School of Chemistry & Physics

Welcome to School of Chemistry & Physics

The School’s cutting -edge laboratories and research equipment compare favourably with the best in the world. Caring and enthusiastic lecturers ensure that students emerge highly employable, with a rich university experience and an excellent degree in Chemistry or Physics to their name.
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SCIENCE WITH JAZZ SEMINAR SERIES – Where Science and Jazz combine

Join us for the second occasion in the UKZN Science with Jazz Seminar Series, where we explore Quantum Revolutions and Jazz.  With physicist Professor Thomas Konrad and jazz artists Ernest Dawkins and Nduduzo Makhathini. Thursday 20 February @ 15h00, Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, Howard College Campus. #ScienceWithJazz.  
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Chemist Addresses Energy Crisis Through Nanocomposite Solar Cells

Choosing to tackle the ongoing energy crisis in South Africa, budding young chemist and Pongola resident, Dr Samantha Ndlovu, embarked upon a PhD project that would contribute to sustainable energy sources and alleviate supply and consumption challenges. She fabricated a renewable and novel solar energy device using perovskite/graphene-based nanocomposite. The...
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Physics Master’s Graduate Wins Plaudits for Biotech Startup

Mr Mark Fingerhuth not only earned a cum laude result for his Master’s in Physics but has also been recognised by Forbes and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for his innovative and cutting-edge Canada-based biotechnology startup, ProteinQure, which is advancing computational drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. Fingerhuth’s academic career began in...
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Computer-aided Drug Discovery Approaches Offer Hope for Malaria Treatment

A love for science and research motivated Dr Nomagugu Belinda Ncube to tackle her PhD in Chemistry. Supervised by Drs Matshawe Tukulula and Krishna Govender, Ncube used computer-aided drug discovery approaches to find new inhibitors for the Plasmodium falciparum phosphatidylinositol-4-kinas enzyme (PfPI4k), a vitally important enzyme for the development of...
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Chemistry Research Shows Promise for Drug Development

Dr Silungile Mhlongo’s PhD research focused on using a basic chemical structure combined with other biologically active scaffolds to develop bioassays with improved activity for the creation of alternative pharmaceuticals that could treat bacterial infections, cancer, tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes. Mhlongo, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University...
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Dean & Head of School

Prof Ross Robinson

PA/Secretary (Acting):
Ms Renee Naidoo
031 260 3093
Naidoor2@ukzn.ac.za

The School of Chemistry and Physics is one of five Schools on the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science. The School offers a variety of degree options, ranging from undergraduate qualifications to doctoral degrees.

Chemistry and Physics are considered to be the central sciences and are important subjects in first year for many programmes of study.

The School’s cutting -edge laboratories and research equipment compare favourably with the best in the world. Caring and enthusiastic lecturers ensure that students emerge highly employable, with a rich university experience and an excellent degree in Chemistry or Physics to their name.

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