UJ and the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)
The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) is a human intervention by the government of South Africa, led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).
It is designed to significantly expand the scientific research base of the country in a way that is relevant to national development and in support of making South Africa an internationally competitive global knowledge economy. The initiative has 5 interrelated objectives:
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To increase the number of world class researchers in South Africa.
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To retain and/or attract back qualified research scientists to the Higher Education sector.
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To stimulate strategic research across the knowledge spectrum and thereby increase the level of excellence in research areas of national and international importance.
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To create research career pathways for highly skilled, high quality young and mid-career researchers that effectively addresses historical racial, gender and age imbalances.
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To improve and accelerate the training of highly qualified personnel through research.
UJ currently holds the following SARChI positions:
Prof Fanus Viljoen
Research Chair in Geometallurgy
Fanus Viljoen is a Professor of Geology at the University of Johannesburg. Following undergraduate study at the University of Stellenbosch, he obtained an MSc from the University of Cape Town in 1988 and a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1994, both in Geochemistry. Having been involved in the study of kimberlites, diamonds and mantle xenoliths for much of his career while employed by De Beers, he joined the University of Johannesburg in June of 2008 to take up the DST/NRF Research Chair in Geometallurgy. Geometallurgy is a rapidly evolving field of interdisciplinary research that bridges the gap between the geosciences, minerals research, metallurgy and the mining and exploration industry. The primary thrust of the Research Chair is to develop and apply geometallurgical methods to quantify the mineralogical and textural characteristics of ore bodies, ores, concentrates and successor products in resource types relevant to the South African minerals industry.
Prof Peter Alexander
Research Chair in Social Change
Prof Peter Alexander is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre for Sociological Research at the University of Johannesburg. He obtained his PhD at the University of London in 1995, and has previously held positions at Oxford, Rhodes and the Rand Afrikaans universities. Prof Alexander is an NRF B-rated scientist.
BREAKING NEWS: Congratulations to UJ’s four new SARChI Research Chairs
UJ is pleased to announce that four new Research Chairs was awarded to the institution by the National Research Foundation (NRF) during the latest round of awards in the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) programme.
The new chairs are expected to further contribute to UJ’s research and innovation momentum. UJ’s accredited research output has almost doubled in half the planned time.
The new chairs are awarded to four of the university’s faculties.
- The Chair in Indigenous Plant Use was awarded to the Faculty of Science;
- African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy to the Faculty of Humanities;
- International Law to the Faculty of Law; and
- Education and Care in Childhood to the Faculty of Education.
UJ will, following further consultations with the NRF, announce appointments to the new Research Chairs later in the year.
The funding per chair is R2.5 million per annum, and is intended to cover salaries, postdoctoral fellowships, postgraduate student bursaries, research operating costs, and equipment necessary for the work of the Chair.