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MID-TERM EVALUATION
CHRTEM Director: Prof Jan Neethling June 2016
CENTRE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
Self-evaluation Report: October 2011 – April 2016
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Summary
The Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (CHRTEM) is a facility for advanced electron microscopy situated at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The main aim of the CHRTEM is to provide a broad community of South African scientists and students with a full range of state-of-the-art instruments and expertise for materials and nanoscience research.
The urgent need for an HRTEM facility in South Africa had already been voiced in 1984 by an eleven-member committee of prominent SA scientists from the South African Institute of Physics and the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, who were tasked by government to investigate the need for a Multi-user Advanced Electron Microscope Facility. Since the establishment of the CHRTEM in 2011, cutting edge research results has already been obtained by using the new electron microscopes at the Centre. It is widely acknowledged that the research carried out is of strategic importance to South African industries, universities and science councils. The CHRTEM has established itself as a leading international research facility with publications in high impact factor journals, successful local and international collaborations, and widespread recognition for the high quality of research outputs generated. The JEOL JEM-ARM200F at the CHRTEM is the only aberration (Cs) corrected analytical atomic resolution TEM in the country and on the African continent.
Selected research highlights include the discovery of the silver transport mechanism in the SiC layer of TRISO coated nuclear particles (this solves a 40-year old mystery of great importance), the discovery of the phase of a silver-platinum alloy (has been under investigation for more than 100 years), HRSTEM and EELS investigation of graphene (led to a joint paper with Oxford University in Nature Communications), the atomic structure of {001} platelet defects in natural diamond (has been under investigation for more than 70 years), early stage spinodal decomposition in a Fe-36Cr steel (joint paper with KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm), degradation of polycrystalline diamond compounds used in drill bits for oil and gas drilling (collaboration with Element Six) and hydrogen reduction of silica-promoted iron oxide particles using an in situ gas flow TEM specimen holder (Sasol sponsored PhD project).
An important human capital development achievement has been the training of a number of young electron microscopists who have mastered the advanced electron microscopy techniques and are able to apply it successfully to materials research. These techniques include electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) in the scanning electron microscope (SEM), Cs- corrected transmission (and scanning transmission) electron microscopy (TEM and STEM), atomic resolution imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and electron tomography. Data processing includes HRTEM and HRSTEM image simulation, strain mapping of HR(S)TEM images, EBSD analysis, 3D reconstruction of FIB sections and simulation of phase transformations in metallic systems. On the electron microscope side, a high level of competency in the aligning and optimisation of the Cs-corrected HRTEM, FIB SEM and FEG SEM has been attained. The young HRTEM scientists trained are now employed at the Centre for HRTEM and they are mainly responsible for training the next generation of electron microscopists for South Africa. The challenges experienced in training students from other universities to master advanced electron microscopy theory and materials characterisation are discussed and a specialised training intervention is proposed.
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The Centre has initiated the establishment of JEOL and FEI TEM user groups in South Africa. Within South Africa numerous TEMs are in operation at different research sites. These instruments represent a significant capital investment and it is important to ensure proper utilisation of the instruments. As part of this initiative, Centre staff visits EM units across the country to train EM users at their own institutions. A total of 14 staff and students at the CSIR in Pretoria received training; and one scientist from the University of Cape Town and three from the University of Pretoria were trained.
The industry training interventions are of great importance to South Africa since Sasol and Eskom are two of the major industries in the country. In the case of Sasol, the CHRTEM is involved in on-going training and collaboration with five Sasol scientists and a PhD student. In the case of Eskom, the major energy producer in the country, the CHRTEM now plays an important role in the research and training activities of the Materials Science Specialisation Centre of the Eskom Power Plant Engineering Institute (EPPEI). Most MSc and PhD studies include detailed microstructural characterisation of several ferritic steels and stainless steels in the assessment of creep, stress corrosion cracking, oxidation behaviour and quantification of precipitates, grain structure and dislocations in the steels. More than six students employed by Eskom have been trained and the IP generated is ready to be used in the development of material properties and remaining life prediction models for Eskom coal fired power plants.
The CHRTEM is regularly involved in public engagement activities by way of school visits to the Centre, media articles, and invited public and conference/workshop talks. The Centre also has a well-established presence in the national and international microscopy community. Over the past 5 years, the Centre has leveraged its connections to facilitate national and international collaboration and capacity development through the organisation of schools, workshops and symposiums.
Although a fair amount of the Centre’s operating costs are recovered, it is not enough to grow the Centre and to provide for future maintenance contracts. The current funding of the Centre is not sustainable because the majority of academics and postgraduate students who make use of the Centre have limited research funds. This is mainly due to SA’s current low economic growth which impacts negatively on the capacity of government and industry to support academic and industrial research. In order to grow the Centre and ensure long term financial sustainability, it is proposed that the Centre should evolve into a National Facility for Advanced Electron Microscopy with a cost recovery model and charge-out-rates based on the internationally accepted models used in the UK and EU. This model would create free access for postgraduate students in the RSA to the CHRTEM facilities.
The retention of the highly skilled electron microscope scientists and the microscope engineer (all with PhDs) is an essential strategy for the long term sustainability of the CHRTEM. These scientists were all trained and developed at NMMU (and abroad) over a period of about 9 years. It is therefore important to create a career track for the highly skilled electron microscope scientists and other skilled staff in the Centre so that this strategic national asset can be retained and developed further.
