Page 42 - DUT Excellence Semester 2

PROF FAIZAL BUX AWARDED MAGUBANE’S BOOK EXPLORES LOVEIN THE ERA OF
SARCHI CHAIR FOR ANOTHER FIVE YEARS
The award-winning Director of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Professor Faizal Bux was recently awarded the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) in the Development and Optimisation of Wastewater Treatment Technology for Developing Economies Chair for another five years (2023-2027) by the National Research Foundation.
He will be the SARChI Chair for a second term as he assumed the position from 2018 upon the retirement of Prof TA Stenstrom. DUT was awarded the first SARChI in the Development and Optimisation of Wastewater Treatment Technology for Developing Economies in 2013.The IWWT was awarded a second cycle of the SARChl Chair from 2018 to 2022. Due to the remarkable performance, the NRF has extended the term of this Chair for another five years (2023- 2027).
Giving a brief background of what his position entails, Prof Bux said: “The SARChI is a flagship initiative of the government, designed to attract and retain excellence in research and innovation in the South African science field.The main goal is to strengthen the country’s universities to produce high-quality postgraduate students, research and innovation outputs.”
He further revealed that there were two SARChI chairs awarded nationally on wastewater treatment. He proudly announced that DUT was fortunate to secure the only SARChI Chair at Tier 1, i.e support for three times 5-year cycles.
“The IWWT has invested in the development of research capacity among emerging and established researchers working in the area.A key aspect of the chair is to build national and institutional research capacity in the field of water and wastewater treatment technology.
Simangele Zuma
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DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Pictured: Prof Faizal Bux
A key goal and impact of our work is to assist postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows,and research associates in building their research skills, and thus add to academic knowledge and skills development in South Africa. Funding is used to support postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to convert their research into research outputs, both in written form and in presentations at national and international conferences,” added Prof Bux.
The focus of the Chair, according to Prof Bux has primarily been on the remediation of domestic and industrial waste streams, waste beneficiation and provision of potable quality water to the community.The areas of research fall within the national imperatives of the country and SDG 6 and SDG 7. In addition, several of the objectives relate to new and emerging technologies for wastewater treatment, nutrient recovery and wastewater reuse and valorization. He believes that finding solutions will also aid in decreasing health- related issues, thereby, directly improving the quality of life.