Astrophysics students Ms Sinenhlanhla Sikhosana and Ms Heather Prince of the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science won first and second prize respectively in their categories at the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science (CAES) Post Graduate Research Day.
The Research Day is held annually to provide an opportunity for students from various disciplines to showcase their research.
Sikhosana’s presentation, titled: “Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background”, examined the use of dark matter in the Universe as a lens to see distant objects. Her winning presentation earned her a trip to an international conference to present her work. ‘I feel a sense of accomplishment and this has motivated me to work even harder,’ she said.
Sikhosana’s performance at the Research Day also won her an invite to attend an Africa Engineering Week event at Mangosuthu University of Technology. The Week is a UNESCO programme held throughout Africa that aims to create a greater awareness of engineering as a career.
Prince’s work was titled: “Reconstructing the Matter Distribution in our Universe using Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background Temperature and Polarisation”. It examined the use of maps of the oldest light in the universe to understand how matter is distributed in the Universe.
Professor Kavilan Moodley of the Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit, who supervises both students, said: ‘Sinenhlanhla and Heather have been doing excellent research in cosmology for their masters degree, and have won awards at several conferences. It was great to see them do so well at the College Post Graduate Research Day |