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Table of Contents
1. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 9
1.1. About the CHRTEM ................................................................................................................. 9
1.1. Staff ....................................................................................................................................... 11
1.2. Establishment ........................................................................................................................ 12
1.3. Contribution to national imperatives ................................................................................... 14
1.4. Governance and management ............................................................................................. 15
1.5. Mid-term review and self-evaluation report ........................................................................ 17
2. Performance and Impact .............................................................................................................. 18
2.1. Summary of performance (October 2011 to April 2016) ...................................................... 18
2.2. Access and usage .................................................................................................................. 21
2.2.1. Institutions and collaborators accessing the CHRTEM ................................................. 21
2.2.2. Hours on equipment ..................................................................................................... 24
2.2.3. Service definition .......................................................................................................... 26
2.2.4. Access strategy .............................................................................................................. 26
2.2.5. Impact of CHRTEM on research infrastructure ............................................................. 26
2.3. Research ................................................................................................................................ 29
2.3.1. Outputs ......................................................................................................................... 29
2.3.2. Conference and seminar participation ......................................................................... 31
2.3.3. Research focus and collaborations ............................................................................... 31
2.3.4. Impact of CHRTEM on IP and knowledge generation ................................................... 31
2.4. Human capital development ................................................................................................. 39
2.4.1. Curriculum development .............................................................................................. 40
2.4.2. Training ......................................................................................................................... 40
2.4.3. Career development ..................................................................................................... 49
2.4.4. Impact of CHRTEM on human capital development ..................................................... 50
2.5. Outreach ............................................................................................................................... 53
2.5.1. Workshops and symposia ............................................................................................. 53
2.5.2. Media engagement ....................................................................................................... 54
2.5.3. Marketing and outreach strategy ................................................................................. 54
2.5.4. Impact of CHRTEM on science engagement ................................................................. 55
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2.6. Intellectual property (IP) and data management ................................................................. 57
2.6.1. Data integrity and management strategy ..................................................................... 57
2.6.2. IP strategy for persons accessing the centre ................................................................ 57
2.7. Operations and sustainability ............................................................................................... 58
2.7.1. Human capital ............................................................................................................... 58
2.7.2. Governance and management...................................................................................... 59
2.7.3. Finances ........................................................................................................................ 61
3. Addressing Challenges .................................................................................................................. 67
3.1. Facilities................................................................................................................................. 67
3.2. Human capital ....................................................................................................................... 67
3.2.1. Envisaged training interventions and researcher development plans ......................... 67
3.2.2. Additional microscope scientists .................................................................................. 68
3.2.3. Staff retention ............................................................................................................... 68
3.2.4. Revision of CHRTEM staff salaries ................................................................................. 69
3.2.5. Scientific leadership development for succession planning ......................................... 69
3.3. Finance .................................................................................................................................. 72
3.3.1. Projected financial requirements (next 5 years) ........................................................... 72
3.3.2. Cost-recovery model ..................................................................................................... 77
3.4. Long-term Strategy ............................................................................................................... 80
3.4.1. Strategy to evolve into a National Facility/Centre of Excellence .................................. 80
3.4.2. New research and collaboration initiatives .................................................................. 81
Our Sponsors
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List of Figures
Figure 1: CHRTEM facilities. .................................................................................................................. 10 Figure 2: Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General of the DST. At an Executive Committee meeting of the DST held on 27 August 2009, Prof Neethling had to present the case for the establishment of the CHRTEM. The committee was chaired by Dr Mjwara who supported the initiative. ........................... 12 Figure 3: CHRTEM finally approved at the NRF in Pretoria. Front: Prof Mohammed Jeenah (NMMU), Ms Rakeshnie Ramoutar (NRF), Ms Ntombi Ditlopo (NRF), Dr Isabel van Rooyen (PBMR), Dr Kobus Herbst, Dr Romilla Maharaj (NRF), and Prof Jan Neethling (NMMU). Back: Dr Albert van Jaarsveld (NRF), Dr Suprakas Sinha Ray (CSIR), Dr Richard Botkin (Element 6), Dr Daniel Adams (DST), Dr Robert Tshikhudo (Mintek), Dr Ettienne Snyders (Necsa), Dr Bruce Anderson (Sasol), and Dr Jorg Lalk (PBMR). ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Figure 4: The CHRTEM was officially opened on Tuesday 11 October 2011 by Minister Blade Nzimande of the DHET. ......................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 5: CHRTEM governance and management structure. ............................................................... 16 Figure 6: Students supported per instrument per stage. ..................................................................... 22 Figure 7: Capacity usage of instruments per stage. Performance targets are indicated to the right. 100% capacity refers to 7 hours per day for a total of 200 days per year. The 200 days of operation p.a. allow for estimated downtime and maintenance. ........................................................................ 25 Figure 8: Number of article contributions per instrument (October 2011 – April 2016). .................... 29 Figure 9: Students trained per instrument per stage. .......................................................................... 45 Figure 10: Demographics of students trained per stage. ..................................................................... 46 Figure 11: Students enrolled per stage. These numbers include all students who were supervised and/or co-supervised by CHRTEM staff members. ............................................................................... 47 Figure 12: Dr Innocent Shuro (right) with Dr Johan Westraadt from the CHRTEM at the JEOL 2100 TEM. Dr Shuro spent a week at the CHRTEM to receive training. Dr Shuro is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Centre for Imaging and Analysis at the University of Cape Town. ................................. 52
