What does a librarian from Belarus, an engineer from Russia, a piano teacher from the Ukraine, a business owner with roots in Lesotho and an aspiring South African actress have to do with wine-making efforts at Stellenbosch University?

They are all dedicated members of the sensory panels based at the Department of Viticulture and Oenology (DVO). For three mornings per week they literally 'put to the test' the end results of many a student or researcher's hard work. They evaluate and describe how the wines that have been made for research projects smell, taste and look. Their job is all about finding out what the influence is of various viticulture and winemaking techniques and treatments on the end product, and in some cases also what consumer preferences are. The data is then statistically analysed, to add weight to various research efforts.

The wines made in the Institute for Wine Biotechnology as well as the Department are often the culmination of years of hard work and sizeable investment from industry and other funders. The success of these research projects in most cases hinge on the effects of the treatments of the wine, and whether these can be picked up by the consumer. This is where the input and feedback from the sensory evaluation panellists becomes critical.

Prof. Wessel du Toit and his post graduate students, for instance, use their wine profiling skills to, amongst other things investigate the effect of oxidation on the aroma profile of Sauvignon blanc wines.

The panel have also assisted Dr Hélène Nieuwoudt to develop faster and cheaper sensory methods with which to rate Chenin Blanc, and PhD student Megan Whitener with the metabolomic profiling of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in wine. As part of her PhD work, DVO staff member Jeanne Brand is using the panel's fine senses to help evaluate and modify the rapid sensory methods used for wine analysis.

Brand has been involved in training and running the sensory panel since its formal inception three years ago in the Department. "The need for the panel's services has since grown so much that another 10-person unit had to be recruited," she adds.

The new panel started their training and work in September, under guidance of Valeria Panzeri. New staff members that are funded by the Institute for Grape and Wine Sciences (IGWS), Olwethu Fana and Wandisa Maxiti also support the Sensory unit and training.

The room in the Neethling Building in which they put their sensory skills to the test is especially kitted out for this purpose, with tasting booths and many wine glasses at hand. Initially data was captured by hand, but the panels are now moving over to a computerised system thanks to the IGWS.

"It definitely has benefits to have such a cosmopolitan group at hand," says Brand. Between them the panellists are able to distinguish a wide range of aromas and tastes, depending what they grew up with. Panellists from the Northern Hemisphere, for instance, pick up on berry aromas and tastes more easily. On the other hand, guavas are not fruit they are familiar with, as the South African panellists are!

Photo caption:

Among the members of the sensory panels are (in front) Kim Messina, Jeanne Brand, Olwethu Fana, (second row), Rochelle Elliott, Duncan Thokoane, Beatrix Selb, Svitlana Neill (sitting), Larisa Grigorieva (sitting), Jaydene van Rooyen, Carla Weightman, (back row) , Elena Kuehl and Stephan Steyn. Photo: Engela Duvenage

• By Engela Duvenage

​​ It is with great sadness that Stellenbosch University heard about the passing of Prof André P Brink, award winning writer and academic, on Friday evening (6 February 2015).

"He was highly regarded worldwide, and we were privileged that he often shared his knowledge and insight with our students, personnel and the general public," said Prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen, acting Rector and Vice Chancellor. 

"Our sincere condolences to his loved ones.​"

​In May 2001 Brink delivered SU’s 8th DJ Opperman memorial lecture. He compiled various editions of the Groot Verseboek after Opperman’s death. 

He was also a regular at the SU Woordfees - either as participant or author of works under discussion or on stage. ​Click here for a video interview with Brink.

At this year's Woordfees Brink will be honoured with amongst others a special tribute after the writer's festival in the Book Tent on Saturday, 14 March at 16:30.

"He brought an amazing energy to​ the Afrikaans and South African literature. His versatility made him unique. He inspired people to read and to think," said Ms Saartjie Botha, Director of the SU Woordfees.

Prof Louise Viljoen, Chairperson of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch at SU, said Brink made a tremendous contribution to South African literature. 

