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NMMU has been catapulted into the forefront of nanoscience research with the arrival of a state-of-the-art custom-built microscope from Japan. The high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) is the first of its kind that has been sold commercially outside of Japan and the last of a suite of four electron microscopes, costing a total R90-million, that have arrived in the past week from Tokyo manufacturer JEOL and a second manufacturer in The Netherlands.
It will allow NMMU to become the first institution in South Africa and Africa to be able to study material down to the atomic level, revealing bonds and defects which have until now been invisible, and possibilities for development in a wide range of fields.
Elated NMMU physicist Prof Jannie Neethling, who has spearheaded the drive to obtain the equipment, last week met the truck that transported the precious HRTEM from the harbour, at the new building on the south campus where it is going to be installed.
The building cost R30.5-million to build and is the most sophisticated of its kind in Africa. It includes a room within a room, a metre-thick floor, special lightning conductors and various other features to ensure that it is completely impervious to noise, vibrations, magnetic fields and temperature (according to the specifications of the HRTEM, it will maintain a temperature that fluctuates no more than 0.05°). It was finished just a week ago.
Neethling told The Herald a team of local service engineers bolstered by assistants from a consultancy in the UK will be unpacking the boxes and doing the basic installation. Besides the microscopes themselves there is a complex web of power supplies, cooling pipes (to cool the electro-magnetic lenses and the vacuum system) and analytical devices like computers and x-ray detectors - all of which needs to be put together.
“A Japanese expert will then be brought in to do the final adjustments, hopefully in August.”
The HRTEM took a year to build and the professor last saw it in January when he flew over to Tokyo. After he had checked it with the manufacturer and found it all to his satisfaction, it was scheduled to be dismantled and packed into crates, ready for shipping across to Port Elizabeth - but then, in March, the tsunami hit.
Neethling said that besides concern about the Japanese people he had got to know, when news of the tsunami broke, there had also been some concern at NMMU as to the exact whereabouts of their precious cargo. It turned out to be safe still in its crates in the JEOL factory, although it was due shortly after that to be moved onto the ship.
The first research projects will involve doctoral students from the university working in conjunction with Sasol on fuel catalysts. Then there will be a project focusing on diamond drill bits like they use to drill through rocks on the seabed to get to oil, partnering with the company Element 6, he said.
“Then there is a planned collaboration with the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa which will focus on beneficiation in particular getting zirconium out of zircon. Zirconium is used to build the cladding around nuclear reactor fuel.
“Last of the list of already planned projects will be a collaboration with scientists from Russia, Germany and the UK that will be researching nuclear fuel materials.”
NMMU already has good quality scanning and transmission electron microscopes but neither it nor any other institution in South Africa or anywhere in Africa have so far been able to study materials down the atomic level. Up until now, Neethling and his students have had to travel to nanoscience (the study of small things) centres of excellence in Europe.
“Being able to analyse materials at the miniscule atomic level enables us to identify defects, to study bonds and to ensure quality in a vast array of materials which in turn are used to build everything from aeroplanes to water filters to fuel catalysts.”
Powder-form catalysts are already used in the fuel industry to aid the transformation of coal into petrol or diesel, he explained.
“But the petroleum companies are always looking for more efficient ways to do the job and that’s where this equipment comes in. We can now study the atoms that make up that powder and identify possible improvements.”
To do this, one of the HRTEM’s sister microscopes is equipped with an ion beam which is used to cut microscopic slices from the study material.
“Using this machine we are then able to extract a slice from this material and place this sample which is barely visible to the naked eye, in a holder. Once it is properly positioned, an electron beam can be shone through it, to allow us to study the atoms.”
US congressmen look set to throw their support behind efforts to counter rhino poaching in South Africa, following a presentation to them by a Port Elizabeth based NGO. The Wilderness Foundation, represented by director Andrew Muir, a Herald Citizen of the Year, spoke to more than 100 congressmen and congressional staff in Washington DC at a function hosted by the International Conservation Caucus.