List of Tables
Table 1: Summary of performance deliverables for the first 5 years of operation of the CHRTEM (October 2011 to April 2016) ................................................................................................................ 18 Table 2: Summary of performance deliverables relating to access and usage (October 2011 to April 2016) ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Table 3: Summary of institutional support and training. ...................................................................... 22 Table 4: Breakdown of Productive Hours: Stage 1 (1 Oct 2011 - 30 Sept 2013) .................................. 24 Table 5: Breakdown of Productive Hours: Stage 2 (1 Oct 2013 - 30 April 2016) .................................. 24
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Table 6: Summary of performance deliverables relating to research outputs (October 2011 to April 2016) ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Table 7: Articles per journal (Oct 2011 – April 2016)............................................................................ 30 Table 8: Summary of performance deliverables relating to human capital development (October 2011 to April 2016) ........................................................................................................................................ 39 Table 9: Industry members, emerging researchers and operators trained on the FIBSEM, ARM or feeder-TEM per stage. .......................................................................................................................... 41 Table 10: Industry training interventions. ............................................................................................ 42 Table 11: Training workshops and schools organised or hosted by the CHRTEM. ............................... 42 Table 12: A lists of operators who have received training as part of the JEOL/FEI TEM user group. ... 43 Table 13: Training of CHRTEM staff. ..................................................................................................... 44 Table 14: Breakdown of student training – Stage 1. ............................................................................. 46 Table 15: Breakdown of student training – Stage 2. ............................................................................. 46 Table 16: CHRTEM Students: Oct 2011 – April 2016. This list includes students registered at NMMU as well as students registered at other institutions who were/are co-supervised by CHRTEM staff. . 47 Table 17: Postgraduate student enrolment and throughput (Stage 1: October 2011 to September 2013) ..................................................................................................................................................... 48 Table 18: Postgraduate student enrolment and throughput (Stage 2: October 2013 to April 2016) .. 48 Table 19: Summary of performance deliverables relating to outreach (October 2011 to April 2016) . 53 Table 20: Summary of performance deliverables relating to IP and data management (October 2011 to April 2016) ........................................................................................................................................ 57 Table 21: Summary of performance deliverables relating to operations and sustainability (October 2011 to April 2016) ............................................................................................................................... 58 Table 22: Income received .................................................................................................................... 62 Table 23: Costing table (June 2016) ...................................................................................................... 62 Table 24: Total income received for the period 2011 to 2015 ............................................................. 63 Table 25: Expenditure over the period 2011-2015, comparing the budget as per the Governance Document against actual funds spent. ................................................................................................. 64 Table 26: Expenditure over the period 2013-2015 comparing the Budget requested annually to the NRF with the actual expenses. .............................................................................................................. 65 Table 27: Operating costs of the second five years of the CHRTEM (DST contribution) ...................... 72 Table 28: Operating costs of the second five years of the CHRTEM (NMMU/ other contributions) ... 73 Table 29: Revised budget based on 80% cost recovery of maintenance contracts, two additional TEM operators and salary increases of 3 HRTEM specialists (DST contribution). ........................................ 74 Table 30: Operating expenses for according to the original Governance and Management Plan of the CHRTEM (includes projected total contributions by DST and NMMU). ............................................... 76 Table 31: Example of a cost recovery model for a Small Research Facility in the UK .......................... 79
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List of Abbreviations AB Advisory Board ALS Analytical Laboratory Solutions ARM Atomic Resolution Microscope CHRTEM Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy CoE Centre of Excellence Cs Spherical aberration DHET Department of Higher Education and Training DST Department of Science and Technology EBSD Electron Backscattered Diffraction EDS Energy Dispersive Spectrometry EELS Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy EFTEM Energy Filtered Transmission Electron Microscopy EM Electron Microscopy EMU Electron Microscopy Unit FIBSEM Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope Gatan Name of USA company supplying EM related equipment HRTEM High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope MSSA Microscopy Society of Southern Africa Necsa Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa NMMU Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University NNEP/NEP National Nanotech Equipment Programme/National Equipment Programme NPEP Nanotechnology Public Engagement Programme NRF National Research Foundation NRF National Research Foundation PIPS Precision Ion Polishing System R&D Research and Development SAASTA South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement SEM Scanning Electron Microscope SER Self-evaluation Report STEM Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy TEM Transmission Electron Microscope THRIP Technology for Human Resources Industrial programme TKD Transmission Kikuchi diffraction UFS University of the Free State UJ University of Johannesburg UK United Kingdom UWC University of the Western Cape WDS Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy
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1. Background
1.1. About the CHRTEM
The Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (CHRTEM) is a facility for advanced
electron microscopy situated at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth,
South Africa. The main aim of the CHRTEM is to provide a broad community of South African scientists and
students with a full range of state-of-the-art instruments and expertise for materials research. The core
services provided by the Centre include:
• Postgraduate and postdoctoral support and training: Postgraduate and postdoctoral positions are
available at the CHRTEM. The Centre also provides advanced microscopy support and training to
postgraduate students and researchers from a wide range of disciplines that do not have the
required facilities at their host institutions.
• Operator training: In addition to training postgraduate students, the Centre also provides training
to microscope operators at electron microscope facilities across the country.
• Consultancy: The Centre provides consultancy and microscopy services to industry, R&D
institutions and academic institutions.
• Sample preparation: The Centre provides sample preparation services in instances where the
requested techniques are not available at the host institution.
The CHRTEM houses four state-of-the-art electron microscopes (Figure 1) including the only double
aberration (Cs) corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM) on the African continent. Other
instruments include a fully analytical TEM, a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM), an
analytical high resolution SEM, a nano-indentor and an atomic force microscope. The Centre also houses
the enabling infrastructure for sample preparation and data processing. For more information on the
CHRTEM facilities see Appendix 1.
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JEOL ARM200F double Cs corrected TEM
JEOL 7001F SEM
JEOL 2100 LaB6 TEM
Helios NanoLab 650 FIB-SEM
Figure 1: CHRTEM facilities.
