A DUT academic in the Department of Chemistry and his doctoral student have been invited to attend a prestigious workshop on synchrotron radiation techniques and nanotechnology in Cape Town in the middle of November.
Professor Krishna Bisetty and Myalowenkosi Sabela will attend the workshop from November 11-22, 2013.
An initiative of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the workshop is titled Synchrotron Radiation Techniques and Nanotechnology: A Synergic Approach to Life Sciences and Medicine. The ICTP is an Italy based science institution which was established more than 40 years ago by Mohamed Abdus Salam with the intention of imparting advanced scientific knowledge and expertise to scientists in developing countries. It was also built to foster collaborations among scientists so as to promote research in the developing world.
Further entrenching its goal to boost research capacity in the developing world, ICTP partnered with iThemba Labs based at the National Research Foundation (NRF) in Stellenbosch in organising the upcoming workshop.
Prof Bisetty said when details of the workshop were posted on the NRF website, he and Sabela were encouraged by the chairperson of the organising committee, Professor Joe Niemela, to submit their CVs to the NRF which consequently led to the pair’s invitation.
“I must confess that this is my first interaction with ICTP (but) this is indeed an honor and privilege for me to represent DUT at this prestigious training school. I am very excited and optimistic as this is an advanced training school which presents new opportunities not only for my area of interest, but those that would also appeal to the wider DUT community,” Prof Bisetty said.
The academic says he is particularly interested to learn more about the link between computational chemistry and nano-science, in terms of drug design and delivery systems. He is also “keen to learn more about how the manipulation of nano-particles and macromolecular objects influences the behaviour of single molecules, both from an experimental and theoretical perspective”.
Currently, Prof Bisetty’s research group is performing molecular dynamics simulation studies aimed at understanding the conformational profile of proteins and peptides, which are crucial in the drug design process. The academic thus feels attending the ICTP workshop will be an advantage for him. The experience will be beneficial for Sabela too as he is evaluating the role of nano-particles in drug delivery systems using both experimental and computational chemistry approaches for his doctoral research.
DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Ahmed Bawa said it is an honour to have two representatives from the University invited to the upcoming ICTP workshop. Prof Bawa who once spent time at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy counts his experience at the Centre as a vital one.
“I was fortunate to spend some time at the ICTP while I was still a PhD student at Durham University in the UK and then later as a young scientist who was anxiously trying to find my way in the world of research. Some of my most lasting collaborations and friendships began in Trieste in the halls and lecture theatres of the ICTP,” he said.
According to Prof Bisetty, this is the initial step in him trying to establish a collaborative linkage with ICTP, due to their world class facilities. “The participation at this workshop would offer a unique opportunity for us to engage in cutting-edge research and innovation. It is our hope that this relationship between DUT and the ICTP would pave the way for future collaborations,” he added.
-Naledi Hlefane
Pictured: Professor Khrishna Bisetty (right), an academic in the Department of Chemistry, and his doctoral student Myalowenkosi Sabela who will be attending a science workshop in Cape Town this month (November).