Gareth Cliff sentenced to R10,000 fine or six months' jailRadio DJ, Gareth Cliff, pleaded guilty to charges of contravening the Road Traffic Act in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday (15/03/2012).
Hospital services to be cutSERVICES at several district hospitals will be reduced by the Eastern Cape Health Department in an effort to get a better handle on the province’s desperate staff shortages.
Ex-PE broadcaster gets her big chance on national radioPERSEVERANCE while earning just R1200 a month working as a rookie jock has paid off for a former presenter on a Port Elizabeth radio station.
Threat to cut off rapists’ penisesNELSON Mandela Bay councillor Nomvuselelo Tontsi has threatened to mobilise rape survivors to take the law into their own hands and cut off the penises of suspected rapists should police fail to arrest them.
US expert helps vet treat poacher mutilated rhinosWORLD renowned paleontological expert Professor Lawrence Witmer of WitmerLab at Ohio University has joined forces with veterinarian Dr William Fowlds in the struggle to save Themba and Thandiswa, two injured rhino victims of a vicious attack by poachers two weeks ago.
Hawks bill 'still inadequate'The SA Police Service’s (Saps) Amendment Bill in its current form is still inadequate, lobbyist Hugh Glenister said on Wednesday (14/03/2012).
Shocking rhino videosKARIEGA Private Game Reserve has posted two extremely graphic and shocking videos on social networking sites in response to the rhino poaching at the reserve.
PE woman lives the high life on company moneyTHE glamorous life of a former high-flying Port Elizabeth businesswoman - filled with convertibles, exotic pets, landscaped gardens, lavish shopping sprees and huge credit card bills - was funded by money misappropriated from a top South African quantity surveying firm, the Port Elizabeth High Court has found.
'Unavailable' R9bn bill for health postsIT will cost R9-billion to fill all the vacant posts for doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in the cash-strapped Eastern Cape's state hospitals, statistics issued by the Department of Health show..
Parties bring out big gunsWITH only two weeks to go before three Nelson Mandela Bay wards return to the polls, opposition parties are stepping up their campaigns, bringing out their national leaders in an effort to secure the crucial seats which will determine whether or not the ANC keeps its majority in council.
Mugger meets his match in BayA NEW Brighton man put his own life in danger yesterday to chase after a mugger in his bakkie before cornering the culprit and calling the police.
View moreTHE moratorium on the exploration of the Karoo for gas needs to be lifted so that further studies on the process can be done. This is according to Dr Danie Vermeulen, director of the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State.
Afghan civilian massacre sparks calls for early US exitKANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The massacre of 16 villagers by a U.S. soldier has triggered angry calls for an immediate American exit from Afghanistan as Washington tries to negotiate a long-term presence to keep the country from sliding into chaos again.
Kariega rhinos all dehornedIN a delicate and controversial 20-minute procedure, wildlife officials surgically dehorned the remaining horned rhinos at the Kariega Private Game Reserve in an attempt to deter poaching.
PE book fair to promote readingTHE Eastern Cape’s matric results are deteriorating year after year partly because the province lacks a “culture of reading”.
Another attack at festering ArlingtonANOTHER knife attack has occurred at Arlington Waste Disposal Site. The attack, which took place on Saturday afternoon, comes amid calls by the DA for an investigation into the chaotic state of the site and questionable swopping of contractors.
Schoenies otter takes fishing lessonsIT’S one of the iconic wild animals of the metro’s open spaces, but it’s not often seen - certainly not clambering onto the rocks right under your feet. But that was the experience of fishing buddies Gavin Curtis and Stuart Duckenfield who were trying their luck with light tackle and pilchards at Schoenies yesterday (August 10 2011).