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1.1. Staff
HRTEM/TEM SPECIMEN ASSISTANT
Mr N Mfuma
TEM/SEM SPECIMEN ASSISTANT Ms C Blom
FEG SEM SCIENTIST
Mr WE Goosen
MICROSCOPE ENGINEER
Dr JH O’Connell
DIRECTOR Prof JH Neethling
FEEDER TEM SCIENTIST
Dr A Janse van Vuuren
FIB-SEM SCIENTIST
Mr E Minnaar
HRTEM SCIENTIST
Dr JE Olivier
SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW
Dr JE Westraadt
MANAGER Prof ME Lee
PROJECT COORDINATOR Ms L Westraadt
ADMIN/FINANCE OFFICER
Ms M Kolver
MSc NANOSCIENCE NODE ADMIN
Ms N Agherdien
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1.2. Establishment
The urgent need for an HRTEM facility in South Africa had already been voiced in 1984 by an eleven-
member committee of prominent SA scientists from the South African Institute of Physics and the
Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, who were tasked by government to investigate the need for a
Multi-user Advanced Electron Microscope Facility. The committee warned (in 1984) that South Africa had a
serious shortage of scientists skilled in the use of modern TEM and in the interpretation of TEM results. It
was concluded that unless this problem was rectified, technological and academic developments in South
Africa would be significantly hampered. The committee also reported that South Africa was lagging behind
developing countries such as India and China in the application of advanced TEM techniques to solve
microstructural problems in a wide range of materials. The committee suggested that the rapid progress
made in materials characterisation in India and China was due to the fact that these countries had invested
in TEM equipment and the training of enough young scientists in modern electron microscopy techniques.
At the HRTEM consultative workshop hosted by the NRF and the DST in
2008 in Cape Town, participants comprising academics, industry
stakeholders (including Sasol, Element Six and PBMR company) and
international experts unanimously supported Prof Jan Neethling from
NMMU to lead the proposed South African Centre for HRTEM. The goal to
establish an advanced electron microscopy facility in South Africa was
finally realized in 2008 when funding of R120 million (instruments - R90
million, new building - R 30 million) was finally secured for the CHRTEM. The
official opening of the Centre took place on 11 October 2011.
Since 2011, cutting edge research results have been obtained on the new
electron microscopes at the CHRTEM. The wide range of materials that are
being investigated include ceramics used in fission reactors, nanoparticle
catalysts, nanophosphors, semiconductor quantum wells, polycrystalline
diamond products, natural diamond, metal alloys, nuclear grade graphite,
oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels, graphene and platinum alloys.
The CHRTEM has now established itself as a leading international research
facility with publications in high impact factor journals, successful local and international collaborations,
and widespread local and international recognition for the high quality of research outputs generated.
Figure 2: Dr Phil Mjwara, Director
General of the DST. At an
Executive Committee meeting of
the DST held on 27 August 2009,
Prof Neethling had to present the
case for the establishment of the
CHRTEM. The committee was
chaired by Dr Mjwara who
supported the initiative.
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“It has catapulted NMMU to the forefront of global nano-science research and will provide South Africa with cutting-
edge capability in national priorities like clean water, energy, minerals’ beneficiation and manufacturing.”
Minister Blade Nzimande
Department of Higher Education and Training
Figure 4: The CHRTEM was officially opened on Tuesday 11 October 2011 by Minister Blade Nzimande of the DHET.
Figure 3: CHRTEM finally approved at the NRF in Pretoria. Front: Prof Mohammed Jeenah (NMMU), Ms Rakeshnie
Ramoutar (NRF), Ms Ntombi Ditlopo (NRF), Dr Isabel van Rooyen (PBMR), Dr Kobus Herbst, Dr Romilla Maharaj (NRF),
and Prof Jan Neethling (NMMU). Back: Dr Albert van Jaarsveld (NRF), Dr Suprakas Sinha Ray (CSIR), Dr Richard Botkin
(Element 6), Dr Daniel Adams (DST), Dr Robert Tshikhudo (Mintek), Dr Ettienne Snyders (Necsa), Dr Bruce Anderson
(Sasol), and Dr Jorg Lalk (PBMR).
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1.3. Contribution to national imperatives
The activities at the CHRTEM are well aligned with the following national strategies:
i. The National Research and Development Strategy which supports value-adding activities to South
Africa’s natural resources. Projects related thereto include Pt beneficiation (for Lonmin), and
advanced alloy research which focuses on South African minerals, such as PtAg, Ti-6Al-4V and
zirconium alloys.
ii. The DST Ten Year Plan on Innovation aims for the transformation towards a knowledge-based
economy in South Africa. The Centre is already making significant contributions in areas identified
as grand challenges, such as:
a. Energy security – by carrying out research on nano-crystalline accident tolerant fuel
cladding materials for water cooled nuclear reactors (PWRs); research on stress corrosion
cracking in nuclear reactor (Koeberg) stainless steel; characterization of materials that are
exposed to stress conditions in coal fired power plants; nano-particle catalyst research to
advance the coal-to-liquids technology; research on PGM catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells;
quantum dot solar cells based on GaSb imbedded in GaAs and research on the nuclear fuel
particles for Generation IV high temperature gas cooled small modular nuclear reactors.
The local industries involved are Sasol and Eskom and other collaborators include
institutions in SA and abroad.
b. Bio-economy – by assisting biochemistry, microbiology and pharmacy students and staff
with electron microscopy investigations to promote the farmer-to-pharma value chain
aimed at strengthening the bio-economy.
iii. The National Nanotechnology Strategy in which key objectives include the support of long-term
nanoscience research that will lead to a fundamental understanding of the design, synthesis,
characterisation, modeling and fabrication of nano-materials and the development of human
resources. The Centre is already contributing significantly to the achievement of the following
goals of the National Nanotechnology Strategy:
a. Nanomaterials with applications in aerospace and automotive industries, nuclear energy
and sensor technologies;
b. Nanoscale analyses used in the research and development of chemical processing,
nanoparticle catalysts, beneficiation of minerals and metals and the development of
advanced materials and manufacturing.
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The JEOL JEM-ARM200F is the only aberration corrected analytical atomic resolution TEM in the country
and on the African continent. With this HRTEM atomic columns in a specimen can be imaged and analysed.
The ARM is also fitted with the most advanced EELS and EDS analytical systems in the world and hence the
ARM with all its analytical attachments and imaging devices represents the current state-of-the-art. The
other three complementary electron microscopes, JEOL 2100 feeder TEM, FEI Helios FIB-SEM and JEOL
7001 SEM provide, together with the ARM, a world-class materials, nanomaterials and biomaterials
research facility. The research that has been carried out since the establishment of the CHRTEM in 2011 is
of crucial and strategic importance to South African industries, universities and science councils. As a result
of this, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is now internationally acknowledged for high quality
research and expertise by many scientists in the microscopy and materials science communities.
