The National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) in partnership with South32 annually honours excellence in science, engineering, technology and innovation in South Africa.

2022/23

2021/22

Professor Marianne Vanderschuren
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

Special Annual Theme Award: Basic Science and Sustainable Development

Marianne Vanderschuren, who holds a PhD in intelligent transport systems and an MSc in systems engineering and policy analysis, is an international leader in her field. She has dedicated her career to improving sustainable transport approaches in Africa with a special focus on road traffic, pollution, and gender inequity and safety of women. In 2021, she was elected the 119th President of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering; she is only the third female president in the institution’s history.

2020/21

Professor Michael Claeys
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

Engineering Research Capacity Development Award

Michael Claeys is A-rated by the National Research Foundation and is director of the national Centre of Excellence in Catalysis, known as c*change. His research focuses primarily on catalysis for energy applications, including the Fischer-Tropsch process. This technology lies at the heart of South Africa’s synthetic fuels and chemicals industry and one that is playing an increasingly important role worldwide in the production of green future fuels and chemicals from sustainable resources, such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

Associate Professor Sheetal Silal
Department of Statistical Sciences, Faculty of Science

TW Kambule-NSTF Award: Emerging Researcher

Sheetal Silal is director of the Modelling and Simulation Hub, Africa (MASHA), and an expert in the development of mathematical models for predicting the dynamics of infectious diseases. Her work –which combines knowledge from biology, clinical medicine, public health and economics – has become a crucial part of evaluating the potential of control programmes to reduce morbidity and mortality, as well as supporting policy development of public health systems.

2019/20

Associate Professor Abimbola Windapo
Department of Construction Economics and Management, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

Engineering Research Capacity Development Award

Abimbola Windapo’s research of construction business and management is a response to the high failure rates of many construction companies in South Africa, as well as the construction industry’s poor health and safety records and the need to adopt construction techniques in line with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. Among other things, she has contributed greatly to the furtherance of construction business and management education in South Africa at the tertiary level.

2018/19

Professor Alison Lewis
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

Engineering Research Capacity Development Award

As director of the UCT Crystallisation and Precipitation Research Unit, Alison Lewis has trained, nurtured and mentored many students. Under her guidance, they have learnt new research methods for the recovery of valuable metals, water and minerals. Over the past 10 years, she has supervised 44 MSc and PhD researchers to graduation, ensuring that they presented and published their research work. Of the 69 international journal papers she has published, 52 were co-authored with a postgraduate student.

Dr Hlumani Ndlovu
Division of Chemical and Systems Biology, Faculty of Science

TW Kambule-NSTF Awards: Emerging Researchers

Hlumani Ndlovu, a lecturer in the Division of Chemical and Systems Biology, leads a lab largely concerned with studying inflammation. With his team, he’s investigating the immunobiology of snail fever, also known as bilharzia, using animal models to mimic infection in humans. He and his team have identified key immunological mechanisms that down-modulate inflammatory liver pathology. Their work could help to identify candidate proteins or immune factors for targeting as host-directed therapies to mitigate debilitating liver fibrosis.

Professor Martine Visser
School of Economics, Faculty of Commerce

NSTF-Water Research Commission Award

Martine Visser spearheaded a project – in collaboration with the City of Cape Town – that used behavioural nudges to conserve water during the region’s water crisis. It began with a city-wide randomised control trial in which households were motivated to save water via nudges in their monthly utility bills and expanded into ongoing strategic collaborations with the City. Novel outcomes included findings on the longevity of nudges, differences in effect depending on the household’s profile (low/high-income) and a fresh approach to academic–government collaborations in tackling societal issues.

2017/18

Professor Harald Winkler
Energy Research Centre

Special Annual Theme Award: Sustainable Energy for All

Reducing energy poverty, while at the same time making a just transition to a low-carbon energy economy, is a key challenge of the 21st century. Over the past 10 years, Winkler’s research has contributed information needed for this transition, and informed energy and climate policy at both the national and international level. It focuses on energy and the environment, particularly climate change and the economics of mitigation in the context of sustainable development, with a strong focus on poverty and development.

2016/17

Professor Martin Wittenberg
UCT School of Economics, Faculty of Commerce

NSTF Data for Research Award

Martin Wittenberg of the School of Economics is head of DataFirst, which is the leading social science data archive in Africa. It provides researchers with online access to survey and administrative microdata from a number of countries across Africa. His research interests include labour economics, economics of the household, analysis of time-use data, the economics of predatory behaviour, measurement of poverty, microeconometrics, spatial economics and intergovernmental fiscal relations.

