and he continues
to actively collaborate with research teams in China,
across Europe and America.
It is the collaboration and transformation process
back home at the University of Pretoria, however, that
stands out as one of the most gratifying experiences
of his long and distinguished academic career.
‘The University has a very clear idea of where it wants
to go in the next ten years and more.
Everyone accepts that if you want to
be an internationally recognised
university, you have to follow the
kind of directions that have been
outlined in our Vision2025 strategy
— and I believe that the University
is moving very strongly in the
direction of being able to
achieve this goal.’
‘As Vice-Principal, it’s
been a fascinating and
privileged opportunity
to play a part in
shaping a new
direction for the
University. But the
time has come for
me to return more
actively to the study
of honeybees,’ says Prof
Crewe.
Globally acclaimed honeybee specialist to continue pioneering research after retirement
Prof Robin Crewe

12
I am fascinated by
South Africa’s plant
diversity and its largely
untapped potential to be
used for medicinal and
cosmeceutical purposes.
‘
‘

13
TUKKIE
‘The most exciting part of what we do
is knowing that our students are not
only getting a degree, but are actually
doing something that could benefit
humankind.’
So says Prof Namrita Lall, an associate professor of
Medicinal Plant Science at the University of Pretoria.
Although Prof Lall is soft-spoken, it quickly becomes
clear that she harbours an inner strength and passion
that drives her to excel in her work.
Prof Lall has published 80 peer-reviewed articles,
registered an international and six national patents
based on her research, and written four book
chapters. In 2002, she received the UNESCO
L’Oréal Women in Science Award for her research
in tuberculosis. In 2011, she won the Distinguished
Women in Science Award of Indigenous Knowledge
Systems, awarded by the Department of Science and
Technology. She is currently on the editorial boards of
several academic journals and a reviewer for 15 local
and international research journals.
However, Prof Lall prefers to talk about her work:
bioprospecting South African plants for the purpose
of obtaining medicinal and other valuable compounds.
‘I am fascinated by South Africa’s plant diversity and
its largely untapped potential to be used for medicinal
and cosmeceutical purposes. (Cosmeceuticals are a
combination of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, such
By Manie Bosman
BIOPROSPECTING
PLANTS TO
BENEFIT
HUMANKIND
These are some of the lead plants that can be developed
into cosmeceutical products. Cosmeceuticals are a
combination of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, such as
creams for skin treatments or toothpaste containing an
indigenous herbal extract.

14
as creams used for treating skin pigmentation.) With
about 25 000 known species, this country is third
only to Brazil and Indonesia as far as biodiversity is
concerned. This constitutes about one tenth of all
plant species in the world.
‘Most people are unaware that a significant
percentage of the active ingredients used in modern
medicine originated from plants. For example, quinine,
until fairly recently the most common treatment for
malaria, is derived from the bark of cinchona plants,
while aspirin was developed from willow bark extract.
Our goal is to scientifically explore and test South
Africa’s indigenous plants – and find out which of
these can provide chemical compounds that could
benefit people.’
Prof Lall and her team are currently conducting
research on indigenous plant species that show
promise in treating tuberculosis and cancer. As
part of her doctoral studies,
completed under Prof Marion
Meyer at UP in 2001, she
succeeded in isolating a
chemical compound for the
treatment of tuberculosis,
derived from the roots of a
plant traditionally used in
Zulu culture for medicinal
purposes. Subsequent studies
have shown that this particular
compound is one of the
world’s three most effective
compounds from natural
sources which have shown
very good results against
drug-resistant strains of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
‘As with many other diseases,
people suffering from
tuberculosis often stop taking
their medicine because of the side-effects. We hope
to find an effective product which could be used as
a complimentary medicine that can also counter the
side-effects of conventional tuberculosis medicine,’
she said.
On the cosmeceutical side, Prof Lall and her team
have completed clinical studies on two promising
plants to aid in the treatment of skin hyper-
pigmentation (unusual dark spots on the skin).
The study is nearing completion, with the next step
involving commercial product development which
they plan to license out to private companies. Other
plants showing potential for the treatment of acne
problems have also been identified by her team, while
two more plant types could be used in sunscreen
products. Prof Lall and her team are also working on a
project to isolate and test a plant compound which is
effective in killing oral bacteria that cause periodontal
diseases. Ideally, this would result in toothpaste
containing an indigenous herbal extract to help keep
teeth healthy.
An added attraction to discovering the potential
commercial value for indigenous plants is that local
communities – in rural areas where some of these
plants grow – could also benefit. ‘I am very interested
in community work. For instance, my postgraduate
students and I are involved in a project in Mamelodi
where we’re helping a traditional healer to cultivate
plants that could be used for medicinal purposes.
In fact, where we work the
communities are always involved
and will no doubt benefit from
the results once some of these
projects become economically
viable.’
Prof Lall’s work could well
produce significant socio-
economic and medicinal value.
However, how can one effectively
sift through 25 000 plant species
in an attempt to identify those
that could be of value? She
explains that they don’t randomly
pick plants and spend months
or years to study and isolate
possibly useful compounds.
‘There are basically two ways in
which we select the plants that
we study. One is through ethno-
botanical selection. The other method is by selecting
plants based on their phyto-chemistry.
‘The ethno-botanical approach is where we look at
plants used by indigenous communities for traditional
purposes – for instance in food and medicine.
We then test these to see if we can validate their
medicinal value.
‘The phyto-chemistry approach is where we use
existing knowledge about the chemical substances
The ethno-botanical
approach is where we
look at plants used by
indigenous communities
for traditional purposes –
for instance in food and
medicine.
‘
‘

15
TUKKIE
found in specific plants. If we know a plant is rich
in a specific chemical compound which could be
of medicinal or cosmeceutical use, we isolate that
compound and run trials to determine its usability.’
Where and when did Prof Lall’s interest in science and
the use of traditional medicine originate? ‘I grew up
in Northern India and I’ve always been a dedicated
student who worked hard at whatever I did, and I
always enjoyed science at school. When I enrolled
for a BSc in Biological Science at Ranchi University
in India, I wasn’t particularly interested in plants or
traditional medicine, although I knew from experience
that they worked.
‘After my marriage in India, I moved to the Transkei
(now the Eastern Cape) with my husband, where
I enrolled for an honours and later a master’s in
biotechnology at the University of Transkei (now the
Walter Sisulu University). During my studies there, I
often heard of Prof Marion Meyer and the great work
he was doing here at UP, so I was really excited when
my husband was transferred from Umtata to Pretoria
in 1997. Upon our arrival, I immediately applied to
do a PhD under Prof Meyer’s supervision, and was
accepted.’
Under Prof Meyer’s guidance Prof Lall was first
exposed to the possibilities of applying medicinal
chemistry to the study of traditional plants and
medicine.
‘This started a new and exciting phase in my career.
Not only am I very happy here at UP where I get to
work with so many great scientists, professionals and
students, but I also get to live out my passion for the
study of traditional plants.’
One question remains unanswered: Would she, her
husband or two daughters use traditional medicine
themselves?
‘If any of us get an upset stomach or a headache,
I have just the right natural remedies to treat it
effectively. However, if it’s tuberculosis, I’ll go to the
doctor! Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future South
African doctors will prescribe traditional products as
complementary medicine – as is common practice in
India.’
This photograph was taken at
Mothong Village, Mamelodi,
where a greenhouse was
developed by Prof Lall’s
research team for the
cultivation of medicinal
plants by the community. The
greenhouse can be seen in the
background. Prof Lall, third from
right, is standing next to the
traditional healer, Dr Ephraim
Mabena, with whom she has
been collaborating for the past
seven years.

16
Nie net produksiediere baat by
ONDERSTEPOORT
se nuwe mobiele kliniek nie
Deur Marissa Greeff
Die Fakulteit Veeartsenykunde het twee hiper-
moderne minibusse gekry wat as mobiele kliniek
dien. Hierdie bussies het genoeg toerusting aan boord
om selfs chirurgie in die veld moontlik te maak. Die
toerusting sluit ‘n ingeboude watertenk met ‘n kraan,
‘n yskas en netjiese, praktiese pakplek vir medikasie
en instrumente in. Daar is ook ‘n sytent wat skaduwee
verskaf.
Die uitreik van die professionele veearts na die
gemeenskap het alles te doen met volhoubare
diversiteit, wat die belangrikste aspek van die
welstand van mense is. Daar is ‘n hele reeks faktore –
ook die gesondheid en welstand van geselskapdiere
– wat hierin ‘n rol speel. Die bydrae wat veeartse
tot die welstand van die gemeenskap maak, is om
op ‘n holistiese manier na die behoeftes van mense
en geselskapdiere om te sien. ‘n Nuwe dinamiek is
geskep waar die gesondheid van elke groep met dié
van die ander verweef is.
Die Departement Produksiedierstudies
se mobiele kliniek lewer professionele
veterinêre dienste aan eienaars van
produksiediere in die groter Moretele-distrik.