"He was a great figure, and his departure is an immense loss. Not only was he one of the 'Sestigers' who brought about a revival in Afrikaans literature, but he was best known as an involved writer, someone who always highlighted the political and social issues of the day in his literary and academic works.

"He was opposed to apartheid and social injustice - and this continued after South Africa's political transition in 1994.

"He was one of the first Afrikaans writers whose works were banned in the apartheid years. His novel, Kennis van die aand, was banned in 1974 because it portrayed a love affair across the colour line and was very critical of apartheid.

"He became known worldwide, as evidenced by the fact that his works, such as Gerugte van Reën (1978) and ʼn Droë wit seisoen (1979), were translated into 30 languages.

"But his contribution goes beyond literature. He also produced outstanding academic work - theoretical contributions still of benefit to students. He wrote, among others, certain standard works on drama and the art of storytelling, and to this day the work that he did as a critic, is still making an impact. Students are also still studying reviews that he wrote in the 80s and 90s.

"He often spoke at SU. He was a generous and liberal writer and academic who was always more than willing to share his knowledge with students and colleagues."​

​

Chantelle Pretorius completed an MSc in Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University in 2012 and immediately started working at Kapa Biosystems in Cape Town. Kapa Biosystems is a biomedical research firm with their head office in the SA, offices in the USA and UK and distributors of their products all over the world. She agreed to answer a few of our questions:

What and when did you study? 

I completed the following degrees at Stellenbosch University: BSc Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (2009) (Cum Laude); BSc Hons Biochemistry (2010) (Cum Laude) and MSc Biochemistry (2012)

What was your work experience prior to applying for a job?

I had no professional job experience before I started working at Kapa Biosystems. I only tutored and mentored groups of students at the university.

What is your current employment?

I am the Supply Chain Manager at Kapa Biosystems and based at their production facility in Cape Town. I am responsible for the monitoring of every aspect of the company's purchasing, distributing, inventory flow and demand forecasting for Finished Goods. I plan, schedule and monitor daily manufacturing activities for the component manufacturing department and arrange weekly shipments of Finished Goods to distribute inventory between all the Kapa offices. I am applying my knowledge and background in Biochemistry and experience at a research facility to understand the applications of all products manufactured and sold by Kapa Biosystems as well as the implications to customer satisfaction if products are not of a high quality or if delivery is delayed. Kapa Biosystems products have applications in medical research and diagnostics. The Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), Quantitative PCR and PCR markets in which Kapa operates are fast-moving and customers are results driven and have high expectations with regards to product quality and sample throughput.

How did you get the job?

During the last few months of my MSc, I applied for the position of Bulk Manufacturing Scientist that was advertised on Kapa Biosystems' website. I worked in this position for 18 months where I was responsible for the physical bulk manufacturing of all Kapa products i.e. Stock solutions, Buffers and ReadyMixes. In February 2014 I was promoted to Bulk Manufacturing Manager for 10 months where I managed the Bulk Manufacturing department by leading a team of 3 scientists and planning and coordinating daily manufacturing activities. In January this year (2015) I was again promoted to a new position, Supply Chain Manager.

What is exciting about your work?

I get to be myself. I am a perfectionist and like to plan and organise things. My current position allows me to do just that and my fellow colleagues share the same personality traits.

Your advice to students who are entering the job market:

Prepare well for interviews and be yourself. 

What would you have done differently during your years at university?

I would have used some of my spare time to complete additional short courses like project management, supply chain management and people management.

When Maties doctoral student Chris Broeckhoven heard he has to build a shelter out on the West Coast to observe the lizards he is so passionate about, he thought no way was he going to sit in the blazing heat of the African sun for 365 days.

"I'm very technologically-orientated, so I thought it makes sense to make use of what is already out there. The Cape Leopard Trust has shown that infrared cameras are effective in recording animals' behaviour. But lizards are cold-blooded, so I had to find a supersensitive alternative," Chris explains.

