Carbon Materials

The SARChI Chair in Carbon Science and Technology was established in 2006 within the Institute. It was set up to provide research and training in carbon materials, particularly those relevant to the Pebble-bed Modular Reactor and related industries. Prof. Brian Rand, a world leader in carbon materials research, is the part-time Chair Holder. His brief includes mentoring Dr Manyala as his future successor.

During 2010 some Carbon Chair students visited international other Universities and research institutions to perform research related to their projects. Mr Fabiane spent some time at the University of Pennsylvania, USA; Mr Hlatshwayo worked at the Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden Germany. Several students present papers at international conferences, notably the annual Carbon Conference. One of the students, M Badenhorst even gave a keynote lecture on graphite oxidation at the 2010 Carbon Conference held in Clemson, USA. While several conference contributions were delivered, the Carbon Chair only published one journal paper. However, most of the students will be completing their studies this year and it is anticipated that up to 10 publications could be submitted before the end of the year.

Back to Institute of Applied Materials.