UJ Lecturer makes history

[LazyLion]

A University of Johannesburg lecturer has become the first woman in Africa to be awarded a doctoral degree in experimental physics of highly correlated matter, the university said on Monday.

Buyisiwe Sondezi was awarded a PhD for her research on quantum criticality in matter, which is a quantum mechanical property that characterises the birth of collective behaviour in matter at extremely low temperatures, said Prof Andre Strydom.

He supervised her doctoral studies.

"The research direction for Dr Sondezi's thesis draws a great deal of attention worldwide, because it is widely recognised as a frontier in the physics of highly correlated matter," Strydom said in a statement.

Explaining the research, Sondezi said: "Simply put, the study is based on researching and finding new physics on rare-earth compounds at low temperatures. This fundamental study opens up new interesting physics and properties of materials at ultra-low temperatures."

She acquired her doctorate through the University of Johannesburg.


Source : Sapa /nsm/ks/th
Date : 20 Oct 2014 15:37

 

[LazyLion]

I bet she makes some damn good quantum sandwiches!

 

[TehStranger]

...research on quantum criticality in matter, which is a quantum mechanical property that characterises the birth of collective behaviour in matter at extremely low temperatures...

Come again?

 

[Ninja'd]

That was like reading one of Paul Hjul's posts.

 

[ShaunSA]

That was like reading one of Paul Hjul's posts.

See even you can correlate

Congrats Ms Sondezi!

 

[yebocan]

pffft....Dr Grace Mugabe will soon overtake this upstart....- all crap and lols aside...congrats Dr Buyisiwe Sondezi .... give the lady a bells and nice hefty grant...

 

[XennoX]

See even you can correlate

Congrats Dr Sondezi!

FTFY.

 

[Ninja'd]

See even you can correlate

Thanks


Hey wait a minute

 

[TooFastTim]

I bet she makes some damn good quantum sandwiches!

I think that's what is meant by "white tendencies". It could easily be misunderstood as patronizing. Perhaps you might want to edit your posting?

Good on ya Dr Sondezi.

 

[Sherbang]

I bet she makes some damn good quantum sandwiches!

What do you mean? I don't get it...

 

[LaraC]

Congratulations Dr Sondezi.

Does anyone know what the application for this field of study could be or is theoretical in nature?

 

[Xino_sam]

Congratulations Dr Sondezi.

Does anyone know what the application for this field of study could be or is theoretical in nature?

Experiments will work quite well where it is cold? North & South Pole? hehehe - nope I really do not know.

 

[TooFastTim]

Congratulations Dr Sondezi.

Does anyone know what the application for this field of study could be or is theoretical in nature?

Research at this, fundamental, level may not yield practical applications for decades. But eventually it will. Without a crystal ball we don't know what form that will take. It's like finding the Higgs Boson. We know it's there now but we don't know what we can do with it.

 

[Xino_sam]

Well done Dr Sondezi.

IOL must catch a wake-up, shouldn't the Dr's pic be next to the article?
http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/uj-lecturer-makes-history-1.1767906#.VEUlo1c0-y4

 

[LaraC]

Experiments will work quite well where it is cold? North & South Pole? hehehe - nope I really do not know.

Hi Xino_sam, I think the Doctor will prefer to work in environments that is a bit colder than that.

 

[LaraC]

Research at this, fundamental, level may not yield practical applications for decades. But eventually it will. Without a crystal ball we don't know what form that will take. It's like finding the Higgs Boson. We know it's there now but we don't know what we can do with it.

My first thoughts were superconductors and propulsion systems. However you may be correct and only the future will tell.

 

[TooFastTim]

Well "we" knew about superconductivity in 1911 but it took decades before it was practical.

I suppose it's a bit like a dog with a bicycle. No idea what to do with it until it moves. Then the dog tries to eat a tyre

 

[Nicodeamus]

Well "we" knew about superconductivity in 1911 but it took decades before it was practical.

I suppose it's a bit like a dog with a bicycle. No idea what to do with it until it moves. Then the dog tries to eat a tyre

When I started working in a research lab, I asked the one doctor why the hell he was doing experiment A. He got mad and told me "Who the hell are you to even ask such a question?" Which is a common response among researches and scientists. We might or might not use these things in the future.

 

[Kornhub]

Brilliant

 

[TooFastTim]

When I started working in a research lab, I asked the one doctor why the hell he was doing experiment A. He got mad and told me "Who the hell are you to even ask such a question?" Which is a common response among researches and scientists. We might or might not use these things in the future.

That's a bit harsh. He should have taken the time to explain what and why. In my experience if I ask a scientist working in a field related to my own but not my own the scientist will go to great lengths to explain what and why even reducing the topic to its LCD for my benefit. I hope I always have the time and patience to reciprocate.

Brian Cox has made a doco explaining the difference between pure research and commercially driven research. In it he draws the viewers attention to the fact that much commercially driven research yields data that is not pertinent to the commercial goals and this data is discarded which is a pity because it could be valuable elsewhere and in a totally unrelated or unexpected direction.