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Home › News › General News
14 Jan

In Remembrance: Rodney Davidse

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We are deeply saddened by the passing of Rodney Davidse, our beloved colleague, on 3 January 2021. Less than three weeks before his death, Rodney received a Chancellor’s Award for his valuable contributions through the years as Administrative Officer at the Department of Civil Engineering. His sustained efforts over 46 years of employment with Stellenbosch University have ensured the smooth functioning of teaching initiatives at the Department of Civil Engineering. His contribution reflects the dedication and commitment of one individual to the academic achievements of multiple generations of engineering students. We keep his wife Jean and family in our thoughts and prayers. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– I still cannot believe that you are “no more”  Rodney, that I will have to come back to an office building where you will not be….You were in Civil Engineering since we all can remember, part of the furniture (:-)… You were a big teddy bear….always ready to give a huge hug or a compliment…or a crit for that matter. The person with the best attitude, always positive, a humongous soul, people’s person, caring, a good listener and advisor, a loyal colleague, and best of all, a very loyal and loving friend. You were a perfectionist in everything you do, a giver with a big heart. You lived your life to the full, savoring every moment. You were the glue that kept GMT together, insisting that we all take tea-time breaks and have a laugh together, and later sharing lunch times as well…and even attracted people from other sections. Your hearty laugh could be heard on the floor below or above and bellowed down the passage. You were always available for everybody, staff and students alike, to assist in whichever way you can, whether it was at work, or dropping someone off at the airport. No job was too big or small for you to do. You were a “what you see, is what you get” person. These will be big shoes to fill. You are now with your heavenly Father whom you’ve known too well all your life. May your soul rest in peace knowing that you did what you could while on earth. We will try our best to keep your legacy alive. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. Goodbye dear friend, till we meet again. “I guess Heaven was needing a hero Somebody just like you Brave enough to stand up for what you believe and follow it through When I try to make it make sense in my mind The only conclusion I come to Is that Heaven was needing a hero like you” Janine Myburgh —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Your smile was the brightest and your laughter the warmest. It was an honor getting to know you in such a short period of time. You have been the greatest source of inspiration and courage. Our hearts are broken, but as we mourn your death we also celebrate your life. Rest in peace. ❤️ Gretchen Cloete —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— I only knew Rodney for a short time, but I soon realised that he was a key cog in the running of our department. He was the go to person for any issue I had with figuring out how things worked. I am thankful for Rodney helping me to settle into Stellenbosch University. What I will remember most is not how helpful he was in the office but rather something higher. Many of us find our identity in the work we do, but Rodney found his identity in something much greater. Rodney found his identity in his Christian faith. His passing reminded me to never become so engrossed in the temporary that I forget the eternal. Charles MacRobert —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Rodney Davidse: A million things  I had the privilege of working with Rodney for 27 years. I shall not remember Rodney as someone who accomplished one or two great deeds. For me, he was a shining example of that which most of us can only hope to achieve. A true salt of the earth rock of consistency and reliability, kindness and generosity. The quintessential steward of a million things. From the copying of notes and tests, usually under significant time pressure, and all the daily chores necessary to keep the department running smoothly, to helping me get my laptop registered for home use. Day after day, year after year and always with a friendly and engaging demeanour. Always with a booming laugh, even at my feeblest of jokes. When struggling for words, it is convenient to look to the true wordsmiths, one of whom wrote: Smart lad, to slip betimes away from fields where glory does not stay, and early though the laurel grows it withers quicker than the rose. So yes, Rodney, smart lad and our steward of a million things, you slipped away from these fields too soon. But, your particular brand of glory will stay with us, it will not wither. Rest in peace friend. Gert van Rooyen —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Rodney always had a smile and happy comment for people coming to see him. You knew when he had a task to do that it would get done. In his office there was always either the cricket on, a gospel radio station playing or someone come to visit. He will be sorely missed, but we are grateful that he now is with our heavenly father.” Prof Richard Walls, Dept of Civil Engineering So onthou ek Rodney Davidse: Rodney was al personeellid van die Departement Siviele Ingenieurswese in my studentejare, in die vroeë 1980’s. As jong man was hy al wys en beginselvas. In 1987 het ons kollegas geword. Ons jaarlikse personeelfunksie was in daardie jare ‘n gesellige piekniek op die gras onder die bome by Vergenoeg, anderkant die hangbrug oor die Eersterivier. Rodney en Kenny was telkens die braaispanleiers. Beide was oor die jare staatmakers in die personeel krieketspan saam met oud-kollegas soos Jan Rousseau, Willie Malan (paaltjiewagter) en Gert Loedolff, in ons jaarlikse wedstryd teen die finalejaars op Coetzenburg. Met my terugkeer uit die buiteland in 2001 was Rodney steeds hier, en was dit my voorreg om steeds nouer met hom saam te werk die afgelope 20 jaar. Rodney leef vir my voort in ons department, sy tydlose waardes steeds relevant. In ons dorpsgenoot Pierre Nolte alias Valiant Swart se woorde “ ‘n Leeftyd is so lank en so kort. Mens wonder wat van die jare word. Vandag kan ons nog lag en sing. Môre net onthou en hulde bring.” Rodney, beoordelaar by die 2019 nagraadse funksie. Gideon van Zijl In my last message to Rodney,  on the event of his Chancellor’s medal award, I wrote:  “Dear Rodney,  you make us all so proud!”. I could just as easily have written… “You make us all feel so valued”; or:  “You make us laugh”;  “You make us glad to work here”, or even “You make us want to be better people.” All of these would have been true. I dearly hope that he knew how important he was to all of us,  how much we loved him, how much he changed us all. How every single day was brightened by his presence on the corridor – by his huge smile or boom of laughter,  by the packet of chips or the chocolate bar left on my desk when he thought I needed feeding up,  by the constant efficiency of his office keeping the department on track. Rodney mourned with us, cheered for us, believed in us, prayed for us. He was a man who lived passionately and completely in every moment.  He did not believe in regrets, in the ‘what could have beens’.  His biggest lesson to me was that there is huge joy to be had from making the best of what you have. In addition to the chaos and uncertainty of coronavirus living, we now have to reorganise our lives around his enormous absence.  In grief, and in truth, there are times that it seems like too tall an order.  But when I remember Rodney’s energy,  and imagine him confronting such change – with his trademark grace and faith – I know that he has shown us already how we will get through it. Marion Sinclair  

