Four academics from the University of Johannesburg UJ) were among the recipients of the 2019 National Research Foundation (NRF) top awards in the science and research field.
The NRF hosted its annual Awards ceremony in the Western Cape last night, Thursday 12 September 2019 during which South African academic and research excellence was celebrated.
Three academics from UJ were awarded A-ratings in their respective fields. These include:
1. Professor Philip Hallinger from the Department of Education Leadership and Management
2. Professor John Maina from the Department of Zoology
3. Professor Thaddeus Metz from the Department of Philosophy
A- ratings are awarded to researchers who are unequivocally acknowledged by their peers as leading international scholars in their respective fields for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs.
Additionally, the Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers was awarded to Ms Geaneth Pertunia Mashile from UJ’s Department of Chemical Sciences, for outstanding academic performance by a final-year doctoral student.
Said Prof Saurabh Sinha, UJ’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation: ”Through Professors Metz, Maina and Hallinger, UJ’s work inspires the world in Philosophy, Respiration and Leadership Development, respectively. Research is one of the cornerstones of our university and we are fortunate to be associated with such highly skilled individuals who advance South Africa’s growth in a knowledge-based world, for generations to come.”
The mandate of the NRF is to promote and support research through funding, human resource development and the provision of the necessary research facilities in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of science and technology, including indigenous knowledge, and thereby contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of all South Africans.
Professor Thaddeus Metz
Prof Metz hails from the United States, where he received his PhD from Cornell University in 1997.In 2009, he became Professor (Research Focus) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Recent awards for Prof Metz’s research include: an ‘A1’ rating from the South African National Research Foundation (2019 – 2024); a Special Essay Competition Prize from the Association for the Philosophy of Judaism (2019); a Distinguished Professorship from UJ (2015 – 2019); and the 4th Distinguished Lecture in African Philosophy at the University of Calabar (2017).
Prof John Maina
Having received his early education in Nairobi and Liverpool, Prof Maina was awarded a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVSc) in 1999, for a thesis entitled “Comparative Respiratory Morphology: Functional Design of the Gas Exchangers”. A veterinarian by profession, he joined UJ’s Department of Zoology in 2009. Prof Maina’s research interest and activity is in the area of Comparative Functional Respiratory Morphology.
Prof Philip Hallinger
Philip Hallinger is Professor of Educational Management at Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok Thailand) and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Education in the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). His scholarly articles, which have achieved more than 16,000 citations, are the most highly-cited articles in four different education journals. Professor Hallinger is Chief Co-Editor of the Journal of Educational Administration.