Cause and effect of climate change explainedSO HOW to communicate the complexity and magnitude of climate change to youngsters from a little school in Zwide? The kids, in grades six and seven at Mzimhlophe Primary School, were given the answer to this question during their visit to the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (Samrec) yesterday (August 03 2011).
R1.5-million farming venture will fit Eastern Cape to a teaTHE Eastern Cape government has set aside R1.5-million to kick-start an expanded honeybush tea industry that could be ramped up to produce a turnover of R100-million a year and hundreds of new jobs. The good news follows on the results that have emerged from a study of the honeybush industry, commissioned by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) on behalf of the provincial economic development and environmental affairs department.
Snowed-in guards airlifted to safetyNINETEEN stock-theft guards stationed on the top of the Drakensberg have been plucked to safety as heavy snow presses in on their lonely outposts. The guards are housed alone or in pairs in 10 shipping containers, at key points along the Lesotho border with the north-eastern Eastern Cape, in the Rhodes area.
Algoa Bay the best monitored in all of AfricaALGOA Bay is now “the best monitored bay in Africa” with millions of rands worth of equipment installed below the surface measuring a wide range of environmental conditions. That was the proud revelation yesterday (July 28 2011) from SA Environmental Observation Network (Saeon) co-ordinator Shaun Deyzel, who was speaking at a marine science symposium hosted by SA National Parks, at the Addo Elephant National Parks.
Mantis in new Nigeria dealPORT Elizabeth based tourism group Mantis Collection has announced a bold expansion into West Africa with a landmark, multi-million US dollar deal signed in PE yesterday (July 25 2011) to roll out a sumptuous suite of boutique hotels in Nigeria. Mantis founder Adrian Gardiner signed the deal at Shamwari Townhouse in Summerstrand with highly respected Nigerian businessman Nze Chidi Duru, who is the chairman of Abuja-based Grand Towers Plc. The Nigerian company has interests in the pension, banking, retail, communications, IT and hospitality sectors.
Surf event sets greening benchmarkBILLABONG Pro J-Bay is setting a benchmark for international surfing contests with a comprehensive programme to protect the local environment and combat global climate change.
Karoo farmers take their fracking probe to Jo'burg oil summitA SMALL Karoo farmers’ association is so concerned about fracking, and damning new evidence out of the US, it is funding the R10000 bill demanded for a four-day oil and gas conference in Johannesburg, to allow one of its members to attend.
Swell job for man with decades of experienceWITH the small waves prevailing yesterday (Sunday July 17 2011) for the Billabong Pro J-Bay, all surfing mojos are focused on the second week of the contest and the swell that, it is hoped, will still set things on fire. The man with un-paralleled expertise in this department is contest director Eric Stedman, 54, who has been scanning synoptic charts, fiddling with barometers and assessing wind direction since he was a grommit back in East London in the 1960s. It also helps that he began surfing Jeffreys Bay 43 years ago.
New official whale watching operator launch in the bayALGOA Bay’s first boat-based boat-based whale-watching operation in a decade has been officially launched - and already some exciting sightings are being reported. Lloyd Edwards of Raggy Charters, the company awarded the boat-based whale watching (BBWW) license for Algoa Bay, said yesterday (July 14 2011) he spotted the cow and calf pair of southern right whales off Algorax earlier this week.
Unique source of Bay waterHOW many cities in the world can say they get their water from a World Heritage Site? Very few, I bet. Yet, that’s the case with Port Elizabeth and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and in fact the Gamtoos River Valley vege farmers.
Super surf contest starts at J-BayTHE latest edition of one of the great global surfing contests, built around an iconic right-hand point break, was launched in Jeffreys Bay last night (Wednesday July 14 2011).
Bayworld raggies returned to the oceanTHE biggest baddest pair from Bayworld’s de-commissioned aquarium, two bulky raggedtooth sharks, were released yesterday (July 26 2011) back into the sea. It was a sad day for the oceanarium, where they have lived for nearly two decades, inspiring awe in hundreds of thousands of visitors - but it is good news for the species, as the pair are now part of a research project aimed at securing our waters as one of the few safe havens in the world for raggies.