It took some persuasion, however, to convince his study leader, Prof Le Fras Mouton from the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University, that his techno-contraption was going to work.

Chris sourced ten cameras with a very long battery life which could also handle extreme summer heat from the United States. On a private farm on the West Coast, he positioned five of the cameras to face the rocks where a group of armadillo lizards (Ouroborus cataphractus) lived. The other five cameras were randomly placed at the field site to find out which predators are present and when they are mostly active.

"The cameras facing the rocks had two tasks," Chris explains, "the important one was to take images at fixed intervals of five minutes for 13 hours a day for 365 days. The second was to take pictures of everything moving in front of the lens, as I did not want to miss out on predators, lizards fighting, mating and eating."

More than 580 000 pictures later, he identified 220 000 images that he could use for analysing lizard activity. The other pictures were of sheep, grass moving in the wind, and some more sheep.

With all this photographic data, Chris has overturned a few deep rooted assumptions in herpetology about lizard behaviour: "In many studies researchers assume that temperature has the biggest effect on all lizards' behaviour. I have managed to show that, in the case of the armadillo lizard, lifestyle issues such as competition for food and avoiding predators also play a decisive role in their behaviour."

Prof Mouton, who has over 20 years of experience studying lizards, says Chris succeeded in fitting the last outstanding pieces to the puzzle: "We know that the armadillo lizards have a unique social system. Unlike other lizards, which are mostly fast-moving and solitary, big groups of armadillo lizards live in the same rock crevice for many years. Chris has shown that a big group has the advantage of spotting a predator sooner, but it also increases competition for food," he explains.

The study found that the armadillo lizard's behaviour is largely selective and not only dependent on temperature: "Armadillo lizards feed on insects during spring because, as they are so heavily armoured and slow, the denser vegetation protects them from birds of prey. However, during summer when other lizards are most active, the armadillo lizards are inactive."

Prof Mouton says this behaviour must have developed over thousands of years as a survival strategy: "We observed that a group of armadillo lizards will even ignore insects during the dry season. It is simply not worth their while to fight over scarce food sources. However, during the dry season the lizards do occasionally leave their rocks to visit the foraging nests of harvester termites. Although it is a risky business, by doing so, they can lower the competition for food and live indefinitely in groups."

Chris, who will graduate with a PhD in March 2015, was awarded the prize for the best presentation by a doctoral student during the 12^th Conference of the Herpetological Association of Africa held at the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre in Namibia recently. The title of his talk was 'Effects of predation risk, competition and climatic factors on the activity patterns of Ouroborus cataphractus and Karusasaurus polyzonus (Squamata: Cordylidae). His research was partially funded by a National Geographic Young Explorers grant.

Photo: The armadillo lizard's signature move is its unique ability to bite its own tail and roll up into an impregnable ball of thorny prickles. While their armour protects them against small predators like meerkats and mongooses, it slows them down considerably, which makes them more vulnerable for attacks by birds of prey. Photo: le Fras Mouton

Contact details

Prof la Fras Mouton

Tel: 021 808-3227

E-mail: pnm@sun.ac.za

Mr Chris Broeckhoven

Tel: 021 808 2726

E-mail: cbroeck@sun.ac.za

​Issued by Wiida Fourie-Basson, Media: Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, 021 808 2684, science@sun.ac.za​

​​​A new exhibition on the history of Stellenbosch University (SU) will open at the University Museum, 52 Ryneveld Street, on 18 February 2015 at 18:00. The guest speaker at the official opening will be Prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen, SU's Acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

The exhibition, titled Universiteit Stellenbosch University: verlede hede toekoms / past present future, provides a concise overview of the history of the University since the inception of Stellenbosch Gymnasium in 1866 and Stellenbosch College in 1879, which became Victoria College in 1887. SU developed from Victoria College and was opened officially on 2 April 1918. The exhibition covers the period up to 2014.

