Upcoming Events
2024 Postgraduate Student Workshop
The 2024 ChromsSA Postgraduate Student Workshop was held at the Department of Chemical
Sciences, University of Johannesburg on Wednesday 23 October.
The chairperson of ChormSA, Prof ML Madikizele, opened the workshop and thanked the students and supervisors for responding to the call and registering to participate in the workshop. He further highlighted the importance of the workshop as a platform to promote chromatography and its applications as an analytical technique in different fields, and as a platform to facilitate knowledge sharing, student training, and networking, among others.
Thirty-one (31) guests were in attendance including students, academics and industry colleagues. Student presentations consisted of one MSc student, Molamodi Ramahala (Wits), and four PhD students; (Celia Muzeza (UNISA), Samuel Makobe (UJ), Sabetha Makoma Mapetla (Wits), and Miss Monique Labuschagne (NWU). After the student presentations were completed, a Special Lecture was then presented by Prof Patricia Forbes under the subject “Life and Times of a Processional Chemist”. This lecture highlighted, among other issues, the importance of ethical conduct in the daily practices of chemists – from data acquisition to reporting. This lecture was well received by the audience and was followed by a broad discussion on this subject.
Before the workshop was wrapped up, a Panel of Judges presented a detailed feedback report which was directed mainly to the students who were presented. This was a coaching and mentoring session where strong points, as well as areas of improvement, were pointed out for the presenters and supervisors to note. Finally, the judges announced the winners and two prizes were awarded: second place was Monique Labuschagne (North-West University) and the first prize went to to Samuel Makobe (University of Johannesburg).
PAST EVENTS
ANALITIKA CONFERNENCE 2024
10-14 March 2024
Analitika 2024, held from March 10-14, was a significant event in the field of chromatography and analytical science. Hosted at the Champagne Sports Resort, the conference featured a blend of keynote addresses, plenary sessions, oral presentations, and networking opportunities.
Day 1 Highlights (March 10, 2024):
Registration and Welcome: Participants were greeted with a registration session in the afternoon followed by arrival cocktails and a dinner, setting a relaxed and welcoming tone for the event.
Day 2 Highlights (March 11, 2024):
Welcome Address: Lawrence Madikizela kicked off the event with a welcome address.
Plenary Session: Deirdré Cabooter delivered an insightful plenary on multi-dimensional liquid chromatography for environmental analysis.
Oral Presentations: Topics ranged from medicinal plant research to advanced chromatography techniques for environmental applications.
Poster Sessions: The afternoon featured a poster session showcasing cutting-edge research.
AGM and Cultural Performance: The day concluded with the ChromSA AGM followed by a performance by the Drakensberg Boys' Choir and a welcome function at the pool deck.
Day 3 Highlights (March 12, 2024):
Plenary Session: Perdita Barran presented on mass spectrometry innovations.
Oral Presentations: Topics included emerging contaminants, PFAS detection, and advancements in analytical techniques.
Keynote Address: André Venter discussed amino acids in protein analysis.
Poster Sessions and Refreshments: Attendees engaged in poster sessions and networking breaks.
Evening Braai: A traditional South African braai was held at the pool deck, providing a relaxed networking environment.
Day 4 Highlights (March 13, 2024):
Plenary Session: Len Barbour presented on tools for analyzing porous materials.
Oral Presentations: Subjects included metal extraction, water quality data analysis, and innovative nanocomposites.
Poster Session and Refreshments: Additional poster presentations were featured along with refreshments.
AGMs: SAAMS and ThermSA held their AGMs.
Gala Dinner: The day ended with a formal gala dinner, celebrating the achievements and fostering community.
Day 5 Highlights (March 14, 2024):
Plenary Session: Frédéric Lynen discussed advances in liquid chromatography.
Oral Presentations: Topics included electrochemical sensors, nanocomposite membranes, and extraction media.
Analitika Games and Awards: The event concluded with interactive games and prize distributions, followed by closing remarks.
Analitika 2024 was a successful gathering of experts and researchers in the field of analytical science. The diverse program, featuring groundbreaking research and ample networking opportunities, fostered collaboration and innovation in the field of chromatography. The event's success sets a high standard for future conferences.
PAST EVENTS
CHROMSA POSTGRADUATE STUDENT WORKSHOP
21 September 2023
As part of an initiative to promote chromatography-related research, ChromSA held the 2023
edition of the postgraduate student workshop at the University of Pretoria’s Sanlum
Auditorium on 21 September. The aim of the workshop was to promote chromatography and
present a platform where students can present their chromatography-related research to a
diverse audience consisting of fellow students and supervisors from different institutions,
industry experts, and a panel of judges. Some of the benefits of such a platform to students
involve (i) an opportunity to showcase their work, (ii) getting inputs, tips and tricks from a
diverse audience including experts in the field (iii) sharpening science communication skills,
and (iv) networking.
This year, the workshop was a great success with five MSc and nine PhD students selected
to give presentations and a large and diverse audience of attendees. While few students
couldn’t present due to various reasons, the presentations that were head were of very high
quality and standard – as attested to by the judges – and stimulated a lot of interest and
discussion in the audience during the question and answer sessions. Broadly, the talks
highlighted chromatographic method development and application across themes like
environmental monitoring and phytochemical screening, with chemometrics featuring across
all themes.
To top it all up, the last presentation was a Special Invited Talk titled “Life After University”
which was given by Sonja Oosthuizen from PerknElever. Sonja’s talk was well received by
the students as she gave an industry perspective on the possible career pathways they can
pursue after completing their postgraduate studies. For ChromSA, it was important to have
such a talk in the programme as it positions chromatography as more than just an academic
exercise, but a specialisation that one can make a career out of.
To wrap up the day, the panel of judges gave comprehensive feedback to the student –
highlighting the things they were doing right and more importantly, areas they needed to
improve on an general tips on improving their science communication skills. In the end,
judges had to select winners from the two categories. In the MSc category, Mashilo
Ronnie Kgosana (TUT) won the first place price and Ronewa Netshithothole (UNISA) was
the runner-up. In the PhD category, Ramoagi Segone (TUT) won in first place, while
Ndumiso Mofokeng (Wits) was the runner-up.
PAST EVENTS
COMBINED FLUORESCENT MEASUREMENTS, PARALLEL FACTOR ANALYSIS AND GC-MASS SPECTROMETRY IN EVALUATING THE PHOTODEGRADATION OF PAHS IN FRESHWATER SYSTEMS
BY
DR MATHAPELO P SEOPELA
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Thursday 19 August 2021
PAST EVENTS
SAVED BY THE SMELL: USING CHEMICAL SIGNALS TO PROTECT PREDATORS AND LIVESTOCK
BY DR PETER APPS BIOBOUNDARY LABORATORY, BOTSWANA PREDATOR CONSERVATION TRUST
Thursday 13 May 2021
Dr Peter Apps presented a fascinating online talk on how artificial chemical signals can be used to protect livestock from predators. If you missed it, find the YouTube video of his talk on how he used GC-MS to identify these important chemicals below.