Associate Professor John Ataguba
Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

NSTF-TW Kambule Award for an emerging researcher

John Ele-Ogo Ataguba is based in the Health Economics Unit of the School of Public Health and Family Medicine. Through his work he has made a great contribution to our understanding of health inequalities, social determinants of health and health-system equity in Africa. He is also a Commonwealth scholar and an elected member of the South African Young Academy of Science. Ataguba has taught economics for over 10 years.

Dr Robyn Pickering
Department of Geological Siences, Faculty of Science

NSTF-TW Kambule Award for an emerging researcher

Robyn Pickering, an isotope geochemist in the Department of Geological Sciences, has successfully adapted uranium-lead dating techniques to provide the first set of direct ages for the South African caves in which early human fossils were found. Her specific research interests include unravelling the palaeoenvironmental signals preserved in speleothems, particularly flowstones, and pushing back the frontiers of the U-series methods to date pedogenic and lacustrine carbonates.

Professor George Ekama
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment

NSTF Green Matter Award

George Ekama is professor of water-quality engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering. He has spent over 40 years researching ways to keep South Africa’s water clean and running. Today his work continues to provide much-needed solutions to our country’s serious water problems, while also inspiring the next generation of researchers to pick up the clean-water baton.

2015/16

Professor Crick Lund
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences

TW Kambule-NSTF Award for research and its outputs

The research of Crick Lund, director of the Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Health, has pioneered the development of mental policies and services to address the growing burden of mental illness in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). His scientific work has had a significant impact on the development of norms for mental health services, drafting of national mental health policies, and the development of WHO guidelines for mental health policy and services.

Professor Sue Harrison
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment

Research or Engineering Capacity Development Award

Sue Harrison, director of the Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research and the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) chair in bioprocess engineering, is an accomplished bioprocess engineer, integrating the chemical engineering, mineral processing and biotechnology disciplines. Harrison’s research builds a holistic understanding of a sustainable bioeconomy, based on maximising renewable materials and resource productivity while minimising waste burden, including wastewater burden.

Professor Peter Dunsby
Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Science

Research or Engineering Capacity Development Award

Peter Dunsby is professor of cosmology and co-director of the Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravity Centre (in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics). His strategy for developing human capital has, over the past 12 years, focused on a pioneering initiative to develop the next generation of astronomers and space scientists – The National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme. He has also developed a highly successful integrated research programme in his own discipline (theoretical cosmology) which has led to a significant growth in research capacity at UCT and at other tertiary institutions in South Africa.

Associate Professor Tolullah Oni
Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

TW Kambule-NSTF Award for emerging researcher

The research of Tolullah Oni, senior lecturer at the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, aims to contribute significantly to knowledge on the changing patterns of disease and the implications this has for the health and well-being of the population in the context of urbanisation. Her current research focuses on urban health and equity.

Dr Sudesh Sivarasu
Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences

TW Kambule-NSTF Award for emerging researcher

Up to to 95% of medical devices are imported into South Africa. This is primarily due to lack of innovations related to medical devices within the country. To change this situation, Sudesh Sivarasu, senior lecturer in biomedical engineering, adopted his Frugal Biodesign Process™ and has developed several medical devices in the last 5 years. During this process, Sivarasu has filed 4 patent family applications and has 3 granted patents for medical devices and several MedTech awards for his innovations.

2014/15

Ms Khilona Radia
CEO of Antrum Biotech

Research leading to innovation

UCT spin-off company, Antrum Biotech, was honoured for the development of an accurate rapid test for extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). While diagnostics for conventional TB through sputum tests are very effective, this is not the case in extra-pulmonary TB which occurs outside the lungs. This technology will save lives as well as healthcare costs.

Associate Professor Grant Theron
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

TW Kambule-NSTF award for an emerging researcher

Grant Theron was recognised for his work in tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and transmission. His work on the evaluation of a DNA-based TB diagnostic test called Xpert has influenced national and global health policy. A randomised controlled trial demonstrated its clinical impact and feasibility at the point-of-care when done by non-technical staff.

Professor Jennifer Jelsma
Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences

Developing research capacity

Jennifer Jelsma, of the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was one of the first physiotherapists in South Africa to obtain her doctorate. She has been at the forefront of developing a culture of research in the rehabilitation sciences. Jelsma's work includes the development of postgraduate courses and running research workshops in South Africa, Africa and Europe.

