Greg Dardagan
Professor Johan van Staden is the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s most published researcher for 2010, while Professor Colleen Downs is the university’s top woman researcher for work published last year.
The achievements were announced at a function in Durban on Tuesday night at which Professor Deresh Ramjugernath received the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Award, which recognises exceptional research and research-related scholarly activities at the university.
Van Staden and Downs are both attached to the School of Biological and Conservation Sciences on UKZN’s Pietermaritzburg campus. Ramjugernath is a professor of chemical engineering on the Durban campus.
Announcing the awards, UKZN’s vice-chancellor and principal, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, said the university had maintained its upward trend in research output in 2010, with several significant research achievements demonstrating its increasing stature as a research-led institution.
“According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, UKZN has for the ninth year running maintained its position in the top 500 listing of universities, and was also ranked third nationally and in Africa.
“Nationally, there was improved performance based on the research output benchmarks set by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
“Since 2007, the research publications output has increased by an average of about 12.5 percent a year, cementing UKZN’s position as the third-highest producer of doctoral graduates in the country,” said Makgoba.
The number of National Research Foundation (NRF) researchers at UKZN increased from 179 in 2009 to 204 last year.
“The University’s CAPRISA 004 study results on tenofovir gel as a potential effective method of prevention against HIV/Aids for women received both national and international acclaim.
“The Science journal considered it to be one of the Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs in 2010, while in Nature it was one of the top science news stories for the year.
“The Lancet readers voted the publication the secondmost likely to influence practice and research,” said Makgoba
In July 2010, the Centre for Quantum Technology had installed and operated a secure network using quantum-based encryption technology to link the Moses Mabhida Stadium and the Durban Joint Operations Centre during the Fifa World Cup.
This was the first public global event to successfully use the encryption solution.
In 2010, the UKZN Press published 22 titles, several of which received national literary awards.
Makgoba said a total of R312 million was received for research grants and contracts in 2010, compared with R266m in 2009.
In addition, UKZN received R11.3m in 2010, compared with R12.2m in 2009, through the NRF Research Infrastructure Support Programme.
“The increasing research funding is a clear demonstration of the competence and competitiveness of our researchers in attracting funding in both international and national arenas,” said Makgoba.