"The history of the university buildings receives a considerable amount of attention, with a series of highlights from each of the ten decades since 1918 concerning events and developments at SU," says Prof Matilda Burden of the SU Museum, who researched, planned and installed the exhibition.

"Over and above those highlights, the exhibition covers subjects such as the current residences, student culture, student language, sports clubs and the current faculties and departments. In addition, there is a virtual tour of the campus and a map displaying the layout of the campus, elucidated with coloured lights."

A few interesting artefacts from academic departments that were used in teaching in years gone by are on exhibition, as well as a number of objects from three of the four oldest residences: Harmonie, Dagbreek and Monica.

• Enquiries: Prof Matilda Burden on tel: 021 808 2002  or e-mail: mb4@sun.ac.za.
  

​​​​​USB Advisory Board member, Professor Daniça Purg, who is also President of CEEMAN and Dean of IEDC-Bled School of Management, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014 by the Managers' Association of Slovenia.

This is the highest award in the field of management in Slovenia.

USB marketing director Dr Marietjie Wepener congratulated Prof Purg on behalf of USB. "We are always proud of the achievements of the USB family, of which the Advisory Board members form an important part," she said. "Prof Purg is a well-respected member of our board and we regard her achievement as a feather in the cap for USB too."

Prof Purg is considered to be one of the most prominent Slovenian women today.​

Prof Charlene Gerber has joined the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) in the position of associate professor.

She will teach Marketing alongside the head of the MBA programme, Prof Marlize Terblanche-Smit, as well as Research alongside Dr John Morrison and Jako Volschenk.

She said the most important thing that students will learn in her classroom is "to think outside of the box". She says this will teach them how to approach problems creatively when they are in a work environment.

Prof Gerber worked at Stellenbosch University's Department of Business Management from 2006 until the end of last year. ​​

​​USB's special 50-year commemorative book has just been received from the printers and is now available. The book celebrates five decades of milestones, people, stories, growth and connections. The softcover edition costs R330 and the hardcover R650. 

In the picture Dr Marietjie Wepener, USB deputy director: Business Development, Marketing and Communication, hands over the book to Prof Piet Naudé, USB director. 

Orders can be placed at http://www.usb.ac.za/Pages/AboutUs/USB-50-prospectus.aspx

​​The 2^nd only Sharks International was held in Durban from 2-6 June 2014 and was hosted by the Kwazulu-Natal Sharks board. Dr Aletta van der Merwe and four of her postgraduate students, Daphne Bitalo (PhDAgric), Simo Maduna, Charné Rossouw, Gibbs Kuguru (all MSc students) attended this surprisingly controversial conference. Nearly 300 delegates, representing 38 countries were in attendance, and although talks focused on amazing new discoveries in shark science, the conference received more than 7,000 tweets via the conference hashtag #Sharks14 regarding controversial topics such as the bather protection netting, shark cage diving and shark finning practices. Topics for conference sessions over the next four days included acoustic telemetry, physiology, genetics, fisheries and population ecology to name a few. The mid-conference tour with the biggest participation turned out to be the Aliwal Shoal Scuba Diving. On another diving excursion a diver even had a close encounter with a Blacktip shark and the scratch marks to proof it. The amount of networking and collaborations established during the conference was just incredible and taken that southern Africa is one of the shark biodiversity hotspots in the world, there is no doubt that this is one of the most fascinating and to a large extent unexplored faunas of our coast. Following the conference, two of the students Simo Maduna and Charné Rossouw also joined Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) on one of their offshore voyages to amongst other things physically tag sharks. The shark genetics group focus their research on assessing genetic connectivity and population structure of commercially important shark species such as common smoothhound (Mustelus mustelus), soupfin shark (Galeorhinus galeus), copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) and smooth hammerheads (Sphyrna zygaena).

​A physiology student from Stellenbosch University, Yigael Powrie (22), won the prize for the most promising up-coming microscopist at the annual conference of the Microscopy Society of South Africa held in Stellenbosch recently.