Dairy farm could close soonBUSHY Park Dairy Farm, a flagship “proudly Port Elizabeth” business and a much-loved feature of the metro for the past 20 years, is facing closure. The shock news was confirmed yesterday (June 21 2011) by managing trustee Puffer Hartzenberg, who was responding to unconfirmed reports about the matter.
Unique study of great whitesA UNIQUE study into the abundance, distribution and movement of great white sharks in Algoa Bay, sponsored by the metro, has been launched. There has never been a fatal shark attack in Algoa Bay, but the metro has committed the R800000 grant as a pro-active step, taken in line with their marketing of Port Elizabeth as “the watersports’ capital of Africa”, researcher Dr Matt Dicken explained yesterday (June 21 2011).
Refurbished Skead book publishedA NEW book aimed at celebrating our natural heritage and guiding sound future conservation policy has been published in Port Elizabeth. Historical Incidence of the Larger Land Mammals in the Broader Western and Northern Cape (including the Eastern Cape as far east as Sundays River) is a complete re-furbishment - with summaries, maps, illustrations and two new chapters - of the original work of the same name by legendary naturalist Dr Jack Skead, who died in 2006.
Co-op sponsors two farmers on US missionTWO Karoo farmers have flown out of PE on a ground-breaking mission to the US, to get the low-down on fracking, in the country where it all began.
Link Refit to electric cars proposalIF WE CAN link Refit with electrical motorcars - then we could really be onto something. Speaking to The Herald yesterday (June 14 2011), department of environmental affairs deputy-director general for climate change, Peter Lukey, said the scheduled launch this month of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff (Refit), will likely lead to significant positive change.
Exciting reforestation project underway in TranskeiAN UNUSUAL re-forestation and carbon sequestration project is underway in the heart of the old Transkei, where savage erosion is a common feature. The R7600000 project is being run as a partnership between the Congress of Traditional Leaders’ of South Africa (Contralesa), the national department of environmental affairs and a Johannesburg-based company called Carbon Worx.
Green electricity programme set to launch this monthGOVERNMENT will this month launch the long-awaited Refit programme that will make funding available to pay private energy entrepreneurs who will generate their own green electricity and sell it to the grid.
EC investment boost to counter climate changeEASTERN Cape economic environment MEC Mcebisi Jonas yesterday announced significant new green economy investment to boost green economy skills in the province.
Branch recalls fascinating careerFOR world-renowned reptile and amphibian expert Dr Bill Branch, who retired this week from Bayworld after 32 years employment there - it all began in 1969, on the shores of a lake in East Africa.
EC leads climate change battleTHE Eastern Cape government has declared its intention to lead from the front in the war against climate change, with a landmark multi-benefit project agreement signed at the Eastern Cape Climate Change Conference in East London yesterday (June 08 2011).
Climate change conferenceEVERYONE change - a milestone Eastern Cape climate change conference, featuring senior political leaders and climate change experts, is set to start in East London today (Wednesday May 8). The Eastern Cape Climate Change Conference will focus on the strategy document that has been prepared by local role-players, and will look towards the UN’s Cop17 summit, the international climate change indaba in Durban in December
'Plenty of power for smelter,' says CDCBLACK-out fears notwithstanding, there is more than enough electricity for the megawatt-hungry Coega manganese smelter, according to the Coega Development Corporation (CDC). CDC communications’ chief Senzeni Ndebele was responding this week to concerns expressed about the power demands of the smelter and how this will affect Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality residents and existing businesses.
Motherwell eco-schools big recipientsTWO Motherwell “eco-schools” were the recipients this week of tens of thousands of rands worth of equipment and furniture to help them learn better. The 26 maths and reading software packages, 100 desks and 200 chairs were donated by ABB after the power and automation giant participated last year in a Wessa eco-schools’ workshop in PE.