17
TUKKIE
Onderstepoort se mobiele kliniekdiens bedien al die
afgelope 15 jaar die gemeenskappe van Ratjiepan en
Makapanstad, noord van die Tshwane-metropool.
Dr Dawie Blignaut, ‘n produksiedier-klinikus, vertel
dat die kliniek voortgesit is ná die samesmelting van
die veeartsenykundefakulteite van Onderstepoort
en Medunsa. Die Fakulteit bedryf dit as ‘n mobiele
uitbreiding van die Departement Produksiedierstudies
met die doel om professionele veeartsenydienste aan
eienaars van produksiediere in die groter Moretele-
distrik te lewer. Die kliniek word deels deur die
Onderstepoort Veeartsenykundige Dierehospitaal
(OVAH) befonds.
Dr Blignaut sê daar is na raming sowat 40 000 beeste
in die gebied van Moretele, net noord van Tshwane,
tot by Bela-Bela in die noorde en Pilanesberg in die
weste. Die doel van die kliniek is hoofsaaklik om
boere te help om hul diere in die mark te kry.
Die mobiele kliniek besoek Ratjiepan en Makapanstad
elke Woensdag en hoewel dit op produksiediere
gemik is, word baie honde ook daarheen gebring.
Die aantal honde wat daarheen gebring is, het
so toegeneem en hul behandeling het soveel tyd
in beslag geneem dat die Universiteit die Suid-
Afrikaanse Veeartsenykundevereniging (SAVA)
se gemeenskapsklinieke (CVC) aan die einde van
2011 om hulp genader het. Hierdie klinieke besoek
Ratjiepan en Makapanstad elke tweede Woensdag
en die veearts van Onderstepoort tree as die
verantwoordelike klinikus op. Die CVC se diens behels
Dr Dawie Blignaut kyk toe terwyl studente ‘n bloedmonster
neem.
Die eienaars van diere wat behandel word, betaal ‘n basiese
fooi vir behandeling en medikasie.
Onderstepoort se mobiele kliniekdiens bedien
al die afgelope 15 jaar die gemeenskappe van
Ratjiepan en Makapanstad

18
inentings, ontwurming en dip teen bosluise en vlooie.
Hulle laai ook pasiënte op vir opvolgprosedures wat
deur ‘n privaat veearts in die stad gedoen word.
Onderstepoort se mobiele kliniek stop by twee vaste
punte. Die een is by die groot huilboerboom naby
die Ratjiepan-gemeenskapskliniek en die ander
is by die kantore van die tradisionele owerheid in
Makapanstad. Eienaars van produksiediere skakel ook
vooraf om te reël dat die kliniek na hul huise kom om
siek diere daar te behandel. Omdat die gemeenskap
weet dat die mobiele kliniek elke Woensdag in die
omgewing is, kom baie eienaars soontoe om hul diere
te laat behandel.
Siek produksiediere word in die kraal in die agterplaas
gehou totdat die mobiele kliniek opdaag. As die
eienaar nie by die huis kan wees nie, is dit dikwels ‘n
buurman, familielid of vriend wat die voertuie inwag.
Hoewel dr Blignaut die gebied al goed genoeg ken
dat hy selfs adresse kan eien, arriveer mense dikwels
per motor of te voet by een van die vaste punte om
die bussie tot by die huis te begelei. Produksiediere
wat deur die mobiele kliniek gehelp word, is meestal
beeste en bokke. Ander diere soos donkies, muile en
hoenders word ook behandel.
Die mobiele kliniek bestaan uit die veearts en ‘n groep
van vier tot ses veeartsenykundestudente in hul
finale jaar. Studente wat met hul veeartsenykunde-
verpleegdiploma besig is, vorm ook deel van die
kliniek. Die eienaars van diere wat behandel word,
betaal ‘n vaste bedrag vir behandeling en medikasie.
Dr Blignaut sê hierdie kliniek berei studente voor op
die toestande waaronder hulle as veeartse sal moet
werk, veral wat produksiediere betref wat meestal in
die veld of in krale op plase behandel moet word. So
moes die vyf studente en dr Debbie Coetzee, wat een
Woensdag vir dr Blignaut ingestaan het, ‘n opgeskote
Brahmaankalf grond toe dwing om ‘n abses aan een
van die agterbene te dreineer.
Dit is wanneer hierdie spannetjie hul taak met ‘n groot
mate van kalmte en beheer oor die situasie afhandel,
dat ‘n mens besef dat die mobiele kliniek nie net
akademiese kennis inspan nie. Daar is ook praktiese
vaardighede verbonde aan die hantering van die
groot, swaar produksiediere. Die studente se kennis
van die plante wat daar groei en giftig vir herkouers is,
word verder ook uitgebrei.
Dr Blignaut vertel dat die Fakulteit Veeartsenykunde
‘n baie goeie verhouding met die gemeenskappe
van Ratjiepan en Makapanstad het. Die Fakulteit
werk ook saam met die staatsveeartseny-afdeling
van Noordwes. Boonop is dr Rebone Moerane wat
die Leerstoel vir Primêre Dieregesondheid beklee
en ook die President van die Suid-Afrikaanse
Veeartsenykundige Raad (SAVC) is, baie betrokke
in hierdie gebied. Hy bied kursusse in primêre
dieregesondheid vir boere in die gebied aan.
‘n Belangrike skakel in die Fakulteit se interaksie
met die gemeenskappe is mnr Eugene Machimana,
wat sedert 2010 die Fakulteit se koördineerder
van gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid is. Een van sy
belangrike take is skakeling met skole om die Fakulteit
Veeartsenykunde en die veeartsenyberoep onder
leerders te bevorder.
Die Fakulteit Veeartsenykunde se mobiele kliniek is ingerig
om effektiewe behandeling buite die spreekkamer moontlik
te maak.
Produksiediere wat deur die mobiele kliniekdiens gesien word,
is meestal beeste en bokke, maar donkies, muile en hoenders
word ook behandel.

19
TUKKIE
Die Mamelodi-dieregesondheidskliniek is al so goed
gevestig dat dr Cherri Liebenberg, wat die kliniek elke
dag behartig, kliënte soos ou vriende groet.
Dr Liebenberg sê die kliniek, wat in Februarie 2011
sy deure oopgemaak het, is al so gevestig in die
gemeenskap dat baie honde-eienaars net kom om hul
honde te kom dip in die bad wat buite gereed staan.
Die kliniek is in die Tegniese Dienste-gebou op
die Mamelodikampus geleë. Dit bestaan uit twee
spreekkamers, ‘n klein laboratoriumarea, ‘n algemene
prosedurekamer en ‘n teater. Dr Liebenberg, ‘n dosent
in die Fakulteit Veeartsenykunde, vertel met groot
geesdrif dat die kliniek nie net groot getalle honde
nie, maar ook katte as pasiënte te siene kry.
Sy behartig die kliniek met die hulp van twee
veeartsenykundestudente in hul finale jaar, wat elke
twee weke roteer. Die studente sluit by geleentheid
buitelandse uitruilstudente in wat hier kennis
maak met siektes wat deur patogene soos bosluise
oorgedra word wat eie aan die warm streke van
die wêreld is. Hierdie siektes begin nou as gevolg
van aardverwarming ook in die koue lande van die
noordelike halfrond voorkom en omdat veeartse daar
dit nie ken nie, is diagnoses nie maklik nie.
Die eienaars van pasiënte wat by die Mamelodi-
dieregesondheidskliniek behandel word, betaal
‘n vaste bedrag vir medikasie en behandeling.
Dr Liebenberg bespreek die behandelingsopsies
breedvoerig met die eienaars ten einde die beste
behandeling te vind wat die eienaar kan bekostig en
waarby die diere die beste sal baat. Dr Liebenberg
vertel dat dié kliniek wel diere na Onderstepoort
Veterinêre Akademiese Hospitaal verwys: ‘Ons het
een middag laat met drie mense, vier katte en 11
honde teruggery Onderstepoort toe.’
Dis duidelik dat die Mamelodidieregesondheids-
kliniek reeds ‘n belangrike rol in die versorging
van troeteldiere in Mamelodi speel – nie net deur
behandeling van siek en beseerde diere nie, maar ook
deur inligting aan diere-eienaars te verskaf.
ONDERSTEPOORT
help met dieregesondheid in
Mamelodi
Nog een van die Fakulteit Veeartsenykunde se gemeenskapsprojekte is gesetel
op die Mamelodikampus van die Universiteit van Pretoria.
Een van die twee spreekkamers by die Mamelodi-
dieregesondheidskliniek waar ‘n finalejaar
veeartsenykundestudent ‘n pasiënt vir ‘n prosedure
voorberei.
Dr Cherri Liebenberg bespreek behandelingsopsies
met die eienaar van ‘n hond in die Mamelodi-
dieregesondheidskliniek.