Yigael, who matriculated from Hottentots-Holland High School in Somerset West in 2010, also received R25 000 to attend and present his research at the Microscience Microscopy Conference  which will be held in Manchester, England, later this year.

"I had never been to a conference before and had no idea what to expect. I knew that there were awards for various achievements, but never dreamed of winning anything," he says.

"I am incredibly excited, but also terrified because the international conference will be attended by influential scientists from most of Europe, some of which are leaders in their field," he adds.

Dr Ben Loos, head of the DSG-Neuro Lab at SU and Yigael's study leader, said they are immensely proud of his achievement. For his honours project, Yigael investigated what happens to a proteien, called Tau, in a nerve cell at the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Dr Loos says neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's are incredibly complex, which makes finding a treatment a major challenge: "The main problem with Alzheimer's is that most nerve cells have already died by the time the person shows symptoms. We therefore have to identify the problem way before it leads to the death of neurons."

Researchers are therefore looking for the earliest signs of neuronal stress by looking into the nerve cells while exposing them to an environment that mimics that in Alzheimer's disease.

Using state-of-the-art microscopic techniques, Yigael found that the proteien Tau dissociates itself from the tubular network in the cell prior to the onset of cell death: "This means that there may be a window for therapeutic and targeted intervention to prevent cell death and perhaps ameliorate neurodegeneration," he explains.

Stellenbosch University has the only facility in South Africa that can help researchers to observe what is happening inside the cell at this resolution. This includes the movements of the mitochondria, the tubulin network and the proteins in the cell. Using specialised microscopic techniques, they 'paint' the components of the cell with a fluorochrome which glows when excited with a specific laser light.

Yigael says he was fortunate to have access to these facilities: "Dr Loos was always asking me to do more experiments and attempt more techniques. I was particularly fascinated with the Super-Resolution Structured Illumination Microscope. It is an incredible tool that allows us to study what is happening within a cell at incredible magnifications and with amazing resolution.

Yigael is currently enrolled as an MSc student and will continue with his research on Alzheimer’s under the guidance of Dr Loos.

Photo: Yigael Powrie at the Super-Resolution Structured Illumination Microscope on which he did most of his research. With him is Dr Ben Loos from the Department of Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University. Photo: Wiida Fourie-Basson.

​jump

​The FNB Maties opened their account with three vital log points on Monday night in the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.

The team battled well to recover after FNB UCT went ahead courtesy of an early try and went into the break with the scores level at 8-8. The maroon machine played exceptional rugby in the second half to lead 32-16 and looked to have the game in the bag. Two late tries by the Ikeys saw them draw level again and replacement flyhalf Brandon Thompson was unable to snatch a late victory with his penalty attempt.

The NWU-Pukke visits the Danie Craven Stadium on Monday and the match is sure to be a monumental struggle. With the kick-off only at 19:00 and day tickets already available at Van Schaiks and through Webtickets, the stadium is sure to be packed to the rafters with a mass of maroon-clad supporters!

More information at www.varsitycup.co.za

Big businesses that feel slighted that their logos have been ripped off on a quirky T-shirt do not need to go to court to try and save face. No financial harm will come to them, because consumers actually show little reaction to attempts to tarnish a brand.

This is according to Prof Christo Boshoff of the Department of Business Management at Stellenbosch University (SU). Boshoff's research is the first to shed some light on consumers' emotional responses to so-called brand tarnishment.

Brand tarnishment and the responses of business firms in protecting their brands against economic harm have been controversial topics for many years. One caveat in the history of court cases on such matters is the absence of any investigation about consumers' emotional responses to brand dilution in general, and to brand tarnishment in particular.

Boshoff therefore set out to use neurophysiological methods to test the subconscious or emotional response of consumers. Forty participants were shown tainted versions of the logos of twelve established international brands. Electroencephalography (EEG) measured participants' brain activity and emotional response, while electromyography (EMG) was used to detect even the slightest movement in their facial muscles as an expression of emotion.