Professor Dan Stein
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences

TW Kambule award for research

Dan Stein is head of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, and director of the Brain Behaviour Initiative and of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders. His research ranges from laboratory research on animal models through to clinical investigations on neurobiology and the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as epidemiological and public mental health research.

2013/14

Emeritus Professor Eric Bateman
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

Recognition of an individual for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering and technology over a lifetime

Director and founder of the UCT Lung Institute in the Department of Medicine, Eric Bateman has been a leader on asthma research worldwide, as well as in improving methods of delivering primary care in low- to middle-income countries. He has contributed to the understanding and treatment of asthma and related diseases in South Africa and globally.

Professor Keertan Dheda
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

Exceptional support of the fields of science, engineering and technology through research and its outputs over the last 5 to 10 years

Head of the Division of Pulmonology in the Department of Medicine, Keertan Dheda is best known for his seminal contribution to understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, management and control of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa.

Professor Arnaud Malan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment

Individual or team for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering and technology through research leading to innovation in a corporate institution or organisation

Arnaud Malan is primarily responsible for developing Elemental software, which enables scientists to study the dynamics of fluid flow, and offer accurate predications and unprecedented insights. A sophisticated analysis technique, it offers multiple predictions with diverse applications from aircraft design to heart valves.

2012/13

Emeritus Professor Robert Millar
Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences

Recognition of an individual for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation over a lifetime

Robert Millar, director of the University of Cape Town/Medical Research Council (MRC) Receptor Biology Group and director of the Mammal Research Unit at the University of Pretoria, was honoured for his work as leader in the field of endocrinology.

Professor Graeme Cumming
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science

TW Kambule Award to an individual for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering and technology through research and its outputs in the last 5 to 10 years

Graeme Cumming received this award in honour of his work in the theory and application of complexity theory in ecological and social-ecological systems. This includes the development of new frameworks to analyse the linked systems of people and nature, as well as in-depth analysis of specific conservation problems.

Emeritus Professor Gerhard de Jager and Associate Professor Mqhele Dlodlo
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment

Individual or team for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation through research leading to innovation

Gerhard De Jager and Mqhele Dlodlo were rewarded for their work on adaptive real-time Internet-streaming technology (ARTIST). Through ARTIST the pair developed solutions for Internet congestion in low bandwidth areas.

2011/12

Professor Bongani Mayosi
former Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences

Outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation through management and related activities over the last 5 to 10 years

Bongani Mayosi was commended for his important work in building, managing and leading capacity development in research at the Groote Schuur Hospital which has achieved very significant output, and led to the discovery of genetic causes and prevention of heart disease and clinical features of pericardial tuberculosis.

Professor Heather Zar
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences

Individual for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation through research and its outputs over the last 5 to 10 years

Heather Zar, head of the Department of Paediatric Pulmonology, was rewarded for her research and breakthroughs in the understanding and management of childhood pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and asthma. Zar has led the development of a strong clinical translational research programme, producing cutting-edge research that has changed global practice and improved child health through better diagnostic, preventative and management strategies.

Dr Amanda Weltman
Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Science

TW Kambule award for an emerging researcher

Amanda Weltman was recognised for a number of highly significant contributions to theoretical cosmology, in particular the development of the chameleon mechanism, a novel theory that may explain dark energy. This innovative work has led to hundreds of papers on the topic, and to a search for such particles in an array of laboratory experiments on earth as well as possible astrophysical searches.

Emeritus Professor Kit Vaughan
Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences

Research leading to innovation

Kit Vaughan, from the Department of Human Biology, was rewarded for his work on the PantoScanner by CapeRay Medical (Pty)(Ltd). The PantoScanner effectively enhances the clinician's ability to diagnose breast cancer by combining the best of low-dose X-rays and ultrasound.

Dr Peter Carrick
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science

Research leading to innovation

Peter Carrick, of the Plant Conservation Unit was honoured for his work in the Namaqualand Restoration Initiative (NRI) and its supporting organisation Nurture, Restore, Innovate. The NRI uses extensive and ongoing ecological research to design and implement systems that restore globally important biodiversity and generate livelihoods through the rehabilitation of degraded lands.

2010/11

Emeritus Professor Lionel Opie
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

Recognition of an individual for an outstanding contribution over a lifetime

Lionel Opie, emeritus professor of cardiology and founding director of the Hatter Institute for Cardiology Research, was hailed for his contribution to the improved understanding of the causes of heart attacks, and the more effective use of medication for heart disease.