Some of the current collaborators include the DST Nanophotonics Research Chair group at NMMU, NECSA,
NMISA, Sasol, DST-NRF CoE in Strong Materials (WITS), Mintek, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in
Dubna (Russia), Element Six (UK and RSA), Mechanical Engineering Departments at NMMU and UCT,
Eskom, Physics and Metallurgy Departments at the University of the Free State, UP and UCT, DST-NRF CoE
in Catalysis at UCT, HySA CoC at North West University, Idaho National Laboratory (US), Oxford University
(UK), Max Planck Institute (Stuttgart, Germany), Westinghouse (US), CARAT (Sweden), Kyoto University
(Japan), University of São Paulo (Brazil) and the Ohio State University (US).
The CHRTEM assists postgraduate students and academics from many universities (including HDIs) with
electron microscopy research. HDIs assisted include the University of the Western Cape, Walter Sisulu
University, Tshwane University of Technology and North West University (Mafikeng Campus).
1.4. Governance and management
The CHRTEM is an official research entity within NMMU’s Faculty of Science. The Centre is governed by a
Governance and Management Plan (see Appendix 2) agreed to and signed by the National Research
Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology; and runs within the policies of the university,
including delegation of authority and financial authority.
In accordance with the CHRTEM Governance and Management Plan, the following governance structure (
Figure 5) is in place:
• A management and operations team made up of Centre staff members focuses on the day-to-day
operations and management of the Centre.
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• A management committee. The management committee is comprised of NMMU staff members
representing the Centre, the department of research management, the department of finance,
and various academic departments from the faculties of science and engineering that make use of
the Centre. The committee meets quarterly, and is responsible for the effective running of the
Centre, approval of finances and ensuring performance against set objectives.
• An advisory board committee consisting of representatives from the Centre, NMMU
management, industry, government (the DST and the NRF), users and international and local
experts meet biannually to review the management, utilisation and outputs of the Centre.
• An external proposal screening committee composed of South African experts review and make
recommendations on applications received for the use of the HRTEM and feeder TEM, and
• A user forum representing current and potential users meet annually at the Microscopy Society of
Southern Africa Conference to discuss current and future research services and support required
from the Centre.
Figure 5: CHRTEM governance and management structure.
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1.5. Mid-term review and self-evaluation report
According to the CHRTEM Governance and Management Plan (see Appendix 2), a mid-term review is to be
held after the first 5 years of operation of the Centre. The main inputs that will be used to evaluate the
performance of the Centre are:
• the Director’s Self-evaluation Report;
• Annual Progress Reports (APRs) 2011- 2016 submitted by the Director, CHRTEM;
• the Deputy Vice Chancellor’s (DVC NMMU) institutional level impact report;
• the Five-year evaluation of the Centre guided by the evaluation dimensions; and
• Site visits to the Centre by members of the evaluation panel.
This document, together with its various appendices, comprises the self-evaluation report (SER) to be
submitted by the Director of the CHRTEM as part of the mid-term evaluation. The purpose of the
evaluation is to assess:
(i) the overall performance of the CHRTEM for the period October 2011 to April 2016, against the
KPIs and deliverables agreed to in the Governance and Management Plan (see Appendix 2) of
the CHRTEM;
(ii) the medium (five years) to long-term sustainability of the CHRTEM;
(iii) the impact of the CHRTEM on research infrastructure, knowledge generation, human capital
development and science engagement; and
(iv) the scientific leadership development for succession planning.
This SER has been divided into two main parts:
1. Section 1: Performance and Impact
2. Section 2: Addressing Challenges
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2. Performance and Impact
A five-stage gate process is employed to guide the progress of the establishment and growth of the
CHRTEM. The five stages used in the stage gate model include:
• Forming (Setting the Scene) - Oct 2011 to Sept 2013;
• Storming (Bedding Down) - Oct 2013 to Sept 2015;
• Norming (Growth and Return on Investment) - Oct 2015 to Sept 2017;
• Performing (Production and Return on Investment) - Oct 2017 to Sept 2020; and
• Exiting (Winding up and Impact Assessment) - Oct 2020 to March 2021.
Key deliverables and performance indicators (KPIs) for each stage are laid out in the Governance and
Management Plan of the Centre (see Appendix 2). This SER provides feedback on progress with respect to
these deliverables for the period October 2011 to April 2016, and covers the Forming and Storming stages
of the CHRTEM:
• Stage 1: Forming (Setting the Scene) - Oct 2011 to Sept 2013;
• Stage 2: Storming (Bedding Down) - Oct 2013 to April 2016.
