News


Winners of National Instruments 2003 academic competition

May 2004 News

National Instruments (NI) South Africa hosts an annual academic competition, where engineering students from South Africa's leading academic institutions are invited to submit papers detailing how they incorporated National Instruments' LabVIEW into their projects.

The first place winner, Geoff Miller, walked away with the grand individual prize of a Palm Pilot, and secured NI products to the value of R50 000 for his academic institution, the University of Cape Town.

Geoff developed and built a combustion bomb for fuels research. The primary goal of his project was to develop a research instrument that would enable optical access to study combustion events and fuel sprays. LabVIEW was used to control and record several aspects of its operation.

National Instruments' branch manager, Michael Hutton, recently presented a LabVIEW departmental licence to Paul Schaberg, Geoff's thesis supervisor, and senior lecturer at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Cape Town.

Schaberg thanked NI for the support that they were giving to academic institutions and commented that they were looking forward to winning the first prize again in the 2004 Academic Competition. "LabVIEW is an excellent tool that enables us to spend considerably less time on developing instrumentation, and more time doing research. The award of the LabVIEW Departmental Licence will allow many more student projects to benefit from the increased productivity that LabVIEW offers," said Schaberg.

"The response to our competition was incredible, with some diverse projects across the engineering science spectrum being submitted. These competitions show our strong commitment to working with academic institutions, and we look forward to evaluating the 2004 submissions," said Hutton.

Willem Krige, Michael Brooks and David Bezuidenhout, students of the Cape Technikon, the University of Stellenbosch, and the Peninsula Technikon, respectively, were the runners-up in the 2003 competition, and were awarded NI software packages. The National Instruments' 2004 Academic Competition is under way, and all South African engineering students are invited to submit their project papers.

For more information contact Michael Hutton, National Instruments SA, 011 805 8197, [email protected], www.ni.com/southafrica





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.

Read more...
Festo 100th Anniversary: Celebrating a century-long legacy of innovation and commitment
News
Festo has officially begun celebrating 100 years of groundbreaking technology, commitment and enduring partnerships. To kick off this historic milestone celebration, their Customer Innovation Day and ThankYou Party series brought together customers, partners and employees to reflect on their journey and look ahead to an

Read more...
Bearings International fosters dynamic customer partnerships
News
Bearings International has consistently set the benchmarks in innovation and excellence as a leading distributor of bearings, power transmission and interconnected mechanical consumables that sustainably facilitate and optimise operations for mining and industrial customers across Southern Africa.

Read more...
Innomotics and Danfoss Drives strengthen partnership to deliver comprehensive motor and drive solutions
News
Innomotics and Danfoss Drives have announced the next phase of their strategic, non-exclusive partnership. This collaboration is designed to meet the growing demand for comprehensive motor and drive solutions, ensuring customers receive high-quality, efficient and compatible products

Read more...
Africa’s industrial revolution accelerates
News
As Africa undergoes a rapid industrial transformation, AATF Connect 2025 emerges as the premier platform to showcase innovation, drive collaboration, and spark discussions that will shape the continent’s industrial future.

Read more...
From the editor's desk: A good servant and a bad master
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control) News
In our new AI-generated world it was inevitable that the Nobel Committee would have noticed. And last November two pioneers of artificial intelligence, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, won the Nobel Prize ...

Read more...
Festo 100th Anniversary: Celebrating a century-long legacy of innovation and commitment
Festo South Africa News
Festo has officially begun celebrating 100 years of groundbreaking technology, commitment and enduring partnerships. To kick off this historic milestone celebration, their Customer Innovation Day and ThankYou Party series brought together customers, partners and employees to reflect on their journey and look ahead to an exciting future.

Read more...
German Chancellor visits Beckhoff at Hannover Messe
Beckhoff Automation News
As part of the traditional Hannover Messe opening tour, Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz visited German company, Beckhoff Automation. Hans Beckhoff, managing director and owner of Beckhoff Automation, presented his company and its comprehensive expertise in the field of software and AI.

Read more...
Iritron celebrates 25 years of excellence
Iritron News
When Iritron, a leading provider of engineering and industrial solutions was founded in 2000, it was on the principles of exceptional service and lasting part-nerships. Today, Iritron has grown from a small team of four into a company of over 120 employees, serving clients across South Africa and beyond.

Read more...
A racing partnership
SKF South Africa News
In one of motorsport’s most demanding arenas, a partnership forged in engineering precision and high-performance ambition has proven its worth. SKF, a global leader in bearing technology and innovation, celebrated a remarkable milestone in partnership with SVR Toyota GAZOO Racing, taking second position overall at the 2025 Dakar Rally.

Read more...