Pollution plume off the beachfront raises concernsA STRANGE-looking plume of discoloured water has been appearing sporadically in the bay between Shark Rock Pier and Humewood Beach, resulting in a number of calls from concerned residents, Following an initial report on May 20 by Humewood resident Elize Pretorius, and then disappearing for several days, it reappeared again this week, prompting further calls.
Put the environment on agenda of new councils Concerns over Ngqura oil leak 'unfounded'CONCERNS have been raised that the oil and gas exploration rig in Port of Ngqura could be leaking oil into the bay. Both the Norwegian company that owns the ultra-deepwater drilling rig and the harbour authorities have rejected as unfounded the concerns raised by environmental group Ocean Messengers.
Ball of fire not the beginning of the end.Was it a bird? Was it a plane? Was it a comet hurtling to Earth in delayed fulfillment of Harold Campling’s doomsday prophesy? Well, no. In fact, it was the International Space Station (ISS) and space shuttle Endeavour, catching the last rays of the setting sun.
Ngqura a fish magnetTHE Port of Ngqura has become an extraordinary magnet for marine life, and could point the way to an important new role for harbours, according to Bayworld marine biologist and shark specialist Dr Matt Dicken.
Stately emperor pays family a flying visitTHERE are moths and there are moths - and then there is the pine tree emperor, one of the giants of the insect world. Gorgeous yellow in colour and “easily the size of a man’s hand”, one of these moths swooped into a Seaview home the other night.
Endangered forest clearing probedA SWATHE of critically endangered forest and new generation legislation formulated to combat climate change are at the centre of a confrontation in Deer Park. The forestry department has slammed as “reckless and malicious” the clearing of the area, which is over 100m long by on average 4m wide.
Male in search of good life turns up at beachfrontHE WAS a prickly customer - but in the end he came quietly. It was Patrick Mange, the cleaner and gardener at beachfront flatblock Bandle, next to the Beach Hotel, who found him.
EC operators performs strongly at IndabaTHE Eastern Cape has fared well at the Indaba tourism conference and expo in Durban, taking gold in two different categories in the main Welcome awards and only just falling short in the Eteya emerging tourism operators’ awards. The Welcome Awards winners are both from PE and are both family-owned businesses: the Plantation, the wedding, functions’ and accommodation venue on the Sardinia Bay road, and Economic Cars and Bakkies, the 20-year-old Walmer-based car rental firm.
'Port guards like the Stasi'FOREIGN tourists yesterday compared guards at the Port Elizabeth Harbour to the dreaded Stazi security police of East Germany, following an incident in which their driver was manhandled, forcibly detained and then bundled off to Humewood Police Station. The incident happened yesterday morning as the tourists, a group of five Russians and a Belgian, were about to enter the harbour at its southern entrance, headed for a day diving excursion in Algoa Bay with local dive company Expert-Tours.
Dad's call following son's deathSIMON Swart started drugging in his early teens and he had been through 15 rehabilitation centres before he died, alone in his room in a backpacker lodge in Central, a fortnight ago. But there was much more to this young man.
How to rejuvenate Baakens River ValleyI WAS chatting to permaculture activist and leading member of Transition Network PE Naomi Suzane the other day, and she came with a great idea of how to secure, rejuvenate and celebrate the Baakens Valley. We kicked her idea around, and this is how it turned out.
Nuclear moratorium callTHE concern group challenging the Thyspunt nuclear reactor has called on government to place a moratorium on all nuclear development in South Africa until the full extent of the Fukushima disaster is known. The call by the Thyspunt Alliance - a broad coalition of residential, cultural, environmental, tourism, fisheries, business and surfing interests in the Oyster Bay, St Francis, Humansdorp and Jeffrey’s Bay area - co-incides with the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl, the historic nuclear melt-down in Ukraine.