2.1. Summary of performance (October 2011 to April 2016)
Table 1: Summary of performance deliverables for the first 5 years of operation of the CHRTEM (October 2011 to April 2016)
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
Training Interventions Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Succession planning (internal and external candidates with at least one from HDI)
Strategy developed
Under review
2 Internal successors identified and trained
2 2 2
Number of emerging researchers trained1 2 8 3 11 5 11* Number of industry members trained1 2 2 3 4 5 4* Number of technicians and operators trained1
1 9 2 16 3 16*
Curriculum development 2 courses Done Implement Implemented 2 Implemented Number of students trained1 by accessing CHRTEM:
10 15 13 22 23 32*
- Hons 4 2 4 4 8 6* - MSc 3 6 5 12 8 17* - PhD 3 7 4 6 7 9*
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- SA Post-doc fellows 1 1 2 1 3 2* - Non-SA Post-doc fellows 1 1 1* - Female students 20% 20% 25% 45% 25% 38%* - Black students 20% 53% 25% 73% 25% 63%* Total number of students supported2 accessing the CHRTEM:
75 111
- Hons 26 40 - MSc 20 41 - PhD 29 30 - SA Post-doc fellows 2 1 - Non-SA Post-doc fellows 4 11 - Female students 43% 46% - Black students 64% 59% Average duration of dissertations/theses: - MSc ≤ 2.5 yrs 3.7 ≤ 2.5 yrs 2.3 - PhD ≤ 3.5 yrs 4 ≤ 3.5 yrs 3.3 - PhD (MSc upgrade) ≤ 5 yrs - ≤ 5 yrs - Access and Usage Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Number of institutions accessing CHRTEM:
- Private Sector 1 13 2 16 3 23* - Universities 3 14 5 18 8 22* - Science Councils 1 7 1 4 2 8* Hours on equipment (p.a.) 3 50%
Capacity 41% 75%
Capacity 55%
– research 1247 1405 1870 2077 – contract work 378 188 567 127 – training 420 142 630 82 – outreach 50 0 75 7 Number of collaborators accessing CHRTEM:
- National 4 12 5 15 9 16* - International 1 7 2 11 3 13* Access strategy Develop Done Review - Research Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Number of disciplines associated with researchers accessing the CHRTEM
2 10 3 13 3 13*
Outputs Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual No. students graduating from CHRTEM: - Hons 4 2 4 4 8 6 - MSc - 3 3 3 3 6 - PhD - 2 3 3 3 5 No. internationally recognized peer reviewed publications:
5 26 8 33 13 59
- generated by CHRTEM research activities
3 8 5 14 8 22
- generated by users accessing CHRTEM 2 18 3 19 5 37 Provisional patents applications filed - - - - - - Outreach Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual No. of local workshops 1 2 2 3 3 5 No. international symposia 1 1 1 1 2 2
Media engagement Ad-hoc and ongoing
Ongoing Ad-hoc and ongoing Ongoing
Ad-hoc and ongoing
Ongoing
Schools engagement 1 2 3 14 4 16 Interactive website http://chrtem.nmmu.ac.za
Live Live, Nov 2013
Updated Ongoing Updated Ongoing
Marketing Material Printed Done Updated Ongoing Updated Ongoing Marketing and outreach strategy in partnership with SAASTA and NPEP
Approved Accepted by AB - May 2016
Roll out strategy
Ongoing
IP and Data Management Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Data integrity and management strategy Approved Done Roll out
strategy In place
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IP strategy for persons accessing the centre
Approved Done Roll out strategy
In place
Operations and Sustainability Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Staff employed – technicians 1 1 - - 1 1 Staff employed - operators 4 4 - - 4 4 Staff employed – co-ordinator 1 1 - - 1 1 Service definition with user community Defined Done Set up committees: Advisory Board; Management Committee; Management and Operations Team; User Forum
Set up committees
Done
Sound working relationship between the CHRTEM and its collaborators
Demonstrate Done
At least one core team member to create team spirit
One team activity per annum
Quarterly luncheons
Equipment maintenance (incl. replacement of parts) strategy for next 5 years
Recommended by Board
Done
100 % of core team members to undertake one NRF scientific review per annum
2 Available 3 Available
*Where individuals or institutions have accessed the CHRTEM over both stages the total for the reporting period does not
include duplicate records. The total will therefore not be the sum of stage 1 and stage 2 KPIs in many cases. 1 “Training” refers to the training of the identified groups as users of any of the 4 instruments (SEM, HRTEM, feeder, FIB) at the
CHRTEM. As a minimum requirement users must have operated the instrument themselves under supervision and must have a
sound theoretical knowledge of the functioning of the instrument.
2 “Students supported” refers to all students assisted by the Centre – it includes, but is not limited to, those students who were
trained. 3 100% capacity refers to 4 200 hours per annum comprised of 7 hours per day for the 3 instruments (HRTEM, feeder, FIB) for a
total of 200 days per year. The 200 days of operation p.a. allow for estimated down time and preventative maintenance.
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2.2. Access and usage
Table 2: Summary of performance deliverables relating to access and usage (October 2011 to April 2016)
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
Training Interventions Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Total number of students supported2 accessing the CHRTEM:
75 110
- Hons 26 40 - MSc 20 40 - PhD 29 30 - SA Post-doc fellows 2 1 - Non-SA Post-doc fellows 4 11 - Female students 43% 46% - Black students 64% 59% Access and Usage Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Number of institutions accessing CHRTEM:
- Private Sector 1 13 2 16 3 23* - Universities 3 14 5 18 8 22* - Science Councils 1 7 1 4 2 8* Hours on equipment (p.a.) 3 50%
Capacity 41% 75%
Capacity 55%
– research 1247 1405 1870 2077 – contract work 378 188 567 127 – training 420 142 630 82 – outreach 50 0 75 7 Number of collaborators accessing CHRTEM:
- National 4 12 5 15 9 16* - International 1 7 2 11 3 13* Access strategy Develop Done Review - Research Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Number of disciplines associated with researchers accessing the CHRTEM
2 10 3 13 3 13*
Operations and Sustainability Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Service definition with user community Defined Done
2.2.1. Institutions and collaborators accessing the CHRTEM
Table 3 provides a summary of institutional support (see Appendix 3 for a comprehensive breakdown of
institutional support and training). The number of students supported per instrument per stage is shown in
Figure 6.
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Figure 6: Students supported per instrument per stage.
Table 3: Summary of institutional support and training.