20
The industry directly employed some
individuals, supporting at least
people.
22 000
100 000 Hand-plucking tea in Malawi. The top two
leaves and the bud make the best quality tea.
The clonal tea garden situated under Mount Mulanje in Malawi.

21
TUKKIE
PROF APOSTOLIDES’
CUP OF TEA
Many noble and worthy campaigns
are active around the world, such
as saving the rhino, preserving the
Amazon rainforest, promoting world
peace or fighting global warming – to
name but a few. Like many of the men
and women who champion these
causes, Prof Zeno Apostolides is a
man with a mission: to save and revive
South Africa’s tea industry.
In the early 1990s, South Africa had ten large tea
estates, with a combined production of about ten
million kilograms of tea per year. A further ten million
kilograms was imported, which means that South
Africans consumed around 20 million kilograms of
tea annually. The industry directly employed about
22 000 individuals, thereby supporting at least
100 000 people.
Although the South African tea industry was a
lucrative business at the time, it was still limited to
local markets, due to anti-apartheid trade sanctions.
When apartheid was finally abolished and trade
restrictions lifted, expectations for further growth
ran high – but for the tea industry these dreams were
never realised.
‘South Africa is currently producing only about
two million kilograms of tea, which means that we
have to import 18 million kilograms to meet local
consumption needs. In spite of the fact that our tea
industry has the potential to provide employment
to tens of thousands of people and earn millions in
foreign revenue, it is not happening,’ explains Prof
Apostolides, associate professor in Biochemistry and
Chief of the Tea Research Laboratory at the University
of Pretoria (UP).
So what went wrong? In its previous format, the
South African tea industry suffered as a result of
post-apartheid transformation. On the one hand,
several of the tea estates were on land that was re-
allocated following successful land claims. In other
cases, higher minimum wages rendered some estates
unprofitable. As a result, only two of the former
ten estates are currently still operational, and both
receive financial aid from the government to remain in
business.
Despite the gloomy situation, the South African
tea industry can be salvaged and turned around.
By Manie Bosman
Prof Zeno Apostolides is the founder and leader of the
Tea Research Laboratory at the University of Pretoria that
has been doing research since 1984 on various projects
in the tea industry.

22
Prof Apostolides, who has been involved in the tea
industry as researcher and consultant since 1994, has
a vision and a strategy to kick-start a revival.
‘We are working on a turnaround strategy. What we
need to do is make tea-growing more profitable, and
it is possible. The idea is to follow a two-pronged
approach: produce higher-yielding and better quality
tea, and develop value-added products,’ he says.
Prof Apostolides and his team at the Tea Research
Laboratory have considerable experience in helping
tea growers improve production. In the early years
of his involvement with the industry, he used his
knowledge of computer simulations (which was
the focus of a sixth-month stint at the University of
Delaware during his DSc studies) to help tea factories
improve their operational systems. Collaboration with
the Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa led to
the identification of new Malawian-bred tea cultivars,
which were subsequently used to replace inferior
cultivars in some South African tea estates.
‘New technology has opened up some exciting
possibilities in terms of improving cultivars. Until now,
it took about 15 years of field trials and systematic
screening to produce a better cultivar. However, we
are now doing research aimed at identifying genetic
markers for agronomically important traits such as
drought tolerance, higher yields, disease resistance
and off-season growth.’
‘We have already found and patented two genetic
markers linked to drought tolerance. These and
similar breakthroughs will speed up the process of
developing new cultivars, which could then help make
tea-growing much more profitable,’ Prof Apostolides
explains.
The process of developing value-added products is
also firmly research-based, and shows equally high
potential to revive the South African tea industry.
Prof Apostolides explains that, up to now, local tea
growers mainly focused on the production of what is
commonly known as ‘black tea’. All types of tea are
made from leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, but
black tea is produced by leaving the harvested leaves
to turn brown before they are dried.
‘Teas grown in tropical and subtropical regions – such
as our own tea-growing regions – have a much higher
anti-oxidant content than teas grown in temperate
regions, for instance in Japan, China and India. Some
of our local tea cultivars are very rich in anti-oxidants
and this makes them ideal for producing instant green
tea. With the huge and growing market for green tea,
this is obviously an opportunity we should pursue.’
Other value-added products that Prof Apostolides
and his team are researching, which are believed to
offer the potential for making tea production in South
Africa more profitable, include the production of tea
extracts for ready-to-drink tea such as iced tea and
the production of low-caffeine tea. In the last decade,
worldwide consumption of ready-to-drink teas
multiplied nearly 20 times, and is still growing.
Many people would probably be surprised to learn
that tea oil can be produced from tea seeds. ‘While
sunflower oil is the most common and cheapest
cooking oil in South Africa, tea oil is the most
commonly used cooking oil in the southern parts of
Tea breeder, Dr Hastings Nyirenda, inspects tea cultivars
in the living gene bank at the Tea Research Foundation in
Mulanje, Malawi. The gene bank was established in 2002 at
the request of Prof Apostolides with 250 tea cultivars in 16
bush observation plots.
Abandoned tea gardens at the Grenshoek Tea Estate near
Tzaneen, visited by Prof Apostolides and MSc student Ms M
Wium, showing tea gardens that have turned to tea forests.

23
TUKKIE
China. Again, this is a huge opportunity which has
gone completely untapped,’ he says. Tea seed oil
resembles olive oil in its superb culinary qualities and
good health properties.
After water, tea is the most widely consumed
beverage in the world, which means that the market
is stable and established – and South Africa has
the potential to become a major player in the tea
industry. The soil and climate in many parts of the
country, as in many other parts of Africa, is ideal for
tea production. While being a comparatively new tea-
growing region, Africa already produces about 15% of
the world’s tea.
So how can it happen for the South African tea
industry?
‘In 2012 the Department of Trade and Industry asked
us if any of the tea research they sponsored could be
commercialised, and that really got me thinking. The
result is that I am currently writing a business plan for
a new tea research institute (TRI) here at UP with the
help of Business Enterprises at UP. The TRI, which we
hope to see operational within four years, will conduct
research to produce innovative value-added products
and help with the introduction of those products into
the commercial sphere.’
Prof Apostolides hopes to establish the TRI on UP’s
Experimental Farm in Hatfield.
‘Also, the land claims have now been settled and
seeing that the plants are still there – tea plants
are nearly indestructible – we are in the process
of revitalising the dormant estates. We hope to
rebuild the tea-processing plant in Tzaneen within
the next three to four years and to have the dormant
estates producing tea and value-added tea products
within the foreseeable future. We are working
closely together with the new land owners and local
communities, who will naturally benefit from this
venture.’
Prof Apostolides is convinced that this new model for
the South African tea industry, which incorporates the
best that science can offer with social responsibility
and sound business practice, can and will work. ‘Of
course, significant recapitalisation is needed for the
estates and for the establishment of the TRI, but its
impact on the country and economy can be massive.
In Kenya, which is now the world’s second largest
tea producer after India, about half of the total crop
is produced by some 50 000 small farmers each
cultivating tea on about one hectare of land. There is
no reason why we cannot achieve similar success.’
Prof Apostolides matriculated from Pretoria Boys
High School in 1972. Although he originally planned to
become a veterinarian, he opted for a BSc (Chemistry
and Biochemistry), MSc (Biochemistry) and later a
DSc from UP. He is married and has two children.
‘
‘
‘Teas grown in tropical
and subtropical regions
– such as our own tea-
growing regions – have a
much higher anti-oxidant
content than teas grown
in temperate regions, for
instance in Japan, China
and India.
Mr Rudy Maliepaard doing field work for the MSc in Biochemistry in the
Tingamira Tea Factory in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.