Major show jumping event scheduled for PEPORT Elizabeth has been named as a host city for a world show-jumping championship qualifier event, sparking great excitement in the show-jumping fraternity, and the promise of an energising mid-Winter injection of tourist revenue. The event will be attracting the country’s top jumpers, so it is being celebrated in horsey circles - but it is much more than that, event co-ordinator Tanya Radke said yesterday.
Oceanarium seals readied for departureHOW do you transport eight seals to Pretoria? That’s the preoccupation right now of Bayworld’s oceanarium team, as the relocation of their animals moves ahead.
Chumming fines co-incide with issuing of whale permitNELSON Mandela Bay Municipality has issued four fines to marine tourism operator Lloyd Edwards related to the controversial chumming incident off Humewood Beach last month. The issuing of the fines at the Port Elizabeth beach office on Friday co-incides with the issuing this week of the long-awaited boat-based whale watching (BBWW) license for Algoa Bay - to Edwards.
Farewell (for now) to Bayworld oceanariumBAYWORLD’S oceanarium is set to close at the end of this month to prepare for the de-commissioning of the 43-year-old dolphin pool and the transfer of 24 penguins and nine seals to Pretoria Zoo. It’s all part of “operation stop the bleed” in which Port Elizabeth’s much loved museum and oceanarium complex has had to make some tough decisions in order to deliver, hopefully, long-term bounty.
Get out the Karoo, farmers tell ShellANGRY residents of the Middleburg area have called for Shell to “get out the Karoo” after the company failed to guarantee the security of their water if fracking goes ahead. Addressing Shell representatives at a hall in Middelburg’s Grootfontein Agricultural College in a hall packed with farmers in T-shirts saying “Don’t Frack with our Karoo,” members of the audience asked repeatedly if the multi-national could “guarantee no risk to our water”.
Nieu Bethesda farmers count flood costsIT COULD take some farmers in Nieu Bethesda a decade to get back to where they were before the flood that hit them Saturday. That’s the word from the mountainous catchment area north of Graaff-Reinet, where well over 100mm of rain fell in 24 hours, flooding the Gats River and all its tributaries, flattening stock fences, stripping roads to bedrock and bursting farm dams.
Fuel Prices! US President Obama wants British PM Cameron to join the US and release Oil reserves to drive down prices. What is the state of South Africa`s reserves i wonder! we could do with a Governm...
royboy 16 March 2012 11:28 amCSA,grow some balls and do the right thing ...finally...and for majola,the same applies,do the right thing and move on,you have been found guilty and no one wants your involvement in cricket any more,...
royboy 16 March 2012 11:22 amDoes any one out there know if there is a White Business Council?...or would this be seen as racist...
thirsty 16 March 2012 8:10 amWe are not allowed to take the law into our own hands, I AGREE WE DO NOT GET SERVICE DELIVERY, i.e. from the police, and here is a political leader of the ANC saying they will cut off penises, which ...
royboy 15 March 2012 10:59 ampeople,try the DA for a change,it wont change the government but really will change your own circumstances for the better,you have nothing to lose and everything to gain,give it a go ...
royboy 15 March 2012 10:53 amget a life,there are more important issues out there to worry about......
royboy 15 March 2012 10:50 amabout time we stood up in the face of police apathy,looking forward to reading about the first neutered rapist out there ,will be willing to supply the blade if needed ...
Nadz 14 March 2012 9:50 pmSomeone's ultimate denial has been exposed as there tangible reality ....wow and exposed through mass media....what is this world coming to..cases like these takes me back to a time of reflecting on ...
The Struggle 14 March 2012 10:47 amI hope Cde Faku, Qupe and their cronies and lapdogs are happy now after sending the ANC Mandela Metro into doldrums. There is a need for damage control now instead of delivering services. U have disgr...
TheRef 13 March 2012 3:40 pmIran,like apartheid South Africa is now in the same boat! Why are we still buying Oil from this Pariah,obviously like then business has no regard for politics! ...