South African Universities Institution Department Stage 1 Stage 2 CUT Mechanical Engineering Support -
CHRTEM Support and Training Support and Training Physics (Collaborators) Support and Training Support and Training Botany Support Support Biochemistry & Microbiology (Collaborators) Support Support and Training
Mechanical Engineering (Collaborators) Support Support
Mechatronics Support Support Geosciences Support and Training Support Biomedical Technology - Support Zoology - Support Chemistry Support Support Pharmacy - Support InnoVenton Support Support Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology Support Support
Chemistry Support - Mechanical Engineering (Collaborators) - Support
Process Engineering Support Support Chemical Engineering (Collaborators) - Support
EMU (Collaborators) - Training Mechanical Engineering (Collaborators) Support and Training Support and Training
Physics (Collaborators) Support Support UFS Physics (Collaborators) Support and Training Support and Training UJ Physics - Support and Training UKZN EMU Support -
Chemistry Support - Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering Support Support
19 23
39
68
3526
51
104
FEI HELIOS FIB-SEM JEOL ARM JEOL JEM TEM JEOL FEG SEM
Stage 1 Stage 2
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UWC Physics (Collaborators) Support and Training Support and Training Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering (Collaborators) Support Support
Physics (Collaborators) Support Support Chemistry - Support
International Universities Institution Department Stage 1 Stage 2 University of Nairobi, Kenya Mechanical Engineering Support - University of Zimbabwe Physics - Support Chungbuk National University, South Korea
Physics (Collaborators) Support Support
Linkoping University, Sweden Physics (Collaborators) Support - Oxford University, UK Department of Materials
(Collaborators) Support Support
Universität Osnabrück, Germany
Physics (Collaborators) - Support
The Ohio State University, USA Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Collaborators)
- Support
Lund University, Sweden MAX IV Laboratory (Collaborators) - Support
Sichuan University, China Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics (Collaborators)
- Support
University of Grenoble, France SiMaP (Collaborators) - Support Technical University Dresden, Germany
Institute of Power Engineering (Collaborators) - Support
South African Science Councils Institution Department Stage 1 Stage 2
Port Elizabeth Support - National Centre for Nano-structured Materials (Collaborators)
Support -
NESCA Support - NMISA Support Support Bayworld - Support
International Science Councils Institution Department Stage 1 Stage 2 Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia
Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (Collaborators) Support Support
Idaho National Laboratory (Collaborators) Support Support Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
Stuttgart Center for Electron Microscopy (Collaborators) Support -
South African Industry Institution Department Stage 1 Stage 2 SASOL (Collaborators) Support and Training Support and Training ESKOM (Collaborators) Support Support Michelangelo manufacturing jeweller
Support Support
Orion Engineered Carbons Support Support Aberdare Cables Support - Autocast Aluminium Support - 180 degrees Support Support Ford Support - Foskor Support - Aspen Pharmacare Support - Volkswagen Support - Elitheni Coal Support - Alpine solutions POC - Support Hulamin (Collaborators) - Support and Training Shatterprufe - Support
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Lonmin - Support Rubber Nano Products - Support Air Liquide - Support Lumotech - Support EC Demolishers CC - Support Fresabi - Support
International Industry Institution Department Stage 1 Stage 2 Material Technology Associates, California
- Support
Element Six, UK Global Innovation Centre (Collaborators) Support Support
2.2.2. Hours on equipment
A summary of instrument capacity usage is given in Figure 7. A breakdown of productive hours per stage is
given in Table 4 and Table 5.
Table 4: Breakdown of Productive Hours: Stage 1 (1 Oct 2011 - 30 Sept 2013)
Stage 1 FEI FIB-SEM JEOL ARM JEOL JEM TEM JEOL FEG SEM
Research 1248.5 531 1030 1249.5
Marketing 0 0 0 10
Contract Work 58 119 198 73
Training 73 99.5 111 57
Total 1379.5 749.5 1339 1389.5
% Capacity* Performance target: 50%**
49% 27% 48% 50%
* % Capacity = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 ℎ𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑜7 ℎ𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑜 × 200 𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑑𝑑𝑜𝑜 × 2 𝑑𝑑𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑜
100% capacity refers to 7 hours per day for a total of 200 days per year. The 200 days of operation p.a. allow for estimated downtime and preventative maintenance. **Performance target: Forming stage (Oct 2011 -Sept 2013): 50% capacity Table 5: Breakdown of Productive Hours: Stage 2 (1 Oct 2013 - 30 April 2016)
Stage 2 FEI FIB-SEM JEOL ARM JEOL JEM TEM JEOL FEG SEM
Research 2167 1523 1676 2526
Marketing 10.5 0 8 9.5
Contract Work 96 161 72 283
Training 49 20 142.5 207.5
Total 2322.5 1704 1898.5 3026
% Capacity* Performance target: 75%**
64% 47% 52% 84%
* % Capacity = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 ℎ𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑜7 ℎ𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑜 × 200 𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑑𝑑𝑜𝑜 × 2 7
12 𝑑𝑑𝑝𝑝𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑜
100% capacity refers to 7 hours per day for a total of 200 days per year. The 200 days of operation p.a. allow for estimated downtime and preventative maintenance. **Performance target: Storming stage (Oct 2013 -Sept 2015): 75% capacity
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Figure 7: Capacity usage of instruments per stage. Performance targets are indicated to the right. 100% capacity refers to
7 hours per day for a total of 200 days per year. The 200 days of operation p.a. allow for estimated downtime and maintenance.
CHALLENGE: INSTRUMENT HOURS At a meeting of the CHRTEM advisory board held in May 2015, it was noted that the total productive
sessions on the JEOL ARM was only 46%, whereas the target for the reporting period (2014) was 75% of
capacity. The international advisors confirmed that, considering the number of available operators, a
usage of 45% was on par internationally, and that a new staff injection would greatly improve
performance.
A significant portion of the operators’ working hours are dedicated to non-operating activities such as
post-processing of data, interpretation of data, supervision of specimen preparation, writing, literature
surveys, student supervision and training, conferences, international visits and training, assisting users at
other institutions, reviewing and editing (e.g. MSSA proceedings). There are currently four operators for
two TEMs. Two of these operators also use the FIB-SEM.