The results show that at the unconscious level, brand tarnishment is not as harmful as many seem to believe. In fact, consumers stand largely neutral to any efforts to blemish the good name of a brand. This suggests that businesses will in all likelihood not suffer severe economic harm due to such actions. It would therefore be unnecessary and probably ineffective for them to revert to legal action such as court cases or even the use of cease and desist letters.

"Consumers are wise enough to be able to differentiate between different forms of tarnishment, and seem to in particular not frown upon examples that involve social commentary," explains Boshoff. "This may be because the consumer agrees with the commentary provided, or may even find it mildly amusing and not of a serious nature."

He believes that the results add credence to calls to restrict the legal protection of trademarks.

"Given the volume of global social media activity, business firms will simply have to learn to deal with being ripped-off by their competitors and by the customers of their competitors," adds Boshoff.

"It would as foolhardy to ignore social commentary and to avoid using the benefits that technology offers in terms of dramatically shortened advertisement production times to counter brand tarnishment, as it would be to resort to drawn-out legal battles," he believes.

The competitive use of advertising does not have to be boring or resort to aggressive mud-slinging. "The right response to brand tarnishment can create a sense of fun, can raise interest in a brand, and can demonstrate that a brand is more than just a logo, and that it can be an elusive, priceless phenomenon with real personality," Boshoff advises.

More information:
Prof Christo Boshoff
Department of Business Management, Stellenbosch University

cboshoff@sun.ac.za
Tel  021 808 2735

​

The senior leadership of the University of Oslo (UiO), Norway's oldest and largest tertiary institution, visited Stellenbosch University (SU) from 10 – 11 February 2015. Led by Dr Ole Ottersen, Rector of UiO, a delegation of 11 people, including deans of six faculties and senior directors, visited the campus, meeting with members of the SU leadership team and academic representatives from six SU faculties. They were accompanied by Mrs Trine Skymoen, Norwegian Ambassador to South Africa.

The University of Oslo has had strong cooperation with partners in South Africa for two decades. Part of their visit to Stellenbosch was to strengthen the relationship with SU at a leadership level within research and education and to look for areas of future cooperation.

Photo:

Building networks - At the back from left  are: Prof Louise Warnich, Dean: Faculty of Science (SU); Dr Berit Karseth, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences (UiO); Mr Einar Meier, Senior Adviser (UiO); Ms Huba Boshoff, Coordinator: Key International Partnerships (SU); Prof Håkon Glørstad, Director of the Museum of Cultural History (UiO);  Dr Ståle Petter Lyngstadaas, Research Dean: Faculty of Dentistry (UiO); Prof Ashraf Kagee, Chair: Department of Psychology (SU); Dr Aud Tønnesen, Dean of the Faculty of Theology (UiO); Dr Arne Bugge Amundsen, Dean, Faculty of Humanities (UiO);  Prof Christa van der Walt, Chair: Department of Curriculum Studies (Language Education and Language in Education- SU); Prof Julie Claassen, Faculty of Theology (SU); Prof Arne Bjørlykke, Director of the Museum of Natural History (UiO); and Mr Robert Kotzé, Senior Director: Postgraduate and International Office(SU). In front from left are: Dr Frode Vartdal, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (UiO); Prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen, Acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor (SU); Dr Gunn-Elin Aa. Bjørneboe, University Director (UiO); Dr Ole Petter Ottersen, Rector (UiO), Ms Trine Skymoen, Norwegian Ambassador to South Africa; Prof Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector: Research and Innovation (SU); and  Dr Fanny Duckert, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (UiO).

Sixteen of Stellenbosch University's (SU) brightest students will form part of a think tank with their peers at KU Leuven, Belgium that will envision 'The future of the city' across continents.

