The Department of Earth Sciences under the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture recently hosted a DSI-NRF-Centre of Excellence for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA) Stakeholder Engagement Workshop, and a Public Lecture held at the University of Venda (Agri–Hall). The workshop brought together esteemed guests, scholars, and students in a collaborative atmosphere to discuss the impact and future directions of CIMERA-funded projects.
Prof Lutendo C Murulana (Deputy Dean, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture)
Prof Lutendo C Murulana (Deputy Dean, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture) warmly welcomed all distinguished guests and attendees. His opening remarks set a tone of excitement and anticipation, highlighting the university’s commitment to fostering academic excellence through strategic partnerships. He expressed the faculty’s appreciation of the support that the DSI-NRF-CIMERA has over the years extended to the students in the Department of Earth Sciences especially, in the Mining and Environmental Geology programme.
The Head of Earth Sciences Department, Dr. Mhlongo presented an overview of the Department of Earth Sciences. Prof. J.O. Ogola, the Adjunct Professor in the department stressed the long-standing relationship between the University of Venda and DSI-NRF-CIMERA. A presentation by the Director at CIMERA, Prof. Nikki Wagner, provided an insightful overview of CIMERA with a special emphasis on the background of the Center, its achievements, and its future goals. She further, underscored the critical need to address the supervision capacity challenges faced by universities, advocating for increased collaboration among institutions to overcome this hurdle.
Prof Nikki Wagner (Director, DSI-NRF- CIMERA)
The workshop also featured a public lecture that was presented by Prof Susan Webb who is the Co-Director of CIMERA and a scholar from the University of the Witwatersrand. The topic of the lecture was “Modelling and Drilling the Largest Magma Chamber on Earth: Integrating Geophysical and Drilling Data for a Better Understanding of Bushveld Complex Geometry.” The lecture provided a fascinating glimpse into the complexities of one of the Earth’s most significant geological structures, emphasising the importance of integrating various data sources for comprehensive geological analysis.
On the left photo: Prof Susan Webb as she delivers a public lecture at the University of Venda
The event ended with a tour of the facilities in the Department of Earth Science’s laboratories, where the guests had an opportunity to see some of the equipment and resources currently available for research and teaching within the Department.
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