Prof Sunil Maharaj who holds the SENTECH Chair in Broadband Wireless Multimedia Communications (BWMC) in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering was the winner of The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) THRIP Award in their Advanced Hi-Tech Research Category for his collaborative research work in wireless broadband communications.

The THRIP (Technology and Human Resources for Industry Participation) Program is funded by The DTI and managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF,) in the Department of Science of Technology (DST).  The mission of the THRIP program is to improve the competitiveness of South African industry, by supporting research and technology development activities, and enhancing the quality and quantity of appropriately skilled people.

The THRIP Program provides funding to support research initiatives that have industry participation and funding.  This year, after a rigorous review of all funded research projects across the country, Prof Maharaj’s work was placed in the top three in the Advanced Hi-Tech Category. This culminated in him being selected by a panel of judges and presented with a Certificate of Achievement and a Plaque by the DTI Director General, Mr Lionel October at a function held at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).

Prof Maharaj’s proposal that has been funded over the past years for his groups research work in the area of Broadband Wireless Communications and in his research group has about 20 students ranging from final year engineering design project students up to PostDoc Fellows. Their research work has been largely in the area of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology in wireless communication systems and cognitive radio technology.