Folweni PhD student bags research award
Nomthandazo Sibiya was awarded on the strength of her master's degree research.
NOMTHANDAZO Sibiya, who is a Durban University of Technology (DUT) PhD candidate from Folweni, is over the moon after recently being awarded for her stellar research in science.
The chemical engineering student received a Research Excellence award for Next Generation Researchers at the National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards gala event held at Zimbali recently. This year, the awards were held under the theme: Celebrating 20 Years of the SKA Project in South Africa.
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Nomthandazo was selected to receive the award based on her master’s degree research which was titled, ‘Treatment of Industrial Effluent Using Specialised Magnetised Coagulants’. She is currently doing her first year of doctoral studies.
“On July 12, the NRF sent me an awarding letter and told me to keep it confidential until it was awarded. I shared the news with my husband, as well as my supervisor, Prof Rathilal, my mentor, Dr Emmanuel Tetteh, and my close sister, Gloria Amo-Duodu, because I could not hold the excitement,” she said.
In 2018, Nomthandazo obtained her BTech Degree in Chemical Engineering Cum Laude from DUT. She further attained her Master of Engineering (MEng) Cum Laude with the Dean’s Merit last year. She has an international research experience as an Erasmus+ exchange candidate at the University of Valladolid in Spain. She also holds a Lean Six Sigma white belt and has a Certificate in Project Management. For her PhD, her research focuses on the removal of heavy metals from wastewater using hybridised absorbents.
Her advice to learners and tertiary students who want to succeed is for them to follow their dreams and to love what they do.
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