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Matie Alumni wins Young Engineer of the Year award at SAICE awards dinner.
27 Oct

Matie Alumni wins Young Engineer of the Year award at SAICE awards dinner.

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Dr Cobus van Dyk is a matiealumni that started and completed his studies here at SU all in the space of 10 years. He started his undergraduate degree (BEng) in Civil Engineering in 1998 and obtained a doctoral degree in 2008 where he received the H.L. Reitz medal for the best postgraduate student in the department. Currently he is working at UWP where he is blossoming and is already a principal engineering in a short space of time. Dr Cobus van Dyk was awarded the Young Engineer of the Year award at the SAICE awards dinner held in Durban on 16 October 2014. The award is sponsored by the University of Pretoria. Dr Peter Day wins the Engineer of the Year award Dr Peter Day is a renowned civil engineer that received a DEng in 2013 from SU for his contribution to the field. Peter is currently working at Jones and Wagener but has also joined SU and is lecturing postgraduate students orientating their studies in the field of geotechnical engineering. Peter recently received the Engineer of the Year award at the SAICE awards dinner held in Durban on 16 October 2014.  

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Students’ visit Bauhaus University, Weimar, Germany
27 Oct

Students’ visit Bauhaus University, Weimar, Germany

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In August, we were two US students travelling through Europe, on the way to the Bauhaus Summer School. We were Janus Malherbe and Jan-Hendrik Schreuder, two postgraduate engineering students at the department of Construction & Engineering Management, who went on this expedition. But first, more about the course… The name of the course was “Forecast Engineering and Global Climate Change”, it covered a wide variety of subjects. The focus was structural design for a number of specific purposes, such as Seismic activity, Topological Optimisation, Change Detection Algorithms, Wind Flow Modelling and the application of BIG City Data in civil engineering. There were guest speakers from around the globe, these experts gave us exposure to the above mentioned fields and much more. The course also contained a project which had to be done at the university. Out of various possible theme options we chose the design of long span bridges. The topic under this theme were the optimisation of the aerodynamic properties of a long span bridge. The Civil Engineering Department of Bauhaus University is a focused unit, with specific specializations, one of which is the design of long span bridges and the aerodynamics of these structures. We also want to thank Stellenbosch University, Bauhaus University, our supervisor Prof Jan Wium and the Post Graduate and International Office of the US. It is these institutions and people that made this opportunity a reality. From lef to right the names of the people on the photo: Jan-Hendrik Schreuder (Stellenbosch University) Janus Malherbe (Stellenbosch University) Lars Abrahamczyk (Facilitator from Bauhaus University, Germany) Matthieu Benoît Rhomberg (University of Innsbruck, Austria) Daeyoung Kim (South Corea) Igor Kavrakov (Bauhaus University, Germany)

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BEST POST-GRADUATE PAPER AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
26 Mar

BEST POST-GRADUATE PAPER AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

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Johann Potgieter, currently a PhD candidate in the field of Civil Engineering Informatics, won the prize in the category “Best post-graduate paper” at the 14th International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (ICCCBE 14) that was held in Moscow in June 2012. This is a remarkable achievement since the ICCCBE conferences are the most important conferences in the field of Civil Engineering Informatics and approximately 300 papers were accepted for ICCCBE14. Johann’s paper, titled “A multi-objective approach to project scheduling”, addresses the problem of task scheduling for the consulting engineering industry with a unique approach towards minimising both the duration and the resource demands of the schedule. The prize was awarded during the closing ceremony of the conference in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In the picture below Johann appears on the left, next to Prof Dr Valery Tilichenko (rector of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering), Prof. Dr. Svetlana Bachurina (Russian representative on the International Society for Computing in Civil and Building Engineering) and Dr Ing Irina Bilchuk (conference

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Suvash Chandra Paul, PhD-student in Civil Engineering, wins the best paper award
26 Mar

Suvash Chandra Paul, PhD-student in Civil Engineering, wins the best paper award

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At the recent Third International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies (SCMT3 2013), held in Kyoto, Japan on 18-21 August 2013, best paper awards were made from the selected conference papers by the local and international organizing committee. Suvash Chandra Paul, a PhD student in Department of Civil Engineering presented his paper entitled “Chloride Induced Corrosion in Cracked Reinforced Strain Hardening Cement-Based Composite (R/SHCC)” at the conference and won an award. This paper was selected to be published in the International Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology (JACT), Japan. Suvash Chandra Paul seen on the left, holding the award certificate with Prof van Zijl. The paper was co-authored by Prof Gideon van Zijl, Mr Suvash Chandra Paul’s PhD supervisor and Mr Andrew Theunissen. Prof van Zijl also presented a paper at this conference, entitled “Crack spacing in steel bar reinforced strain hardening cement-based composites (R/SHCC), towards corrosion modelling”. For more information, click here.

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Civil Engineering Prize Giving for 2013
26 Mar

Civil Engineering Prize Giving for 2013

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Please follow this link to see the photos of our Civil Engineering Prize Giving for 2013

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