1st Quarter 2014

Head of School Feedback

As this is the first edition of The Node 2014,

I would like to summarise the 2013

highlights from the School.

1. Professor Barry Dwolatzky,

Director of the Johannesburg

Centre for Software

Engineering (JCSE) at Wits

University, was a joint winner

of SA IT Personality of the

year, along with the MD of

Microsoft SA. The award is

presented by the IITPSA

(Institute of Information

Technology Professionals

South Africa) in association

with IT Web, the Gordon

Institute of Business Science and Gartner Africa. The award recognises

and celebrates the outstanding talent, leadership, vision and commitment

of individuals and organisations within the ICT industry.

2. Emeritus Professor Hu Hanrahan was reappointed Chairman of the

Washington Accord for June 2013 to June 2015. He was Chairman from

2011 to 2013. The Washington Accord is an agreement between fifteen

engineering accrediting agencies with a total of over 6000 programmes

that provide the educational foundation for professional engineers. The

agreement provides for benchmarking of accreditation standards and

mutual recognition of accredited programmes.

3. The International Student Cluster Challenge took place on 20th June 2013

and South Africa won. The core of the SA team were three Electrical &

Information Engineering third year students: Kerren Ortlepp, Jan-Willem

Steeb and Ryan Strange and a Computer Science third year, Mohamed

Atif. Six university student teams were representing five countries (two

teams from China, one from Germany, one from USA and one from

South Africa) to compete against one another at the International

Supercomputing Conference in Leipzig, Germany.

4. Several staff and postgraduates attended the prestigious biennial

International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering (ISH) in South

Korea, with one of our postgraduate students being awarded a prize for

his excellent presentation and outstanding research paper on nano-

composite electrical insulation. This is a new research area for the High

Voltage group, one that is presenting exciting collaboration opportunities

with the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials at Wits.

In this issue

First survey in Anglo American

Platinum Fuel Cell electrification

project

SAUPEC 2014 Experience

Antartica - The Frozen Desert

Introducing the SAIEE and IEEE

Student Group

BlackGirlsCODE event held at EIE

School

Links

EIE homepage All archived versions of The Node Alumni Relations homepage WITSReview magazine Careers Development & Fundraising Wits University homepage What's on?

Contact Information

Moeniera Ismail Administrative Manager School of Electrical and Information Engineering University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Moeniera.Ismail@wits.ac.za Tel: (011) 717 7244 Fax: (011) 403 1929

Connect on LinkedIn

5. In March 2013 the School of Electrical & Information Engineering held a

function to officially open the CBI-electric Engineering Laboratory. The

laboratory was renamed in recognition of the support that the School has

received from CBI-electric for many years. CBI-electric supports the

Chair in Lightning and provides funding for subvention of staff.

6. The Actom Energy Laboratory of the School of Electrical and Information

Engineering was opened in February 2013. This facility gives the Wits

student in Electrical Engineering unprecedented access to a facility

where they can study the basics of electrical power and energy.

7. The Electrical Energy group, staff and students, hosted a group of staff

members and students, from the University of Paderborn in February

2013 at Wits, for a special Workshop on the integration of renewable

energy sources in the urban environment. In April 2013 the same group

from Wits visited Paderborn in exchange and were hosted for a

continuation workshop on the same topic. These activities were

sponsored by a competitive NRF grant under the German South-Africa

year of Science banner.

8. The Alstom Chair for Clean Energy Systems Technology was filled in

August 2013 when Prof. Willie Cronje moved into the position. The new

chair bolsters the EIE activities in renewable and clean energy systems

research.

In general 2013 was a productive year in all the School’s major foci of production of

graduates, research output and partnerships and collaborative

activities.

First survey in Anglo American Platinum Fuel Cell electrification project

The tiny Naledi Trust village on the outskirts of Kroonstad in the Free State is to become the first village where fuel cells will be piloted by

Anglo American Platinum.

Naledi Trust consists of 34 homes and a school. Figure 1 shows the environment for the village. The houses will all be equipped with

prepaid meters and ready boards. Each home will receive the free basic electricity allocation of 50kWh. Electrical energy consumption

above the free basic allocation will be paid for by the residents. The field trial will run for 12 months. The community is an interesting case

study, as the houses were previously electrified, but the electrical supply was cut off about four years ago due to non-payment of the

account.