24
Pioneering
nutritional
programme
helps heal cheetah
leg deformities
The Department of Animal and
Wildlife Sciences have developed a
magnesium supplementation regime
to successfully treat metacarpal
paralysis in captive cheetahs.
The future survival of cheetahs, which are listed as
a threatened species, looks a little brighter thanks
to a pioneering feed supplementation programme
developed by the Department of Animal and Wildlife
Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural
Sciences at the University of Pretoria.
In 2008, Prof Edward Webb, the Head of the
Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences, received
a call for help from the Hoedspruit Endangered
Species Centre (HESC) after a number of juvenile
cheetahs in their breeding project started displaying
front leg deformities. Closer examination confirmed
that the deformities were a form of relaxed carpal
joints or metacarpal paralysis. A similar condition
occurs in dogs and horses, usually the result of a
magnesium deficiency or unbalanced dietary calcium,
phosphorus and magnesium content.
‘The HESC was feeding the cheetahs with good quality
meat, but the cubs were clearly not responding well
to this diet. Leg deformities had also been reported
in cheetahs fed meat-only diets at other breeding
and rehabilitation centres in South Africa during the
past five years,’ says Prof Webb, whose teaching and
research focuses on various aspects of applied animal
production physiology and meat science, with an
emphasis on the effects of dietary factors on meat
quality and animal reproduction.
The world-renowned cheetah breeding programme
was launched at the HESC in response to these
predators being placed on the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species.
However, captive breeding of cheetahs is a
notoriously difficult process. Typical challenges
include low female fertility, slow growth rates, poor
semen quality, and dietary complications. ‘Contrary
to common belief, captive cheetahs are generally not
better off than their wild counterparts, with many of
the detrimental health issues experienced by these
captive carnivores rooted in nutritional shortcomings.
A number of studies have emphasised that captive
cheetahs require fundamentally different diets to their
free-roaming counterparts,’ says Prof Webb.
Working with four juvenile cheetahs displaying
moderate to severe leg deformity, Prof Webb and
master’s student Johan Grobler supplemented the
animals’ meat diets with carefully formulated and
controlled magnesium intake three times per week.
Since no leg-scoring methods for cheetahs could
be found in the available literature, the team used
methods designed for horses and dogs to develop a
Prof Edward Webb with a cheetah cub

25
TUKKIE
unique scoring system for analysing leg deformities
amongst the HESC cheetahs.
‘These juvenile cheetahs at the HESC were weaned
early and started to develop the leg deformities
soon after birth. We therefore believed that this
was an acquired deformity which could be rectified
by nutrition in the form of dietary magnesium
supplementation,’ says Prof Webb.
The results of the carefully administered magnesium
supplementation were remarkable. Within 30 days,
all four cheetahs in the study no longer displayed any
leg deformities, and all their front legs were normal.
Magnesium supplementation was halted after 60
days of treatment, and no deformities have been
observed in treated animals to date.
‘Captive breeding programmes play an extremely
important role in trying to save cheetahs from
extinction. Cheetahs in captivity are totally dependent
on the feed they receive from the institution where
they are housed. The success of the magnesium
supplementation programme at the HESC is a
significant step for wildlife nutritionists on the journey
to developing a deeper insight into the dietary needs
of captive cheetahs, and will hopefully contribute to
preserving and growing the cheetah population on the
African continent,’ says Prof Webb.
The results of
the carefully
administered
magnesium
supplementation
were remarkable.
The leg deformity in a juvenile cheetah
can be clearly seen in this photograph.
After 60 days of treatment the deformity
has disappeared.
Ms Lente Rhoode (photo) established
the Hoedspruit Endangered Species
Centre which has become one of the
leading private research and breeding
facilities for endangered species in the
country and works closely with the
University of Pretoria.

26
NAVORSING OOR
PASIËNTE MET
SUIKERSIEKTE SE
LEWENSWYSE
Die Universiteit van Pretoria se Departement Interne Geneeskunde by die
Kalafong Akademiese Hospitaal het ’n studie aangepak om die impak van
veranderinge in lewenswyse op suikersiektepasiënte te ondersoek.
Suikersiektepasiënte luister aandagtig na die aanbiedinge van die
multidissiplinêre span by Kalafong.
Deur Sanku Tsunke

27
TUKKIE
Die Departement bedryf die
suikersiektekliniek en die doel
van die studie is om pasiënte
aan te moedig om ’n gesonde
lewenswyse te handhaaf.
Hoewel suikersiekte ’n
chroniese siektetoestand is
wat deesdae doeltreffend
beheer kan word, kom dit
algemeen in Suid-Afrika voor
en is dit tiende op die lys
oorsake van sterftes in die
land.
Sowat 500 pasiënte met Tipe 2-suikersiekte besoek
die suikersiektekliniek by die Kalafong Akademiese
Hospitaal waar hulle mediese behandeling en
versorging volgens die nasionale riglyne ontvang.
Ondanks volgehoue pogings om die glukosevlakke
in hul bloed te beheer, toon sowat 90% van die
pasiënte steeds verhoogde HbA1c-vlakke, wat op hoë
glukosevlakke in die bloed dui.
’n Span bestaande uit ’n mediese spesialis,
’n sielkundige, ’n apteker, ’n dieetkundige,
’n maatskaplike werker, ’n opvoedkundige
en ’n fisioterapeut het ‘n multidissiplinêre
navorsingsprotokol saamgestel om aandag aan
die belangrikste kwessies te gee wat pasiënte se
lewenswyse raak.
Uit die groep pasiënte met Tipe 2-suikersiekte is
57 genooi om aan die studie deel te neem, terwyl
’n kontrolegroep van 57 die standaardbehandeling
ondergaan. Die kontrolegroep sal nadat die studie
afgehandel is, ook dieselfde ses
week lange program volg.
Dr Lizette Schoeman van die
Universiteit se Departement
Interne Geneeskunde en
koördineerder van die projek
by die Kalafong Akademiese
Hospitaal sê die ondersoek
is aangepak omdat pasiënte
se glukosevlakke hoog bly
ondanks gereelde medikasie.
Sy skryf dit onder meer toe
aan ’n ongesonde lewenswyse. Sy sê pasiënte vind
dit dikwels moeilik om aan te pas en op hul eie
gesond te leef. Hul deelname aan die aktiwiteite van
die studiegroep behoort hulle te motiveer om hul
lewenswyse te verander.
Deur die studie kan groepleiers geïdentifiseer word
wat na lede van hul gemeenskappe kan uitreik. Prof
Danie van Zyl, in beheer van die suikersiektekliniek,
sê die studie stel pasiënte in staat om hul insig in
hul toestand te verbreed. ‘Dit poog om pasiënte te
leer hoe om hul lewenswyse aan te pas sodat hulle
eienaarskap van en verantwoordelikheid vir hul siekte
kan aanvaar.’
Die pas aangestelde Hoof Uitvoerende Beampte van
die Kalafong Akademiese Hospitaal, mnr Mogale
Mothoagae, het die span van die Universiteit van
Pretoria geloof vir die inisiatief om so ‘n program in
samewerking met die Hospitaal aan te bied waardeur
’n bewustheid van suikersiekte en die behandeling
daarvan in die gemeenskap bevorder kan word.
Suikersiekte kom
algemeen in Suid-Afrika
voor en dit is tiende
op die lys oorsake van
sterftes in die land.
Van links staan mnr Mogale Mothoagae, Hoof
Uitvoerende Beampte van Kalafong Akademiese
Hospitaal, mnr Thomas Mosupye en me Jennifer Francis,
suikersiektepasiënte, en prof Danie van Zyl, mediese
spesialis van die Departement Interne Geneeskunde.
Die toegewyde span spesialiste wat die studie lei: Van links is
me Marianna Pietersen, dosent in die Departement Sosiologie,
me Marlene Gilfillan, dieetkundige by die Kalafong Akademiese
Hospitaal, mnr Dominic Vertue, nagraadse meestersgraadstudent
in sosiale wetenskappe, gesondheidsorg, Departement
Welsynswerk en Kriminologie, dr Lizette Schoeman,
Departement Interne Geneeskunde, prof Danie van Zyl,
mediese spesialis van die Departement Interne Geneeskunde,
mnr Phillemon Mogashoa, vrywilliger, en mnr Yorke Rodda,
opvoedkundige in suikersiekte.