The think tank stems from a preferential partnership agreement between SU and KU Leuven and is a unique feature of this level of partnership and distinguishes it from partnerships focussing more on student mobility programmes. The student partnership is managed by the Postgraduate and International Office (PGIO), the Division for Student Affairs and Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert Institute (FVZS Institute).

The Stellenbosch students will interact with 15 KU Leuven students for the duration of 2015, exploring the theme 'The Future of the City'. They will participate in monthly seminars on the SU campus, where invited speakers will cover an array of topics exposing them to different disciplines.  The discussions will culminate in a two week visit to KU Leuven in November, where the Matie students will meet their Belgium counterparts.

Welcoming "think tankers" at the launch event, Huba Boshoff, Coordinator: Key International Partnerships at the PGIO, highlighted the institutional partnership of more than 20 years. "KU Leuven was one of the very first universities that engaged with Stellenbosch University. We have nurtured and fostered what is now called a preferred partnership." She told the students, who count among the top 20% in their faculties, that the think tank is a great opportunity for them and the university. "You are the best of the best and I hope the think tank can create lasting networks. We look forward as to how you, the student community engages with this partnership."

Dr Leslie van Rooi, Director of the FVZS Institute, says the think tank signals the start of an enriching and interesting experience for the Maties student population.

Also present at the launch event were Prof Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector (Research & Innovation), Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel, Vice Rector (Learning & Teaching), Dr Ludoph Botha, Senior Director of Student Affairs, Prof Louise Warnich, Dean: Faculty of Science, Prof Johan Hattingh, Dean: Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Johan Fourie, Senior lecturer at the Department of Economics who will lead the think tank's academic programme.

Professor Clive Barnett, Professor of Geography and Social Theory at Exeter University in the UK, spoke on the topic "What people think about their city and future of the city".

Picture:

Attending a meet-and-greet session for the Stellenbosch/ KU Leuven think tank were from left Prof Louise Warnich, Dean: Faculty of Science and Ilze Bekker, a postgraduate Education student who is part of the think tank. 

​Prof Pieter Gouws (Food Science) and Maret du Toit (Viticulture & Oenology) both from the AgriSciences Faculty delivered their inaugural lectures on 12 February 2015 at the Food Science building.

On the photo from left to right: Prof Eugene Cloete, Prof Maret du Toit, Prof Pieter Gouws & Prof Danie Brink.

Read more about Prof Gouws and his research in this article.

PieterGouws.pdf

​Certain microorganisms, such as lactic acid bacteria, are beneficial to humans because they  play an important role in the production of good food and  fine wine.

This was the topic Prof Maret du Toit of the Department of Viticulture and Oenology at the Institute for Wine Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University addressed in her inaugural lecture on Thursday (12 February 2015).

Du Toit said lactic acid bacteria play a crucial role worldwide in the production of food and beverages and in ensuring food security.

"They are essential in the production of dairy products, meats and vegetables and play an important secondary role in the fermentation of silage, cocoa, coffee, sourdough, wine and many indigenous African fermented products."

"Lactic acid bacteria primarily preserve food and beverages by producing lactic acid, but they are also used to provide variety in the food consumed by altering the aroma, flavour, texture and appearance of the raw commodities in a favourable way."

Lactic acid bacteria are also important in human and animal health, Du Toit said.

She added that next to yeasts, lactic acid bacteria are the industrially most important group of microorganisms used in fermentation.

Focusing specifically on the role of these microorganisms in winemaking, Du Toit said lactic acid bacteria degrade malic acid to lactic acid as part of the secondary fermentation process called malolactic fermentation.

"There are various enzymes that lactic acid bacteria possess that can play a role in the wine aroma profile and the quality of wines undergoing secondary fermentation."

"The other characteristic that makes lactic acid bacteria very attractive is the ability to produce antimicrobial proteins."

Du Toit said increased knowledge and biotechnological tools will lead to a better understanding of the role of lactic acid bacteria in winemaking.

She added that the diversity of species and strains available have generated endless possibilities for alternative lactic acid bacteria to be used for malolactic fermentation process in future.

