NRF 25 years: Dr Sivuyisiwe Mapukata

NRF 25 years: Dr Sivuyisiwe Mapukata

This year, the NRF is celebrating a major milestone in our history as we commemorate 25 years of Research, Innovation, Impact and Partnerships. It always gives us great joy to share the accomplishments and impact of the many students and researchers we have supported during various stages of their careers. We thank all participants for submitting their stories and hope you enjoy reading about their journey with the NRF. 

Dr Sivuyisiwe Mapukata is a Scientist in the Advanced Materials Division at Mintek. Sy is currently an NRF Thuthuka Grantholder and received NRF funding for her postgraduate studies as well as an NRF Postdoctoral Fellowship.

How did your journey start?

I’ve always been a hard worker, so I knew whichever career path I ended up in, I would flourish.

The science bug bit me in high school and I’ve loved it since. Although challenging, chemistry was always my first choice because it is an interdisciplinary field that offers countless opportunities for innovation and generating solutions to global problems.

My growth and accomplishments, however, wouldn’t have been possible without the training from the universities I went to as well as the supervision and mentorship from various academics and researchers along the way. Seeing first-hand from them the possibilities that can unfold when one pursues a science career was motivating on its own.

How has your affiliation with the NRF impacted your studies/career?

My journey with NRF started in 2014. I had just finished my BSc degree at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and had no idea what to do next. I was accepted for a BSc Honours in Chemistry at the same institution and NRF funded my Honours degree. What a relief that was for my retired parents who were still struggling to pay off my undergraduate fees!

In 2016, I moved to Rhodes University (RU). Although I was awarded the NRF Masters Scarce Skills scholarship to study at UJ, the transition to RU was seamless and pleasant and I got my funding accordingly. I obtained my Master’s in Chemistry with distinction and decided to continue with my PhD, which was fortunately an easy process as NRF came to the rescue once again. In 2018, I was awarded the NRF PhD Scarce Skills scholarship, which afforded me a comfortable student life while still being able to send something home as well.  

Due to the pandemic and all its disruptions, as well as the sudden loss of my mother, I was unfortunately not able to finish my PhD on time, but the NRF made all of that a bit more bearable. In 2021, I received the NRF PhD extension funding, which ensured I continued my studies comfortably until I graduated in October of that year.

Just as I thought my journey with NRF had come to an end, in 2022 I received the NRF Professional Development Programme Postdoctoral Fellowship and was placed at Mintek. Just like that, I had my foot in the door at a company that offered endless growth possibilities, and I was set on making it count.

After a year of hard work and dedication, I was promoted to a Scientist and made a permanent member of the Mintek family. The NRF has continued to support me in my new role as well. In 2024, I was awarded the NRF Thuthuka research grant which has allowed me to pursue my research interests, travel both locally and internationally, and motivated my involvement in student supervision and mentorship.  Basically, for almost a decade, the NRF has seen me through the worst financial storms, exposed me to opportunities beyond my wildest dreams, and equipped me such that even as a young scientist, I am able to find my feet and grow exponentially.

When I started my journey with the NRF, I was just a 23-year-old, with nothing but a degree and the drive and sheer desire to succeed. Now I have multiple degrees, a thriving career, and a blooming personal life. Now I have a different kind of hunger – seeing those who follow behind have a happy ending to their academic careers too.

What is your area of expertise?

My current role as a scientist is to tailor-make various nanomaterials derived from minerals for various applications, including diagnostics and energy. I am also heavily involved in research on water treatment, particularly antimicrobial studies and oil-water separations. I have also recently started exploring research on carbon dioxide conversion to value-added chemicals.

Why is your work/studies important?

The work I do is important because the nanomaterials I make are derived from minerals and thus contribute to their value addition and beneficiation.

The research aspect of my work seeks solutions to issues that affect South Africa and many other countries. For decades, lack of access to clean water has endangered animals, plants and humans alike. It has also caused the spread of diseases, reduced food availability and caused an economic decline. It is therefore of great importance to find sustainable water treatment technologies, particularly for the benefit of less privileged societies.

Moreover, my research interest in the conversion of carbon dioxide would contribute to solving a global problem. The elimination of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is of great importance due to climate change and the overall deterioration of the Earth, thus devising technologies for its capture, conversion and storage is desirable.

What are some of your proudest academic achievements?

My proudest academic achievements include obtaining my PhD qualification as well as the research outputs that I have generated over the years, which include three book chapters and 14 journal papers. My Google Scholar profile is available here. I am also extremely proud of contributing to the training of other aspiring scientists through supervision and mentoring.

The rights to this article (content and images) are reserved by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. This work is licenced under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED) license: this implies that the article may be republished (shared) on other websites, but the article may not be altered or built upon in any way. Credit must be given to the National Research Foundation and a link provided back to the original article

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