28
UP honours
ACADEMIC achievers
Prof Sue Nicolson received the Chancellor’s Award
in the category Research. She teaches in the
Department of Zoology and Entomology in the Faculty
of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Her research
focuses on the physiological aspects of pollination
biology by examining pollination from the context of
the animals involved, rather than the plants.
The Exceptional Academic Achievers are as follows:
Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and
Information Technology
Prof Theo Bothma is Head of the Department of
Information Science and chairperson of the School
of Information Technology. His research focuses on
information organisation and retrieval (including
aspects of information literacy and e-dictionaries),
The University of Pretoria recently presented its annual Academic
Achiever Award function to honour its academic achievers and
researchers – and to recognise their commitment to quality education
and research. The awards were presented to 30 researchers across
three categories: the Chancellor’s Award in each of the categories
Research, Exceptional Academic Achievers and Exceptional Young
Researchers.
Prof Sue Nicolson, middle, received the Chancellor’s Award in the research category. Here she is with the Chancellor of the
University of Pretoria, Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu, and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Cheryl de la Rey

29
TUKKIE
web development, electronic publishing and
curriculum development.
Prof Ian Craig is Section Head of Control Systems
in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and
Computer Engineering in the School of Engineering, a
position he has held since 1995.
His research interests include the economic
performance assessment of advanced process
control; HIV/Aids modelling, identification and
control; and modelling and control of systems in
mineral and metal processing.
Prof Madeleine du Toit is a professor in the
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical
Engineering, where she manages the Southern
African Institute of Welding (SAIW) Centre for
Welding Engineering. Her primary field of interest
is welding metallurgy, in particular the welding
of stainless steels and aluminium alloys. She is a
qualified international welding engineer (IWE).
Prof Andries Engelbrecht is Head of the Department
of Computer Science. He holds the SARChI Chair in
Artificial Intelligence.
His main research focus is on computational
intelligence, with a particular interest in
computational swarm intelligence, evolutionary
computation, artificial neural networks, artificial
immune systems, and learning from zero-knowledge
using competitive co-evolution.
Prof Josua Meyer is Head of the Department of
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, and chair
of the School of Engineering.
His area of research is convective heat transfer, which
relies on the engineering sciences of heat transfer,
fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. He and his
students and colleagues have made it possible
to predict the heat transfer characteristics in the
previously unknown transitional flow regime.
Prof Xiaohua Xia is a professor in the Department
of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering,
The Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Cheryl de la Rey, fourth from right, photographed with 16 of the University’s 19
Academic Achievers. In the back row from the left are Proffs McKechnie, Pattinson, Bothma, Kirsten, Myburg, Steyn, Meyer
and Xia. In front from the left are Proffs Engelbrecht, Van Marle, Coutinho, Auret, Lubuma, Vice-Chancellor De la Rey, Taylor,
Du Toit and Craig.
Prof Xiaohua Xia, a NRF A-rated scientist, receives his award
from the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Cheryl de la Rey

30
Director of the Centre of New Energy Systems and
Director of the National Hub for the Postgraduate
Programme in Energy Efficiency and Demand-
side Management. A certified measurement
and verification professional, Prof Xia leads the
measurement and verification team of the University
of Pretoria. His research interests are control systems
and automation, and more recently, the modelling and
optimisation of energy systems. Prof Xia is an A-rated
NRF scientist.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Prof Robert Pattinson is a professor in the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He is
the director of the Medical Research Council’s (MRC)
Maternal and Infant Health Care Strategies Research
Unit and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology at Kalafong Hospital. His main research
interests include obstetrics, medical audits, health
systems and effective methods of outreach. He
focuses mainly on determining the most effective
means of implementing new healthcare strategies and
improving current programmes.
Prof Maryna Steyn is a professor in the Department
of Anatomy and Director of the Forensic Anthro-
pology Research Centre. Her research focuses on
human skeletal remains found in both forensic and
archaeological contexts. She regularly consults with
the South African Police Services on forensic cases
and has also been involved in several repatriations of
skeletal remains, such as those of Nontetha Bungu,
Queen Thomo and the ‘Ebo Four”.
Faculty of Humanities
Prof Charles van Onselen is a historian and research
professor in the Centre for the Advancement of
Scholarship, which is affiliated with the Faculty. He
has a long-standing interest in the transnational
history of Southern Africa, and has worked in various
sub-disciplines within the field, ranging from criminal,
labour and rural history on the one hand, through
to the economic and social history of industrialising
regions on the other. Prof van Onselen is an A-rated
NRF social scientist.
Faculty of Law
Prof Karin van Marle is Head of the Department
of Jurisprudence. Her general area of research is
in the field of jurisprudence, legal philosophy and
legal theory. The specific focus of her work is to
reflect critically on the features of a post-apartheid
jurisprudence, but beyond that also to reconfigure
such jurisprudence.
Prof Frans Viljoen is Director of the Centre for Human
Rights. His research area is international human rights
law, with a focus on the African regional human rights
system, established under the auspices of the African
Union. Prof Viljoen has been involved in advocacy and
training on the African regional human rights system.
The University recognised Prof Karin van Marle from the
Faculty of Law as an Exceptional Academic Achiever.
Exceptional Academic Achiever Prof Maryna Steyn is
Director of the Forensic Anthropology Research Centre
(FARC).

31
TUKKIE
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Prof Danie Auret is a professor in the Department of
Physics and his research focuses on semiconductor
materials and devices, and their applications. The
semiconductors that his group investigates include
silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) used for high-speed
computers, and compound materials such as AlGaN
used in the fabrication of daylight-blind ultraviolet
(UV) light detectors. In particular, he investigates the
defects introduced into semiconductors in fabrication
processes and the influence of these defects on
device quality.
Prof Nigel Bennett is a professor in Zoology and
Entomology and he occupies the SARChI Chair in
the field of mammalian behavioural ecology and
physiology; and the Austin Roberts Chair of African
Mammalogy at UP. Prof Bennett’s research focus is
ecology, animal physiology and behaviour, using the
African mole rat as his model animal. Prof Bennet is
an A-rated NRF scientist.
Prof Teresa Coutinho is a professor in the
Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology
and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology
Institute (FABI). Her research interests include forest
pathology, specifically bacterial tree pathogens. She
sequenced the genome of the first plant pathogen in
Africa and is an authority on Pantoea taxonomy and
pathogenicity.
Prof Johann Kirsten is Head of the Department
of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural
Development. His research activities remain focused
on critical aspects of agricultural policy in South
Africa. Major research focus areas include a new
institutional economic analysis of agribusiness,
the commercialisation of small-scale farmers, and
bringing black farmers into the mainstream economy
of South Africa.
Prof Jean Lubuma is Head of the Department of
Mathematics and Applied Mathematics and holds the
SARChI Chair in Mathematical Models and Methods
in Bioengineering and Biosciences. His research
interests include the numerical analysis of ordinary
and partial differential equations, with an emphasis
on differential models that occur in engineering
and applied sciences. Recently, this focus has been
extended to mathematical biology.
Prof Andrew McKechnie is a professor in the
Department of Zoology and Entomology and a
core team member of the Department of Science
and Technology (DST) and the NRF Centre of
Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African
Ornithology, based at the University of Cape Town.
He is an ecological and evolutionary physiologist
whose research focuses on energy and water balance
in birds and mammals. A major focus area for Prof
McKechnie’s research group is the development of
models predicting the impacts of climate change on
birds and bats inhabiting hot, arid environments, such
as Southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert.
Prof Bob Millar is director of UP’s Mammal Research
Institute and director of the UCT/MRC Research
Group for Receptor Biology. Broad training, an
extensive publishing history and a large patent
portfolio have placed Prof Millar at the forefront
of health and medical sciences in areas such as
UP Exceptional Academic Achiever Prof Jean Lubuma holds
the SARChI Chair in Mathematical Models and Methods in
Bioengineering and Biosciences.
Prof Zander Myburg receives his certificate from Prof De la
Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

32
biochemistry, neuroendocrinology and cancer
research. His work has not only broken new ground in
understanding human and animal physiology, but also
led to new treatments for cancer and other diseases.
Prof Millar is an A-rated NRF scientist.
Prof Zander Myburg is a professor in Genetics.
He holds the Chair in Forest Genomics and
Biotechnology. His research programme in the
Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute
(FABI) focuses on the genomics and molecular
genetics of wood development in fast-growing forest
trees and, in particular, the genetic regulation of
cellulose biosynthesis in trees.
His research group isolated and characterised the
cellulose synthase (CesA) genes active in Eucalyptus
trees. More recently his research team produced
the first whole-plant gene expression atlas of a
Eucalyptus tree and a high-density genetic map of the
Eucalyptus genome.
Prof Louis Nel is a professor in Virology in the
Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology who
has done outstanding work on the subject of rabies
in South Africa and the rest of the world. Under his
guidance many rabies-related research projects are
undertaken to promote the quest to eradicate the
disease. The research topics include vaccines, dog
ecology, epidemiology and diagnostics. As a result of
Prof Nel’s work in championing this cause, KwaZulu-
Natal has recently been selected as a demonstration
site in an international project with the aim to
eliminate rabies.
Prof John Taylor is a professor in the Department
of Food Science, and theme leader for Functional
Biomolecules and Health-promoting Foods at UP’s
Institute for Food, Nutrition and Well-being. In recent
years, Prof Taylor’s research has focused on the
problem of the poor protein quality of foods made
from sorghum, a major staple foodstuff of many of
the most food-insecure people in Africa’s semi-arid
tropics. His research group has developed innovative
solutions to alleviate this problem.
Prof Mike Wingfield is the Director of the Forestry
and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI),
The Exceptional Young Researchers
Prof Slippers, Dr Oosthuizen, Dr Maritz-Olivier, Prof Birkholz, Dr Folorunso Oludayo Fasina, Prof Fioramonti, Prof Swanepoel
with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Cheryl de la Rey, at the award ceremony.