During the field trial, The Wits University School of Electrical and Information Engineering will conduct three surveys to:

Gauge the community’s perception of the fuel cells

Compare their perceptions to actual usage patterns

Determine the use of different sources of energy in the household

The survey work is led by Dr Estelle Trengove and Dr Mercy Shuma-Iwisi. The first survey was conducted on 7 February 2014 by the team

shown in Figure 2. The aim of the survey was to obtain some baseline information on each household, such as the appliance ownership

and sources of energy that are currently used. Work is starting this week to clear land for the plinth for the container containing the fuel

cells. The second survey will be conducted once the community has been using the system for a while.

Colleagues and students from Wits EIE and the JCSE will also be involved in the data warehousing and processing of data acquired during

this field trial.

Figure 1: A section of the Naledi Trust village just outside Kroonstad

Figure 2: Thabiso Phali, Sello Molele, Dr Estelle Trengove, Nkosana

Mbele, Dr Mercy Shuma-Iwisi and Mfihlakalo Mabuyakhulu

SAUPEC 2014 Experience

by Tatenda Gora

I had the privilege to be part of the delegation from Wits University that took part in the South African Universities Power Engineering

Conference (SAUPEC) held at the University of KwaZulu Natal from the 30th-31st of January, 2014. Wits University was able to submit

over 20 papers for the conference and the majority were submitted by first time attendees.

The university was able to hire 3 combi’s to transport the delegation to Durban on the 29th of January, with most of the supervisors flying in

that very evening and the morning of the 30th. Registration for the conference was conducted on the evening of the 30th and a gala dinner

was held the same evening after an excellent and informative speech by a former Wits student and now Division Executive of Transmission

at Eskom holdings, Mr Mongezi Ntsokolo. During the dinner, I got the opportunity to meet some of South Africa’s great academics

including Professor Jerry Walker from Vaal University and Professor AC Britten, affiliated with the University of KwaZulu Natal.

The presentations were held on the 31st of January from 8 am. Before I presented, I had the opportunity to watch other presentations. In

the few sessions I attended, Wits University had three or more representatives. During the conference, I began to appreciate the

presentation skills the University has taught us. The quality of presentations by the Wits delegates was spectacular. It was an amazing

experience having senior academics listening attentively to your presentation and appreciating your work.

The evening after the conference was an opportunity for the guys to wind down and get to experience the Durban night life. After grabbing

supper along Florida road, the pack separated with others opting to party at the different hangout spots along Florida road while others

opted to go to the beach and others were nowhere to be found until breakfast the next morning. Due to different obligations, some people

left on Saturday, some on Sunday and the rest on Monday. Those who stayed longer had time to explore Durban and chill out at the beach.

The SAUPEC 2014 experience was a great time out, and given the opportunity, I would do it again. Besides the great intellectuals’ one will

be around, it is also a good time to get to travel South Africa and to know some of your colleagues better. In conclusion, I would like to

salute George Lebese, Godfrey Sikhakhane, Yvonne Lekalakala and Dr. van Coller (paper title: ‘Tan Delta Testing of MV Motor Stator Coil

Insulation’) for winning the SAUPEC 2014 Best Paper prize. Well done lads!!

Figure 1: Overcast day at the beach (Keagan Malan, Tatenda Gora, Matthews Mashaba and Cedric Banda)

Figure 2: The author (Tatenda Gora) presenting his work

Figure 3: Better day at the beach(Cedric Banda, Tatenda Gora, Matthew Looi, David Wolsky and a partial view of Nyasha

Horonga J)

Antartica - The Frozen Desert

by Catherine Paverd

Catherine graduated from Biomedical Engineering at the end of 2012 and is

currently in her final year of Electrical Engineering at Wits University.

During the 2013/2014 summer period I was fortunate enough to be selected to go to Antarctica as part of the South African National Space

Agency (SANSA) summer takeover team. The goal of the trip was to commission a newly designed, locally built digital HF radar system at

the South African National Antarctic Expedition base (SANAE IV). The system forms part of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network

(SuperDARN) which consists of 33 radars spread across the globe.

At the poles, the Earth's magnetic field lines converge and act as a channel for space plasma, making these locations ideal for the study

and early detection of space weather events such as Coronal Mass Ejections and Solar Flares. These events cause geomagnetic storms

which can disrupt satellite orbits, GPS systems and radio communications in high latitude areas. Geomagnetic storms can also create

ground induced currents which may damage transformers and power distribution systems. For example, in 1989 a geomagnetic storm

caused damage to parts of the Canadian power grid and left approximately 6 million people without electricity.

