Prof Andrew McKechnie, Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology and the holder of the South African Research Chair in Conservation Physiology (co-hosted by the South African National Biodiversity Institute and UP), was recently awarded a prestigious A2-rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF), becoming the eighth A-rated researcher currently in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS).

Another feather in the cap for the Faculty is Dr Daniel Hart, also from the Department of Zoology and Entomology, who received a P-rating, with Prof Mike Wingfield, Founding Director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)) and Advisor to the UP Executive, receiving his A1-rating for the sixth consecutive time.

Prof McKechnie states, “Receiving an A-rating is my major career highlight. I am thrilled that the research programme I have built with my collaborators, postdocs and students has been recognised in this way. It is deeply gratifying to know that colleagues worldwide consider our work at the field's cutting edge. Climate change has profound negative impacts on global biodiversity, and I am one of many scientists trying to predict (and hopefully, find ways to mitigate) these effects on birds and other animals. Receiving this rating tells me that my team and I are making a difference,” Prof McKechnie said.

As a thermal physiologist by training, he co-leads the Hot Birds Research Project (HBRP), a research programme that seeks to understand and predict the impacts of climate change on birds both within southern Africa and globally. The physiological and behavioural focus of the HBRP has expanded in recent years to include new areas such as biophysical modelling, ecotoxicology, vegetation modelling and molecular work on heat shock proteins. No fewer than four PhD graduates from the HBRP have gone on to permanent academic positions at research-intensive South African universities. Prof McKechnie’s outputs include ~170 papers in peer-reviewed journals, which over the last five years have included papers in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications and Science. He is a Subject Editor for the high-impact journal Global Change Biology and serves on two IUCN Species Survival Commission specialist groups. An elected Honorary Fellow of the American Ornithological Society since 2022, he is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and a Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Dr Hart was also elated about the fantastic news. ”Receiving a P-rating is profoundly meaningful to me on both a personal and professional level. It marks the culmination of an eight-year journey defined by dedication, perseverance, and the unwavering support of my mentors, especially Prof Nigel Bennett, to whom I am deeply grateful,” Dr Hart said.

“Personally, it reflects years of sacrifice, not only my own, but also that of my loved ones, as I remained focused on achieving this long-term goal. Professionally, it is a significant honour to be recognised by a panel of national and international experts in my field. I hope this recognition will help elevate the profile of African mammals as a vital source of evolutionary insight, conservation importance, and biomedical promise,” Dr Hart concluded.

Dr Hart received the NSTF TW Kambule-NSTF Award for Emerging Researchers for 2022/2023. This award recognises significant research contributions and outputs within the first six years of a research career, primarily conducted in South Africa. In 2024, he was appointed full-time lecturer in the Department of Zoology and Entomology. His recent work has been published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals including Science, Nature Aging, and Nature Communications.

Prof Wingfield shared that he received his first NRF rating – a President’s award (P) in 1988, amazingly 37 years ago. He noted that having been through the NRF rating system eight times and received an A-rating six consecutive times felt somewhat unreal, yet appreciated.  He explained that the rating system and, particularly, the funding associated with NRF ratings have changed dramatically over the years to a point where they provide little financial support for research.  “I view this as most unfortunate, as this has drawn substantially away from the value of the awards, particularly for early and mid-career researchers. That said, “NRF ratings remain a valuable mechanism for South African universities to evaluate the quality of research by their academic staff members. In this regard, I am happy to be able to contribute somewhat to the research stature of the University.” He added, “I am very grateful to the reviewers of my documents for their support and the time they have contributed to the evaluation process. Likewise, I am grateful to the University for its support, the superb leadership team and the students of FABI, who have provided me with the basis to continue pursuing my passion for research.”

“At the start of the period during which I have now been rated, I stepped down in 2018 as Director of FABI to be an Advisor to the Executive of UP and continue my research in the Institute. I have continued to conduct research on tree health in South Africa and globally for the past seven years.  One of the highlights of this period was receiving the 2022 Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award, which allowed me to pursue a project related to two human pathogenic fungi associated with trees, for which funding had not previously been available. While the Oppenheimer funding was available for only two years, the results have been far greater than I could ever have imagined. These have already begun to leverage new funding for FABI and other research colleagues. During this period, I also completed an approximately 20-year role as a member of the Executive of the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO), ending my five-year term as Immediate Past President at the IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm during June 2024.” He added, “IUFRO is the oldest scientific Union in the world, representing some 20 000 forest scientists globally and has contributed hugely to my research and that of many of my colleagues and students”

Prof Wingfield concluded, “I anticipate continuing my research with a group of remarkably talented postgraduate students and colleagues in FABI. Many important questions relating to the health of trees globally fascinate me, and I look forward to working on some of these in the coming years. I am also passionately committed to pursuing every possible opportunity to promote research excellence at UP, directly as an advisor to UP Executive and through mentorship of young faculty and students.”

The strong research ethos of the Faculty is re-emphasised by the fact that more than 200 NAS scientists are formally recognised by the (NRF) peer evaluation system for the high quality and impact of their research, nationally and internationally. Many of our academics and researchers are internationally recognised as leaders in their respective fields. The Faculty currently boast eight NRF A-rated researchers: Prof Nigel Bennett, Prof Don Cowan,  Prof Pedro Crous, Prof Andrew McKechnie, Prof James Raftery, Prof Yves Van de Peer, Prof Brenda Wingfield and Prof Mike Wingfield.

A-rating
Researchers who their peers unequivocally recognise as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs.
A1-researcher is recognised as a leading scholar in their field internationally for the high quality and broad impact (i.e. beyond a narrow field of specialisation) of their recent research outputs.
A2-researcher is recognised as a leading scholar in their field internationally for the high quality and impact (either wide or confined) of their recent research outputs.

P-rating
Young researchers (usually younger than 35 years of age), who have held the doctorate or equivalent qualification for less than five years at the time of application and who, based on exceptional potential demonstrated in their published doctoral work and/or their research outputs in their early postdoctoral careers are considered likely to become future international leaders in their field.
Researchers in this group are recognised as having demonstrated the potential of becoming future international leaders in their field based on exceptional research performance and output from their doctoral and/or early postdoctoral research careers.