33
TUKKIE
which he established in 1998. His research focuses on
insect pests and diseases that threaten forests and
forestry globally. Using a broad range of approaches
(but especially molecular genetic techniques), pests
and pathogens arising in many different countries of
the world are identified – often for the first time. Prof
Wingfield is an A-rated NRF scientist.
The Exceptional Young Researchers are as follows:
Faculty of Humanities
Prof Lorenzo Fioramonti is an associate professor of
Political Science and Jean Monnet Chair in Regional
Integration and Governance Studies where he directs
the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation
(GovInn). His current research focuses on governance
processes and innovations, in particular regional
integration, bottom-up citizen-driven change and
global ‘crises” – including environmental degradation
and climate change.
Prof De Wet Swanepoel is an associate professor
in Audiology in the Department of Communication
Pathology. Hearing loss is the most prevalent chronic
disability and is ranked among the top contributors
to the global burden of disease. Prof Swanepoel’s
research and clinical interests span the field of
early identification and diagnosis of hearing loss,
objective measures of auditory functioning, and ear
and hearing telehealth. His research aims to improve
timely access to hearing health care to underserved
populations.
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Prof Lyn-Marié Birkholtz is an associate professor
in the Department of Biochemistry. As part of the
Centre for Sustainable Malaria Control, Prof Birkholtz
heads the Malaria Parasite Molecular Laboratory
and is a leader in the discipline of antimalarial target
discovery for sustainable malaria control. She holds
the SARChI Chair in Sustainable Malaria Control.
Dr Christine Maritz-Olivier is a senior lecturer in
the Department of Genetics who does research
on ticks and tick-borne diseases. Her research
includes the development of anti-tick vaccines, and
in collaboration with Pfizer Animal Health (Pty)
laboratories, her group is focusing on understanding
the genetic diversity of ticks throughout South
Africa, their current acaricide resistance status and
tick-borne pathogen profiles. The third research
focus area involves tick-borne pathogens, Babesia
divergens and Anaplasma marginale and the fourth
is the development of vector-control strategies for
haematophagous vectors such as mosquitoes and
biting midges in collaboration with the NHLS Vector
Control Unit.
Dr Marietjie Oosthuizen is a research fellow in the
Department of Zoology and Entomology. Her research
interests include neuroendocrinology and anatomy of
reproduction, circadian biology, memory and learning
of African mole rats in particular, although other
small mammals are not excluded.
Prof Bernard Slippers is a professor in Genetics.
He is one of the research leaders of both the Tree
Protection Cooperative Programme and DST/NRF
Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology at
the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute
(FABI). His research focus is on the molecular
ecology and evolution of insects and micro-organisms
that affect tree health, with a particular focus on
anthropogenic influences on these populations and
ways of reducing their impact.
Faculty of Veterinary Science
Dr Folorunso Oludayo Fasina is a senior lecturer
in the Department of Production Animal Studies.
His area of research is viral epidemiology of
transboundary animal diseases, animal disease
economics and ecology, and disease modelling.
Specifically, he has worked on highly pathogenic avian
influenza H5N1, African swine fever (ASF), and other
animal diseases.
Dr Folorunso Oludayo Fasina is a senior lecrurer in the
Department of Production Animal Studies

34
This group of graduates consisted of 133 doctorates, 1
018 master’s degrees and 3 151 honours degrees.
• The Van Heerden triplets, Elana, Carla and
Marli, all became medical doctors on 5 April
when they received their MBChB degrees.
• Matthew Brittain, one of the four Olympic
rowers who won a gold medal in 2012, received an
honours degree in economics on 10 April.
• Adri and Jenni van der Merwe, a mother and
daughter, received their doctoral and master’s
degrees respectively, both in communication
management, on 11 April.
• Norbet Koch, who recently won the regional
competition of the 26th Corobrik Architectural
Student of the Year Awards with his master’s
thesis in architecture focusing on urban renewal in
Pretoria West, received his master’s degree on 17
April.
• Two honorary doctorates were also awarded
during the Autumn Graduation Ceremonies
to Prof Njabulo Ndebele, an acclaimed
author, academic and new Chancellor of
the University of Johannesburg on 3 April
(DLitt, honoris causa) and Prof Sampie
Terreblanche, a well-known political
economist (DCom, honoris causa) on 10 April.
The Award of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal for
the top academic achievers in the nine faculties were
awarded to:
• Education – Ms Amor Etsebeth
• Natural and Agricultural Sciences – Mr Henry
Robert Thackeray
• Engineering, Built Environment and Information
Technology – Mr Björn Erik Andersen
• Theology – Mr Adriaan Francois De Necker Vogel
• Economic and Management Sciences – Ms
Jacqueline van Lelyveld
• Law – Ms Linette Marie du Toit
• Health Sciences – Mr Jacobus Benjamin
Opperman
• Humanities – Ms Marguerite Florence de Waal
• Veterinary Science – Ms Roxanne Kate Buck
After Unisa, UP is the South African university that
annually confers the most bachelor’s and honours
degrees. In 2012, UP held more than 40 graduation
ceremonies during which a total of 12 981 degrees,
diplomas and certificates were awarded to successful
candidates. In April 2012, 9 087 degrees, diplomas
and certificates were awarded, compared to the
11 348 in April 2013.
The distance education ceremonies took place from
7 to 17 May in Polokwane, Nelspruit, Durban and East
London.
Tukkie nuus
news
Autumn Graduation
Ceremonies make UP
proud
A total of 11 348 graduates received their degrees and diplomas in the
University’s Autumn Graduation Ceremonies that took place from 3 to 25
April in the Rembrandt Hall at the LC de Villiers Sports Grounds.

35
TUKKIE
HONORARY DOCTORATES
TO NOTABLE SCHOLARS
The University honoured Prof
Njabulo Simakahle Ndebele with a
Doctor of Literature (honoris causa)
on the first day of the Autumn
Graduation Ceremonies on 3 April.
The accomplished author and academic is the
Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Prof Ndebele has received honorary doctorates
from universities in the United Kingdom, the United
States, the Netherlands, Japan and South Africa. The
University of Cambridge awarded him an honorary
doctorate in law in 2006, while the University of
Michigan repeated this honour in 2008. He has also
received awards from Lincoln University, the National
University of Lesotho, and is an honorary fellow of
Churchill College, University of Cambridge.
‘Njabulo Ndebele is one of our country’s foremost
writers and academics. As an internationally
respected author, he has published short stories and
novels, as well as very important works of criticism
and social commentary,’ says Prof Norman Duncan,
Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.
On 10 April, Prof Sampie
Terreblanche received an honorary
doctorate (DCom, honoris causa) in
absentia from the UP Department
of Economics in the Faculty of
Economic and Management
Sciences.
Prof Terreblanche has made a lifelong contribution
to the discipline of economics in South Africa and
played a major role in improving the understanding
of the political economy and economic history of the
country.
He has taught Economics for 54 years until 2011 and
is known for his involvement in party politics which
included clandestine meetings with the ANC at the
end of the 1980s.
Prof Terreblanche has published 11 books, more than
30 journal articles and contributed several chapters
in books. He is a prolific writer of newspaper articles,
mainly on political and economic issues during South
Africa’s transition period from 1980 onwards. He
regards Politieke ekonomie en sosiale welvaart (1986)
and A history of inequality in South Africa: 1652—2002
(2002) as his most important books.
In 2012, he published Lost in
transformation: South Africa’s search
for a new future since 1986, which is
an update of the final chapter in A
history of inequality in South Africa:
1652—2002.
Prof Terreblanche’s daughter,
Christelle Terreblanche,
received the hononary
doctorate on his behalf.
Prof Njabulo Ndebele
receives his doctorate.
Prof Sampie
Terreblanche
Picture:
Werner Roux

