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Welcome to the UFS Department of Chemistry!
We invite you to browse our website for different Programmes, and to contact us if you have any questions regarding studies in Chemistry (Contact numbers on the left hand side of this page under 'CONTACT').
We have excellent teaching facilities and modern research equipment. The Chemistry building on Main Campus is currently being renovated by > R50 million, while our research equipment has been upgraded by > R40 million over the past 3 years.
Prof Andreas Roodt: Chair: Dept of Chemistry: roodta.sci@ufs.ac.za
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2010 Soccer World Cup FEVER hits UFS Chemistry: click here
NOBEL LAUREATE Prof Richard Ernst from the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland, visits South Africa and the UFS Chemistry Department on 25 Jan 2010 [Lecture 12:30 CR Swart Auditorium]; [for more details click here]; on initiative of Prof Jan vd Westhuizen of Organic Chemistry. Prof Ernst also spent time in the UFS Chemistry department on Tuesday morning [26 Jan 2010] for informal discussions with post-graduate students; for photo's of the discussions, click here.
For Departmental Research Foci, see Research Groups below, or click here for Group Leaders.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
1. A School on Fundamental Crystallography, supported by the International Union of Crystallography, is scheduled for 12-16 April 2010 in Bloemfontein on the UFS Campus. For more detail, and registration click here.
2. UFS Chemistry will host CATSA2010, the annual conference of the South African Crystallographic Society, in Bloemfontein on the UFS Campus [7-10 November 2010], click here.
UFS signs agreement with SASOL [Click here]
MINQUIZ 2009: A big 'Thank You' to all the schools, teachers and learners who participated; for winners and Free State Provincial team, click here. Congratulations to all the Winners: You made us at UFS Chemistry proud!
OPEN DAY 2009: Thank you to everyone who visited our Chemistry Stand in the Badminton Hall on Main Campus for the annual Kovsie Open Day(s): Thu-Sat 21 -23 May. Should you require additional info on Chemistry at the UFS, please contact us immediately.
Note: The Chemistry Department hosted INORG2009, the biennial Inorganic Chemistry conference of the South African Chemical Institute (SACI) from 13-17 September 2009 on UFS Main Campus in Bloemfontein. For more detail please visit the website by clicking here. See also a brief media statement and photo on INORG2009 by clicking here.
INORG2009 also commemorated the 100years of UFS Chemistry [Click here for Brief History; which includes historic photo's] which started formally with its first Chemistry lecturer, Prof. Max Rindl, in 1909. More detail also given below......
Brief History of Chemistry at the UOFS / UFS
The UFS started from a humble beginning as the Grey University College (GUC), founded on 28th January 1904 as an extension of Grey College in Bloemfontein. It was known by this name until 1935 when a bill was accepted by parliament which changed the name of the university from “Het Grey Universiteitskollege” to “Die Universiteitskollege van die Oranje Vrystaat” [UKOVS the acronym from which 'Kovsie' was derived].
The first lecturer in Physics, JS Lyle, responsible for the teaching of Physics as well as Chemistry, was appointed in 1904. Infrastructure to house the scientific subjects was added to G.U.C. when two corrugated and wooden laboratories were already erected in 1905. In 1909 Physics and Chemistry became independent subjects .....
Read more about the brief history of Chemistry at the UFS by clicking here.
Recent Awards and Honours
A team consisting of Prof. Jan van der Westhuizen and Dr Susan Bonnet from the Department of Chemistry at the UFS and Prof. Kenneth Swart and Prof. Thinus van der Merwe from FARMOVS–PAREXEL received the innovation award for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering and technology from either an individual or a team over the last ten years.
Click here: NTSF Award To Prof Jan vd Westhuizen
Prof Riaan Luyt, professor in Chemistry and head of the Natural Sciences Programme at the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State, received an honorary medal from the Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences during a conference in the High Tatras mountains of Slovakia.
Click here: Honorary medal to Prof R Luyt
Prof Gideon Steyl from UFS Chemistry became the recipient of the 1st Jan Boeyens medal for outstanding young scientists [younger than 40 years] in theoretical Chemistry/ Physics. The panel of judges consisted of two international and four local scientists. Click here: 1st Jan Boeyens medal to Prof Gideon Steyl
The Department of Chemistry boasts with:
- Some of the most advanced research equipment in Africa
- Including:High Performance Computing Centre, X-Ray Diffractometer, 600 MHz NMR, DSC, Thermographic, Kinetic etc. systems
- Recognised and enthusiastic teaching and support staff.
Key research focus areas of UFS Chemistry include: X-ray crystallography, Electrochemistry, Organic synthesis, Organometallic synthesis, Polymer synthesis, Computational chemistry , Reaction mechanisms and Industrial process chemistry.
(CLICK on underlined text below to learn more about our equipment and other interesting things in the Department of Chemistry.)
Please contact us if you are interested in a career or further research in Chemistry.
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Open Day: The UFS open days are annually scheduled in early May [2009: 21 to 23th May ] in the Badminton Hall on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.
We have many enthusiastic visitors who join us annually at the chemistry exhibition area, where our staff would like to welcome you to discuss future programmes and assist in making career decisions
Some fun chemical reactions and systems are also demonstrated and explained by our UFS Chemistry staff.
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MinQuiz: Each year the chemistry department takes part in hosting the MinTek MinQuiz at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. This year was no exception, with the participation of many schools in getting to grips with the chemical sciences. The results of the 2008 provincial semi-finalists are found in this link.
PLEASE NOTE: MinQuiz 2009 [Was held on 14th May 2009 ]; entry forms for the annual competition held on the UFS campus, may be obtained from Mev. W. Du Plessis [051 401 3969 (8:00 - 13:00) or per email at dupleswc.sci@ufs.ac.za].
If you have other enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Chemistry Department (Contact numbers on the left hand side of this page under 'CONTACT').
We need you as a CHEMIST in South Africa to help us ensure a more prosperous future for our country!
| Large equipment |
| 1. Bruker X8 Apex II 4K Kappa CCD single crystal diffractometer allows structure determination of novel compounds. |
| 2. Bruker 600 MHz NMR, one of the most advanced systems in Africa, with application in pharmaceutical and natural product structural determination. |
| 3. High Performance Computational Centre hosted by Computer Services. |
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