2023 2024 nstf south32 awardslatest news & developments

Welcome to the science Oscars

Celebrating a legacy of excellence in science, engineering and technology

Winners: NSTF Awards 2023/2024

List of this year’s scientific excellence award winners

Prof Bernand Slippers, Director of FABI and Innovation Africa @UP, and professor at UP.

The visionary leader

Prof Bernard Slippers cultivates scientific excellence through team building

Prof Ben-Erik van Wyk, DST-NRF SARChI Chair in Indigenous Plant Use.

Guardian of the green world

Prof Ben-Erik van Wyk bridges ancient wisdom and modern science

Prof Tebogo Mashifana, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering Technology at UJ.

The environmental alchemist

Prof Tebogo Mashifana turns waste into wonder

Dr Tiisetso Elizabeth Lephoto, a  research leader in the Nematology and Bioprocess Laboratory at Wits.

The worm wrangler

Dr Tiisetso Lephoto enlists nature’s microscopic warriors for sustainable pest control

Prof Patience Mthunzi-Kufa, Research Group Head for Biophotonics and Manager at the Photonics Centre at the CSIR.

The biophotonic breakthrough

Prof Patience Mthunzi-Kufa’s work illuminates the future of healthcare

Prof Mike Sathekge with the Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI) team.

The medical masters

NuMeRI’s groundbreaking facility reshapes medical research and patient care

Prof Irvy Gledhill, Honorary Adjunct Professor of Flow Physics at Wits.

The cross-border collaborator

Professor Irvy Gledhill’s vision for African unity

Dr June Fabian, Director of the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Research Institute at Wits.

The renal revolutionary

From silent killer to centre stage, Dr June Fabian is spotlighting kidney disease in Africa

Prof Linda Godfrey, Manager of
Circular Innovation South Africa
(CISA).

The resource radical

Prof Linda Godfrey’s quest for a circular South Africa

Prof Attie Jonker, his brother Uys and Dr Johan Bosman with some of the Jonker Sailplanes team.

The aerial innovators

Jonker Sailplanes continues to soar to greater heights

Prof Jennifer Fitchett, Physical
Geography at Wits.

The climate whisperer

Prof Jennifer Fitchett’s mission to make science heard

The Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) team.

The cosmos decoders

IDIA team pioneers data-intensive astronomy in South Africa

Dr Lynn Bowie, Director of Mathematics at OLICO Maths Education.

The maths masters

OLICO makes maths accessible, meaningful and enjoyable

Prof Emmanuel Iwuoha, Chair of the DSI/NRF South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) for NanoElectrochemistry and Sensor Technology.

The biosensor sage

Prof Emmanuel Iwuoha’s legacy transforms lives through nanoscience

Prof Claudia Polese, Head of the Aeronautical Engineering Stream at Wits.

The high flier

Prof Claudia Polese gives aerospace engineers wings

The South African Environmental Observation Network’s (SAEON) Open Data
Platform (ODP) team.

Custodians of Earth’s digital heartbeat

SAEON’s Open Data Platform is more than a repository

Prof Timothy Dube, Director of the Institute for Water Studies at UWC.

The aqua innovator

Prof Timothy Dube harnesses AI to revolutionise water management