36
nuus
news
Erkenning aan
emeritusprofessore
Die Departement Ou-Testamentiese Wetenskap in die Fakulteit Teologie het op 15 Maart akademiese
erkenning gegee aan proff Bart Oberholzer en Andries Breytenbach vir hul bydrae tot die Departement en vir
baanbrekerswerk op die gebied van Bybelvertaling.
Proff Oberholzer en Breytenbach is vereer vir die navorsing wat hulle gedoen het, vir die doktorale studente
wat onder albei gepromoveer het, hul leiersposisies in die Fakulteit en in die Departement Ou-Testamentiese
Wetenskap, asook hul baanbrekerswerk in inheemse Bybelvertaling.
Prof Breytenbach was betrokke by die vertaling van die Bybel in isiNdebele wat eers in 2012 aan die Ndebele-
gemeenskap oorhandig is. Prof Oberholzer was op sy beurt betrokke by ‘n Bybel vir dowes wat die beperkte
woordeskat van gehoorgestremdes in ag geneem en ‘n Bybelvertaling vir hul eiesoortige behoefte geskep het.
Hy was ook betrokke by ‘n Konkordansie van die Afrikaanse Bybelvertaling (1983). Albei professore was nou
betrokke by die Afrikaanse Bybelvertalings van 1983 en Die Bybel: ‘n direkte vertaling van die Bybelgenootskap
van Suid Afrika.
* Prof Oberholzer is op 4 Mei 2013 in die ouderdom van 85 jaar oorlede.
Prof Andries Breytenbach (links) en prof Bart Oberholzer saam met die Dekaan van die Fakulteit Teologie,
prof Johan Buitendag (regs) toe hulle vereer is vir onder meer hul baanbrekerswerk in inheemse Bybelvertaling.

37
TUKKIE
UP awarded research chairs
The University received the SARChl Chair in
Mathematical Models and Methods in Bioengineering
and Biosciences. Prof Jean Lubuma, Head of
the Department of Mathematics and Applied
Mathematics, will lead this prestigious research chair
with a budget of R2,5 million per year.
The University was also awarded the SARChl Chair
in Sustainable Malaria Control with a budget of R1,5
million per year, funded by the Department of Science
and Technology (DST) through the National Research
Foundation (NRF).
SARChI was established by the South African
government as a strategic intervention to reverse
the brain drain in the public academic and research
sector. In particular, the programme aims to increase
scientific research capacity through the development
of human ability and to stimulate the generation of
new knowledge.
Although mathematics has long been associated with
the biological sciences, a heightened synergy between
biology and mathematics has emerged over the past
few decades, contributing greatly to the enrichment
and expansion of both fields.
The Department of Mathematics and Applied
Mathematics has been working with the School
for Biological Sciences since 2007. Since then
milestones in research activity include the 2008
and 2010 workshops on mathematical epidemiology
and the launch of the Biomath Forum in 2011 – an
interdisciplinary research gathering for the exchange
of ideas between mathematicians and biologists at
the University.
The research focus of the Chair in Mathematical
Models and Methods in Bioengineering and
Biosciences lies at the intersection of mathematical
modelling of biological processes, and a spectrum
of mathematical specialisations broadly located
within analysis. ‘The biological processes to be
considered by the Chair are highly relevant to the
needs of the country,’ says Prof Lubuma. These
include mathematical epidemiology – specifically the
identification of adequate responses to new diseases
and older forms of new diseases, such as HIV/Aids
and other communicable diseases that pose a massive
threat to development in South Africa and beyond.
Another interesting initiative created within this
Chair is the Under-Twenty Mathematicians (UTM)
programme, which aims to identify, recruit and
groom talented young South Africans to become
mathematicians, a category that dominates the
national scarce skills list.
Sustainable malaria control
UP is one of the leading institutions in malaria
research in South Africa, recognised for its focus
on malaria parasite biology, functional genomics,
structure-based drug discovery efforts, innovative
vector control strategies, and public health and
community engagement. These are a few of the
reasons why the University was awarded the SARChl
Chair in Sustainable Malaria Control with a budget
of R1,5 million per year, funded by the Department of
Science and Technology (DST) through the National
Research Foundation (NRF).
The Chair will be headed by Prof Lyn-Marie
Birkholtz, an associate professor in the Department
of Biochemistry and a member of the UP Centre
for Sustainable Malaria Control (UPCSMC). She is
also a member of the European Virtual Institute of
nuus
news
The University of Pretoria was awarded two research chairs from the
South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChl).
Prof Jean Lubuma
Continue on p 38

38
Malaria Research. The Chair will be hosted within the
UPCSMC. Prof Birkholtz is a leader in the discipline
of anti-malarial target discovery for sustainable
malaria control. As a chair holder, her expertise will
be utilised to investigate sustainable mechanisms to
control not only the malaria parasite itself, but also its
mosquito vector.
Malaria is responsible for almost a million deaths
around the world annually. Ninety per cent of these
deaths occur in Africa, while ten per cent of the
South African population is at risk of contracting
the disease. The vision of the UPCSMC is to make
a substantial contribution towards the creation of
a malaria-free Africa, and to do so in a sustainable
manner by employing trans-disciplinary strategies.
UP Water Institute
The Water Institute of the University of Pretoria
(UP) applied for six of the seven available Rand
Water research chairs, of which four were ultimately
awarded. The successful applications include the two
chair positions applied for by Prof Fanie van Vuuren
and Prof Stephan Heyns in civil engineering and
mechanical engineering, respectively; a chair position
addressing public health applied for by Prof Maureen
Taylor and the position of a chair in microbiology
applied for by Prof Fanus Venter. Each of the chair
positions spans five years, along with a grant of about
R1 million per year.
Prestigious
AUAWARD
for Prof
MikeWingfield
Prof Mike Wingfield, Director of the
Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology
Institute (FABI) in the Faculty of Natural and
Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded
the prestigious African Union (AU) Kwame
Nkrumah Continental Scientific Award in the
category Earth and Life Sciences.
The AU Scientific Award Programme is a symbol
of the commitment of AU heads of state and
governments to raise community awareness and to
engage African citizens in science. It also seeks to
improve technology programmes and strengthen the
continent’s research capacity.
In 2012, Prof Wingfield was awarded the Johanna
Westerdijk Award by the Centraalbureau voor
Schimmelcultures (Fungal Biodiversity Centre) in the
Netherlands. In November the same year, he also
received an honorary DSc degree from the University
of British Columbia.
Prof Wingfield has published widely on the topic of
tree health in more than 600 research papers and five
books. As an invited speaker, he has made numerous
presentations globally. He has served in many
distinguished positions and has received multiple
awards and honours for his contribution to education,
research and industry in South Africa and abroad.
Based on these contributions, he has been elected
as a fellow by several scientific societies, including
the Royal Society of South Africa, the
Academy of Sciences of South Africa,
the Southern African Society for
Plant Pathology and the American
Phytopathological Society. He is one
of the few honorary members of
the Mycological Society of
America.
The award was
presented to Prof
Wingfield on 25
May 2013, at the
AU headquarters
in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
Prof Mike
Wingfield
Continue from p 37
UP awarded research chairs
Prof Lyn-Marie Birkholtz

39
TUKKIE
nuus
news
MERIETEBEURS VIR
SLIM MATRIKULANT
‘n Matrikulant wat op haar eie vir
die matriekeksamen gestudeer
en vyf onderskeidings behaal het,
studeer nou ingenieurswese by
die Universiteit.
Me Grace Mbele het met haar uitstekende
matriekuitslae ook gekwalifiseer vir ‘n merietebeurs
van die Universiteit van Pretoria wat R18 000 beloop.
Me Mbele het aanvanklik gedink sy sal nie kan gaan
studeer nie omdat sy aan die begin van die jaar
nog nie ‘n beurs gehad het nie. Sy het verlede jaar
gedurende die dag gestudeer en saans as kelnerin
gewerk. Haar niggie het haar twee kinders opgepas
terwyl sy gaan werk het.
Toe daar in Beeld berig is oor me Mbele se prestasie
en die feit dat sy nie by die Universiteit kon inskryf
omdat sy nie die registrasiefooi kon betaal nie, is die
koerant oorval met aanbiedinge vir me Mbele. Sy
het afgesien van die Universiteit se merietebeurs ‘n
volle beurs van Delta Built Environment Consultants
gekry. Sy was in Januarie een van sowat 10 000
eerstejaarstudente wat die akademiese jaar by die
Universiteit begin het.
Me Grace Mbele by die Universiteit
se Kliëntedienssentrum
Photo by: Lisa Hnatowicz/Foto24
nuus
news