SANAE IV is home to many instruments designed to study the earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. The equipment includes an HF

radar, Very Low Frequency (VLF) antennas, an imaging riometer and several magnetometers. Data from this equipment is used by SANSA

at their Space Weather Centre (the only one on the continent) to predict potentially harmful space weather events.

Data from the SANAE IV radar is made available to the SuperDARN community. In keeping with the layout and purpose of the

SuperDARN, the field of view of the radar at SANAE IV overlaps with that of the radar at Halley Station (the British Antarctic base). Data

from the overlapping regions is used to determine the vector velocity of plasma irregularities in the ionosphere, enabling the creation of

vector velocity maps.

On the 28th November 2013 our group set off on the SA Agulhas II, a 134 metre long icebreaker designed to carry passengers, cargo, fuel,

helicopters and scientific equipment for oceanographic studies. The ice was a record thickness, but after eventually breaking through we

reached the continent and flew by chopper to the base on the 24th December.

The base was completed in 1997 and is perched on the edge of a flat topped rocky mountain (nunatak). The mountain edges (Cliffs of

Doom) tower over 200 metres high in places (and personnel at the base are encouraged to be careful when venturing outside)! This

precarious location is ideal for a base as it allows snow to be blow under the base and over the edge of the nearby cliffs, thereby preventing

an excess accumulation of snow around the base. At 187 metres long, the base boasts a library, dining area, bar, TV room and multiple

labs. During takeover, the base can accommodate approximately 100 people, but the team that overwinters at the base typically has 10

members.

We soon discovered that life at SANAE IV consisted of indoor work (during bad weather) and outdoor work (when the winds were lower

than 40kph), as well as general base skivvies and throwing smelly (the not-so-smelly process of shovelling fresh snow into an outdoor snow

smelter to make water). As well as testing and installing the new radar, we were in charge of maintenance and deployment of scientific

instrumentation at the base.

Although the 2013/2014 takeover was brief we were able to accomplish most of the planned tasks. The radar, now the most advanced on

the continent, is up and running and promises to serve South Africa and the SuperDARN community well into the future.

Being part of this experience was both challenging and exciting, and even though the apparent temperature (taking into account windchill

factor) sometimes dropped below -25°C, I would definitely recommend this trip to the driest and coldest continent to anyone!

Figure 1: The base is located on the edge of a flat topped rocky mountain (nunatak). This location is ideal as snow blows

over the edge of the cliff rather than accumulating around the base.

Figure 2: Part of the radar antenna array and the radar hut (half buried in snow) that houses the transmitters.

Figure 3: The SA Agulhas II, a 134 metre long icebreaker which carries passengers, cargo, fuel and scientific equipment.

Figure 4: Up close and personal – a curious Adélie penguin.

Figure 5: An alien at the base?! Not really - just a scientist in full cold weather gear outside the

base on a windy day.

Catherine will tell you her story of 'The Journey South' in the next The Node. To be

continued...

Introducing the SAIEE and IEEE Student Group

The SAIEE and IEEE student group was established in 2006 by students of the School of Electrical and Information Engineering with the

purpose of introducing students to the IEEE. The branch informs students about the organisation and its role in ensuring growth of skill and

knowledge in the field of Electrical and Information Engineering. The branch also acts as an intermediary for students joining the IEEE while

looking out for their best interests. The branch also adds value by providing students with academic talks and field outings. Finally, the

branch aims to bridge the gap between engineers and the public by introducing scholars to the world of engineering and attempting to bring

issues in our country, and the world, to the forefront.

The SAIEE and IEEE student website is a tool which allows us to spread our message and is accessible at: http://witssaieee.org.za. The

website posts news and events which will keep students up to date with current activities. We would appreciate any feedback and ideas.

Anyone interested in posting material to the site, please contact us at: saieee@eie.wits.ac.za.

BlackGirlsCODE event held at EIE School

On March 15th, the BlackGirlsCODE event was held at EIE School. The event was a huge success. 50 girls aged between 7 and 17 were

hosted by the event.

Here is a word from Nyari & the entire BGC organising team :"The facilities were well suited to our workshop and the girls really enjoyed the

morning of learning. We'd also like to thank your team, both for assisting us with the set up prior to the event and for the support we

received from Mandla throughout the actual event."

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