A leading international scientist in the field of polymer sciences at Stellenbosch University has received the highest possible accolade from the South African Chemical Institute.
Prof. Bert Klumperman, who specialises in living radical polymerisation and advanced macromolecular architectures, was awarded the Gold Medal of the South African Chemical Institute (SACI) for his "exceptional contributions" to the field. SACI's Gold Medal is regarded as the highest recognition for research excellence and research contributions afforded by the South African chemical fraternity.
Prof. Klumperman, who holds the NRF/DST South African Research Chair on Advanced Macromolecular Architectures at the University of Stellenbosch, SA (SU), has a research group of about twenty post-graduate students and post-doctoral researchers who largely focus on polymers for biomedical applications.
He is part of the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Sciences at SU. This is also the only department in South Africa that offers a postgraduate qualification in polymer sciences.
This price winning achievement was announced after SACI's council meeting in July 2013. The awards was handed over to Prof. Klumperman at SACI's event in November 2013. Established in 1912, SACI works towards the advancement of science and practice of chemistry in South Africa.
Prof. Klumperman was involved in several DPI projects in the technology Areas Performance Polymers and Coatings Technology.