The University of Pretoria (UP) is proud to announce that three of its academics as well as a student were winners at the 2023 National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards, South Africa’s most prestigious academic awards.

The NRF Awards ceremony was held at a glittering event in Ballito, on the evening of 31 August 2023. The UP winners were Professor Ryan Blumenthal, who won the Award for Public Engagement with Research for his publications and advocacy on lightning and electrothermal injuries; Professor Mavis Mulaudzi, who was recognised as a Champion of Research Capacity Development and Transformation for her work in community nursing; Professor Juergen Richt, recognised as a recipient of an NRF A-rating for his work in veterinary tropical diseases; and Bertus van Heerden, winner of the Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers for his work in data analysis in physics.

The University is very pleased to be so well represented by these exceptional individuals and recognises the extraordinary role that they play, not only with their own research, but in elevating the research of their colleagues at the University.

Professor Sunil Maharaj, Deputy Vice-Principal of Research and Postgraduate Studies at UP, said: "The University of Pretoria is thrilled that four of its academics are among this year's NRF awardees. While the awards offer well-deserved recognition for these exceptional scholars, they also confirm the University's position as a leading research-intensive university.”

Prof Maharaj, who represented the University at the awards added that: “It is through academic staff of this calibre that UP will achieve the impact we aspire to, not only in South Africa, but in the whole of Africa and globally."

The winners

Professor Ryan Blumenthal: Public Engagement with Research Award

Prof Blumenthal is a senior specialist forensic pathologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences. His key area of interest is the pathology of trauma of lightning. He has been involved in the publication of numerous articles and textbooks on lightning and electrothermal injuries and has helped generate both national and international standard operating procedures and guidelines for lightning strike fatality and electrocution victims.

Prof Blumenthal has also published widely in the field of forensic pathology, suicide and other areas involving the pathology of trauma. 

Professor Mavis Mulaudzi: Champion of Research Capacity Development and Transformation Award

Prof Mulaudzi is a Professor and SARChI Chair in Ubuntu Community Model of Nursing in the Faculty of Health Sciences. She has over 35 years of professional experience. Prior to her being awarded the SARChI, she was the Head of Department of Nursing Science for a period of 10 years.

Her research interests are in Ubuntu philosophy, a model that advocates for transformation and diversity in the field of nursing in South Africa and in the continent. The Ubuntu model is carried out by involving community members in participatory action research. The main goal of engaging community members is to teach them about the importance of being involved in the healthcare system and contributing to interventions that may be used to care for their societies. Prof Mulaudzi uses participatory action research to integrate teaching and learning, research, and community engagement.

Professor Juergen Richt: Recognition of NRF A-rating

Prof Richt is an Extraordinary Lecturer in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, as well as a Regents and Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University in the USA.

Prof Richt is a veterinary microbiologist specialising in infectious agents with emerging and zoonotic potential, including diseases such as animal influenza. His research group has developed a number of models, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tools for domestic and wild animals.

Bertus van Heerden: Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers

Van Heerden is a student in his final year of his doctoral studies in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, under the supervision of Professor Tjaart Krüger. His PhD is supported by the NRF through its postgraduate scholarship programme.

Van Heerden is one of the top achieving students in the Department of Physics. Although a student, he has shown a considerable dedication to research and displayed the necessary drive at being a highly productive and innovative scientist. While completing his BSc honours degree, Van Heerden started developing data analysis software, which formed an important part of a project that was published in Nanoscale. He extended his data analysis software in subsequent years and published it on an online repository. Postgraduate students working in the department’s single-molecule spectroscopy setup utilise this software extensively.

Besides the software development, van Heerden has also published a first-author peer reviewed SPIE conference proceedings paper based on his MSc research. His initial PhD research has been published in two first-author peer-reviewed papers in The Journal of Chemical Physics and Small.