Despite the arctic weather conditions, an impressive number of people came out to listen to Dr. Mathew Moodley (Senior lecturer at the School for Chemistry and Physics, Westville University of KZN) gave us some insight into the world of research into how new materials are being developed in ways that we would have considered impossible a few years ago.
Hennie Prinsloo and Dr. Mathew Moodley.
In his presentation, Dr. Moodley introduced the audience to this huge area of research called nanoscience and nanotechnology and explained why, on the nanoscale, the properties of materials we are all familiar with behave differently and have practical applications in modern devices such as solar cells, computer chips and chemical sensors. While the field of materials is huge, he focused the talk on his research area on his work on carbon and boron and gave examples of the different characteristics of their allotropes.
Members of the new MUT Student Chapter which was formed by Prof. Ralph Naidoo. This chapter is a non-profit membership organisation dedicated to promoting professionalism among automation and control engineering students and is a student chapter affiliated with the Society of Automation, Instrumentation, Measurement and Control.
Mathew explained how a high-powered laser is being used in an ultra-high vacuum chamber to deposit atomic thickness layers of materials onto a substrate in order to build up materials that can exhibit physical characteristics that differ according to the plane in which they are examined.
These new advances already play a massive role in our daily lives and can, when developed on a commercial scale, result in further exciting (and very profitable) opportunities. New developments in materials and deposition techniques have, in turn, enabled the development of many devices that we now take for granted.
It was a fascinating topic which was excellently presented and well received by those present.
SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event: Bridging the industry/education divide
SAIMC
Horst Weinert, head of Didactic at Festo Southern/Eastern Africa, will be sharing some of Festo’s Didactic experiences of working across industry and education. He will cover training for productivity and employability in the public and private sectors, discussing especially the potential for inter-company training centres.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The local Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC recently hosted a Technology Evening at Bryanston Sports Club on 9 April 2025.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The April technology meeting for the Durban branch of the SAIMC was kindly sponsored by ProRisk, a subsidiary company of the Proconics Group of Companies. Process safety engineer, Guillaume de Swardt gave a fascinating presentation on the power of operational risk control by utilising CFD software.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council started 2025 with its first event in the ‘Knowlege Sharing 4 Industry’ event series on the 19th of March.
Read more...Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry
SAIMC
In proud partnership with Innomotics, SAIMC will be hosting the first Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event for 2025.
Read more...Getting your OT data into the cloud – the why and the how
SAIMC
As users recognise the benefits of a digital transformation strategy for their industrial plants and systems and start to adopt it, they soon face the challenge of getting operational technology data securely and reliably to a cloud service provider of their choice.
Read more...SAIMC training at AATF 2025 empowers engineers to register, comply and advance SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Computer Engineering (SAIMC) will deliver a powerful series of training sessions and technical workshops during the Africa Automation Technology Fair (AATF) 2025, providing engineers, technologists and technicians with the tools they need to register professionally, stay compliant, and lead industrial innovation.
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