Du Toit said research on lactic acid bacteria and their role in wine is far from over and in some respects has just started.

• Photo: Proff Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector: Research and Innovation, Maret du Toit, and Danie Brink, Acting-Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, at the inaugural lecture.
  
• Photographer: Anton Jordaan​
  

​Foodborne diseases are a widespread and a growing public health problem worldwide and it is imperative to develop new applications for the detection and control of unwanted bacteria in food.

This was one of the viewpoints of Prof Pieter Gouws of the Department of Food Science at Stellenbosch University in his inaugural lecture on Thursday (12 February 2015).

Gouws said foodborne diseases are caused by a variety of microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in, on and around us.

He pointed out that nearly 25% of the world's food supply is lost due to microbial spoilage.

Gouws emphasised the importance of food safety and said that linking a product with a foodborne pathogen like Salmonella resulting in consumer illness is a catastrophe for the food processor.

"Food safety failure is not a commercial option."

Gouws said microorganisms causing foodborne diseases emerge because of a weakened or collapsed public health system due to economic problems, change in health policies and civil unrest, as well as poverty and uncontrolled urbanisation.

"The degradation of water and food sources, ineffective disease control and the globalisation of food supply have all contributed to the increase of emerging foodborne pathogens."

However, there are ways to combat these microorganisms, Gouws said.

In this regard, he pointed to the molecular detection of microorganisms in complex food samples and the use of ultraviolet light.

"Fruit juices and milk can be processed using UV-C light to reduce the number of microorganisms."

"Treatment of milk with UV light demonstrated immense promise as a novel technology that could be used for the production of safe, value-added dairy products of good quality, such as Cheddar cheese."

Gouws highlighted the danger that antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food pose to the consumer.

He said foodborne diseases caused by microorganisms will continue to be a major challenge to the food industry and we need to improve our understanding of how they operate in our food supplies and our environment.

• Photo: Proff Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector: Research and Innovation, Pieter Gouws, and Danie Brink, Acting-Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, at the inaugural lecture.
  
• Photographer: Anton Jordaan​
  

​This year marks the 20^th anniversary of South Africa's democratic elections in 1994. As the country prepares to conclude these celebrations, it is hard to believe that the "Mandela Miracle" nearly didn't happen. What history tends to forget is that, in the home stretch to the end of apartheid, South Africa was on the brink of catastrophe, with certain groups intent on derailing the first free elections.

Now for the first time, those responsible for countless deaths and widespread mayhem explain how they nearly brought the country to its knees. 1994 reveals white right-wing plans for a military coup, and uncovers a plot to kidnap Mandela and the new leaders-in-waiting and imprison them in neighbouring Angola.

Meanwhile, Inkatha was locked in an ever more violent power struggle with the ANC. In certain areas, this feud turned to full-scale civil war. The filmmakers have spoken with eyewitnesses – survivors of massacres and bombings who still bear the physical and emotional scars of that time.

What is more, in an exclusive interview behind bars hit squad commander Eugene de Kock lays bare the role of the apartheid state in undermining the transition, and the complicity of those in the highest echelons of power.

In rare interviews former president FW de Klerk and current President Jacob Zuma answer questions about the extent of this state complicity. Other people interviewed in the film include Constand Viljoen and Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

1994 is a chilling look at how far some hard men went to thwart democracy, but how they have made an uneasy peace with the 'rainbow nation' in their various ways. Featuring stunning cinematography combined with rarely seen archival footage, a riveting music score and narration by Dr John Kani, this landmark documentary will change the way people remember South Africa's so-called miracle.

The film is directed by Meg Rickards and Bert Haitsma under Sabido  Productions.

University staff and the community in general are invited to attend the screening. Entrance is free.

DATE: 12 November 2014

TIME: 18:00

VENUE: University Museum (Sasol Art Museum), 52 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch

To secure a seat please RSVP to Mr Kurt September at kds@sun.ac.za.