Page 30 - DUT Excellence Semester 2

MAGUBANE’S BOOK EXPLORES LOVEIN THE ERA OF
Nonsikelelo Mthethwa
The charismatic Mthethwa is a doctoral student at DUT in the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT). She was overjoyed with her win, relaying that it is a surreal moment, a dream come true in a way because not every hard working researcher gets the opportunity to be recognised and honoured in this manner, with such a prestigious award.
The 2022 Fulbright Scholarship winner is in the
United States to gain skills in Next-Generation
sequencing and Bioinformatics. Next-Generation
Sequencing (NGS), also referred to as high-
throughput sequencing has been successfully
used to obtain valuable information on microbial
diversity/activity in various settings, including medical, agricultural, environmental, and others.
“I am very grateful to God and to everyone who has contributed and supported me in my career journey up to this point. I could not have won without them.This includes my family and friends, my professor who nominated me: Prof Sheena Kumari, my supervisors: Prof Dennis Amoah, Prof Faizal Bux, and Prof Poovendhree Reddy, the IWWT Team, DUT staff: the DVC Office and the office of the Postgraduate Grant assistants and administrator,” she said.
Sharing his congratulatory message was Prof Faizal Bux, Director of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT).
He said: “Ms Mthethwa is an extra-ordinary and model student that prides herself on striving for academic merit. Her thirst for pushing the boundaries of science especially in the field of monitoring of pathogens in wastewater using novel molecular technology is further complemented by passion and dedication to the task at hand. She is well deserving of being a recipient of the prestigious NRF Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers. By being a recipient of this accolade, she has undoubtedly displayed her ability of becoming a leading scientist
benchmarked to global standards and making IWWT, DUT and South Africa proud of her potential and achievements. She has also published her findings in leading web of science journals.A big hearty congratulation to Precious.”
Delivering the keynote address at the NRF Awards, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela, said it was encouraging that a significant number of black researchers and women were among the award recipients. He paid homage to all the awardees for their ground-breaking research findings.
Pictured: Nonsikelelo Precious Mthethwa
I am very grateful to God and to everyone who has contributed and supported me in my career journey up to this point. I could not have won without them. – Nonsikelelo Mthethwa
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DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY