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. 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. He said the areas of research fall within the national imperatives of the country and SDG 6 and SDG 7. In addition he stated that the 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.
Speaking about what the extension of the SARChI means for DUT, Prof Bux said: “Firstly it substantiates DUT’s contributions to the water sector and achieving the objectives of the SARChI Chair over the first two terms. The renewed funding is a testament to the hard work and effort of all team members of the IWWT. It is an affirmation of the support we have received from the university. It reflects a deepening of research at DUT and its commitment and values as becoming a research-intensive university.”
Upon hearing the news of the renewal of the Chair, Prof Bux said he was ecstatic they secured funding to support the IWWT activities for the next five years. Based on over achievements over the last five years, he noted that he did not doubt that the chair would be renewed.
He reiterated the Chair has been very successful, not only in terms of research deliverables but also in infrastructural and human capacity development. Prof Bux indicated that the Chair has contributed to student mentoring and supervision, it also provides a place for recent PhDs who have been mentored with a chance to co-supervise, work in a research team and produce high-quality outputs.
“The Chair hosts several emerging researchers in terms of postdoctoral fellows, research associates and other scientists from within South Africa and outside South Africa. Postdoctoral fellows also act as co-supervisors as a way of building their capacity in student supervision. IWWT has contributed to high-end skills training with 26 doctoral candidates admitted, 23 Master’s and Honours/B Tech students who are hosted within the Institute,” explained Prof Bux.
Since 2018, the SARChI funding has supported 18 postgraduate students (6 Doctoral 6 Master’s and 6 B Tech students) supervised by the Prof Bux. Several graduates have gone on to positions in industry with some continuing to higher degrees and postdoctoral fellowships.
“To achieve our goals, IWWT has a number of large-scale research projects that are at various stages. Projects are conducted in consultation with multiple stakeholders including municipalities to ensure project value and impact. The Chair has very strong links with Industry both at the regional and national level including local government. The majority of the postgraduate students attended and presented their findings at national and international conferences. Since 2018, They have participated in 35 conferences. In terms of institutional impact, >120 publications in high-impact journals and 11 book chapters were published in the last 5 years. The Chair was able to leverage funding from other agencies like the Water Research Council (WRC), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), JICA-SATREPs and bilateral grants between various external partners. The Chair helped leverage third stream income which is assisting in supporting students and the research running costs,” said the elated Prof Bux.
In the next five years, Prof Bux highlighted that they will continue to provide hands-on training to students and working professionals with the latest techniques and instrumentation. In addition, he proudly added that students working within the Chair have co-authored manuscripts in leading ISI journals.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research Innovation and Engagement at DUT, Professor Sibusiso Moyo said: “Congratulations to Prof Bux and the entire DUT Support Team that have made sure we succeed in this area by ensuring we recruit the best students, postdocs, researchers to contribute in this area. The role of Procurement, Finance, Research Grants and HR cannot be underestimated as these help create an enabling environment for the Chair to thrive. Thank you in particular of course to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Thandwa Zizwe Mthembu for his unwavering support even when hard decisions had to be taken to ensure the Chair thrives. I Wish DUT, Prof Bux and the Chair another successful 5 years! Beyond that the Chair must become a fully fledged spin-off company and provide services to the water sector and the higher education sector as well. It also should be a great tool for high-end training, especially for students from the under-represented groups.”
Pictured: Prof Faizal Bux
Simangele Zuma