40
DRIELINGWORDDOKTERS
Die drielingsusters Carla,
Elana en Marli van Heerden
het tydens die Universiteit se
herfsgradeplegtigheid saam as
mediese praktisyns gegradueer.
Die susters is in Pretoria gebore en het in 2006
aan die Helpmekaar Kollege in Johannesburg
gematrikuleer, elk met sewe onderskeidings. In 2007
het hulle vir die program Baccalaureus in Genees- en
Snykunde (MBChB) aan die Universiteit van Pretoria
geregistreer. Hulle was ses jaar lank in Huis Carlitzia,
die Universiteit se enigste dameskoshuis wat vir alle
studente in die gesondheidswetenskappe voorsiening
maak. Die susters skryf hul sukses toe aan harde
werk, toewyding, die uitruil van idees en onderlinge
ondersteuning.
Elana het met haar internskap by die Groote Schuur-
hospitaal in Kaapstad begin. Carla doen haar
internskap by die Charlotte Maxeke-hospitaal in
Johannesburg en Marli is by die Kalafong-hospitaal
in Tshwane. Al drie susters stem saam dat dit nog te
vroeg is om ’n voorkeurspesialiteit te kies.
Die gegradueerdes se ouers, wat albei Tuks-alumni
uit die 1970’s is, woon in Randburg. Mev Sanette
van Heerden het ’n Baccalaureus in Opvoedkunde
en mnr Piet van Heerden ’n Baccalaureus in
Inligtingtegnologie. Mev Van Heerden sê sy is baie
ingenome met haar kinders se prestasie en beskou
hulle as goeie studente wat hulle toegewy het aan hul
skoolwerk en selfgemotiveerd is.
Die Dekaan van die Fakulteit Gesondheidsweten-
skappe by die Universiteit van Pretoria, prof Eric Buch,
het die groep van meer as 200 mediese dokters wat
hierdie jaar gegradueer het, gelukgewens. Hy het
kommentaar gelewer op die drie mediese studente
se buitengewone omstandighede, hoe elkeen op
eie meriete deur die Universiteit se mediese skool
aanvaar is en hoe hulle saam gestudeer en gegradueer
het.
‘Die Universiteit se mediese skool handhaaf hoë
kwaliteitstandaarde. Die drieling het goed gevaar en
aan hierdie standaarde voldoen,’ het prof Buch gesê.
Hy het bygevoeg dat die Universiteit van Pretoria se
Fakulteit Gesondheidswetenskappe gehoor gegee
het aan die oproep deur die nasionale Minister van
Gesondheid, dr Aaron Motsoaledi, om ’n verdere
160 mediese dokters op te lewer. Prof Buch het ook
sy waardering uitgespreek teenoor die akademiese
personeel, wat die privaat sektor kon betree en groter
salarisse kon verdien het, maar verkies het om tot die
gemeenskap by te dra deur gesondheidspraktisyns
van gehalte op te lei.

41
TUKKIE
CSA plans
Centre of Excellence
CSA unveiled these exciting plans on 15 April. The
project is a joint undertaking between CSA and the
University that has made the land available free of
charge on a long-term basis. The facility will be used
by the University’s cricket club, while, in terms of the
agreement, the Centre of Excellence will have the use
of the University’s main cricket oval.
‘The CSA Centre of Excellence will compare
favourably with similar centres around the world,
such as at Loughborough, England, Brisbane,
Australia and at the International Cricket Council
(ICC) headquarters in Dubai,’ commented CSA Acting
CEO, Mr Naasei Appiah. ‘It will contribute to the long-
term success of cricket in South Africa. The support
of the University of Pretoria and the hpc as well as
the passion of CSA for excellence will ensure that
the CSA Centre of Excellence will be the best in the
world.’
The University welcomed the expanded relationship
with the CSA for another nine years. The Vice-
Chancellor, Professor Cheryl de la Rey, said the
Centre of Excellence will contribute to the University’s
commitment to excellence in its core business of
teaching, learning and research as well as in all its
endeavours, including sport. UP’s contribution to the
nation’s sporting success internationally, as reflected
in the 2012 Olympics, will be extended with the
addition of the CSA facility.
Mr Appiah said this new facility will be used for all
national cricket teams, including national squads for
the disabled and differently-abled cricket. It will not
just cater for the high performance needs of CSA,
but will serve as a base for various transformation
initiatives of CSA to address the imbalances in the
own country.
CSA General Manager: Cricket, Corrie van Zyl,
said the new facility will include a video analysis
laboratory. This will create an opportunity to set up
an ICC-accredited testing facility for illegal bowling
actions. ‘This will not only mean that CSA can test its
own professional players at a fraction of the cost, but
we will be able to test professional cricketers from all
over the world.’
A brand new R30 million Cricket South Africa (CSA) Centre of
Excellence is to be built at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance
Centre (hpc).
An impression of the north-facing façade of the CSA Centre of Excellence
to be constructed at the hpc on the University’s sports grounds.
nuus
news

42
hpc planning for
2016 and beyond...
On 6 February, Mr Toby Sutcliffe, Chief Executive
Officer of the University’s high performance centre
(hpc), announced their planning schedule leading up
to 2016.
He reminded all present at the announcement that
the hpc delivered half of South Africa’s 2012 Olympic
medals. ‘We will put all our resources and efforts
behind these 57 athletes to ensure that they will be
given every opportunity to perform at the highest
level – and to do the University, the hpc and the
country proud.
‘A number of these athletes were also on the Road
to London and Beyond programme – and we believe
that their time in the sun is just around the corner.
We are proud to have these athletes base themselves
at the University of Pretoria’s hpc and actively make
use of our Sports Science and Medical Unit support,
provided daily to them and their coaches.’
The hpc’s Sports Science and Medical Unit, in
partnership with the University’s Institute for Sports
Research and the Sports Medicine Department, will
ensure that UP’s athletes receive all the support and
assistance they need to perform at the highest level in
preparation for the next Olympic Games.
The hpc supports multiple sporting codes, namely
athletics (including race walking), swimming, rowing,
canoeing, golf, judo, mountain biking and triathlon.
The hpc and TuksSport have identified 57 athletes as potential 2016
Olympic medallists.
Part of the group of 57 athletes identified as potential 2016 Olympic medallists
nuus
news

43
TUKKIE
It is with sadness that the
University has learned of the
passing of Mr Ben Alberts,
alumnus, member of the
Convocation and former
Chairman of the University
Council.
In a statement the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof
Cheryl de la Rey, expressed the University’s sincere
condolences to Mr Alberts’ family.
Barend Christiaan (Ben) Alberts was born in Pretoria
in September 1939. He completed the BSc (Agric
Eng) at the University of Pretoria in 1963 and the BSc
(Min Eng) in 1965. Mr Alberts made a tremendous
impact in the mining industry in this country. He
ultimately played a pivotal role in the establishment
of new mines, international dealings in the mining
sector and the separate listing of Iscor Steel and
Kumba Resources to form the current entities of
ArcelorMittal, Kumba Iron Ore and Exxaro Resources.
In 2011 he received the SAIMM Brigadier Stokes
Memorial Award for the very highest achievement in
the South African mining and metallurgical industry.
At the University of Pretoria Mr Alberts founded
MOVUP, the Society for Former Mining Students
of UP in 1979, which was instrumental in fostering
cooperation between the mining sector and the UP
Department of Mining. In 1979 he was appointed
as Chairperson of the committee for the rebuilding
of Kya Rosa in Hatfield, a project for which he was
awarded the Tuks Alumni Chairperson’s Award in
1986. He served on the Alumni Society, of which he
was President from 1988 to 1992. In 1990 he received
the Tuks Alumni Laureate Award.
In September 1988 he was elected by the
Convocation to serve as a member of the University
Council. He served as the Chairman of the Audit
Committee and was elected Council Chairman in
1999, a position he held until August 2003. During
the 2008 UP centenary celebrations Mr Alberts
received the Chancellor’s Medal for his service as
Chair of the Council. He also initiated and served
on the UP Advisory Board of the Department of
Mining Engineering. We honour Mr Alberts for the
tremendous contribution he made to the University
on a wide range of fronts.
Ben Alberts excelled in the field of sport and among
other achievements played prop for the Blue Bulls in
23 games between 1960 and 1967. He was a great
lover of nature and the environment, with a particular
interest in trees. He was a great motivator of people
and had a passion for young people and for helping
the less fortunate. He therefore established the
Ben Alberts Bursary Fund for the benefit of needy
students.
In 1964 Ben Alberts married Ansie van der Wath of
Ermelo. They have three sons, three daughters, two
adopted children and many grandchildren. After
his retirement he and his wife
spent much of their time
with their children and
grandchildren, and at
their game and eco
farm in Piet Retief.
Following a stroke,
he passed away in a
Pretoria hospital on
Monday, 8 April 2013 at
the age of 74.
BEN ALBERTS
(16 September 1939 — 8 April 2013)
In memoriam

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