The KPIs relating to instrument hours had been estimated before the centre was established, and the
KPIs may need to be revised as part of this 5 year review. The best solution to increase TEM usage would
be to increase the number of TEM operators (see section 3.2.2).
49%
27%
48% 50% 50%
64%
47%52%
84%75%
FEI HELIOS FIB-SEM
JEOL ARM JEOL JEM TEM JEOL FEG SEM PERFORMANCETARGET
Stage 1 Stage 2
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2.2.3. Service definition
The core services provided by the CHRTEM are defined on the CHRTEM website:
http://chrtem.nmmu.ac.za/our-services
2.2.4. Access strategy
The channel for service provision is defined on the CHRTEM website:
http://chrtem.nmmu.ac.za/access
All applications for analytical work must be submitted on-line, and accompanied by a summarised project
proposal together with the standard access forms (see Appendix 4). Applications are subject to approval
by the proposal screening committee.
2.2.5. Impact of CHRTEM on research infrastructure
Since the launch of the Centre in 2011, cutting edge research results have already been obtained on the
new electron microscopes at the CHRTEM. The JEOL ARM200F is the only aberration corrected analytical
atomic resolution TEM in Africa. With this HRTEM, atomic columns in a specimen can be imaged and
analysed by using the EDS or EELS systems. Collaboration between the centre and other leading industrial
partners and universities is extensive and focuses on the application of high resolution and analytical
electron microscopy techniques to the characterisation of strategic materials. These include materials used
in nuclear fission reactors and coal fired power plants, cutting and drilling tools, opto-electronic devices,
catalysts for Sasol’s coal-to-liquids technology, platinum and titanium alloys and various nanoparticle
structures. Other materials investigated include ceramics, nanophosphors, semiconductor quantum wells
and quantum dot heterostructures, polycrystalline diamond products, natural diamond, oxide dispersion
strengthened ferritic steels and graphene. The Centre for HRTEM has established itself as a leading
international research facility with publications in high impact factor journals, successful local and
international collaborations, and widespread local and international recognition for the high quality of
research outputs generated.
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The instruments in the Centre are used for multi-disciplinary research covering aspects of physics,
nanophysics, chemistry, materials science, nuclear and mechanical engineering, geology and biochemistry.
The NMMU (specifically because of the Centre for HRTEM) is one of four universities which have been
tasked by the DST to present an MSc Nanoscience (physics, chemistry and biomedical) degree course. The
teaching and training of students for this qualification are a joint effort by the University of the Western
Cape, NMMU, and the Universities of the Free State and Johannesburg. The MSc nanophysics students in
the programme spend 3 weeks per year at the Centre for HRTEM for training in crystallography, X-ray
diffraction, SEM, TEM and EDS.
The CHRTEM created the enabling infrastructure for the establishment of Biological Electron Microscopy at
the NMMU. The specialisation of nanobiomedical science forms a part of the MSc Nanoscience degree.
This activity is supervised by the Centre for HRTEM and is well aligned with the vision of the NMMU to
establish a medical school in Port Elizabeth. Electron microscopy analyses are also performed for NMMU
pharmacy students.
The director of the CHRTEM is the developer and driver of the NMMU Institutional Research Theme with
title: “Nanoscale Materials Characterization, New Materials and Processes”. This theme has already
provided the opportunity for a number of emerging researchers from the departments of Biochemistry,
Chemistry and Physics to apply successfully for NMMU research grants.
Sasol and the DST provided R 1.7 million for a video conferencing facility at the Centre for HRTEM. This
facility is linked to the electron microscopes at the Centre to allow live remote viewing of electron
microscope images by collaborators in South Africa and abroad. It is also used for science festivals and
school outreach programmes. The video conferencing facility will be used for distance education as part of
the MSc Nanoscience programme.
The Centre HRTEM has created the enabling environment and infrastructure to support the Mechanical
Engineering department at NMMU (eNtsa) with materials science research, training and advanced electron
microscopy analyses. eNtsa developed the friction stir hydropillar process used by ESKOM to sample aging
power-plant steel for lifetime analyses. The Centre for HRTEM is assisting eNtsa with the study of the
microstructural effects of this process. Eskom has revealed that the research work performed by eNtsa
during the past few years, has already saved them R 1 billion.
The Centre HRTEM also has a collaboration agreement with the Centre for Materials Engineering (CME) at
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the University of Cape Town to do research and train postgraduate students employed by Eskom as part of
the Eskom Power Plant Engineering Institute (EPPEI) Materials Science Specialization programme. This
agreement provides funds to employ Dr Johan Westraadt (formerly with Element Six in Springs, SA) at the
Centre for HRTEM to act as bridge between NMMU physics and engineering.
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2.3. Research
Table 6: Summary of performance deliverables relating to research outputs (October 2011 to April 2016)
2.3.1. Outputs
Appendix 5 lists the articles for the reporting period together with information on article citations, journal
impact factors, and instruments used. Figure 8 shows the number of article contributions per instrument
for the reporting period. Table 7 summarises the number of articles per journal for the reporting period
together with the journal impact factor.
Figure 8: Number of article contributions per instrument (October 2011 – April 2016).
2832 30
19
FEI HELIOSFIB-SEM
JEOL ARM JEOL JEMTEM
JEOL FEGSEM
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
Outputs Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual No. internationally recognized peer reviewed publications:
5 26 8 33 13 59
- generated by CHRTEM research activities
3 8 5 14 8 22
- generated by users accessing CHRTEM 2 18 3 19 5 37 Provisional patents applications filed - - - - - - Operations and Sustainability Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Sound working relationship between the CHRTEM and its collaborators
Demonstrate Done
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Table 7: Articles per journal (Oct 2011 – April 2016)
Journal Journal Impact
Factor* 2013/2014 Internal Articles
External Articles
Nano Letters 12.94 0 1 Nature Communications 10.742 0 1 ChemSusChem 7.117 0 1 Earth and Planetary Science Letters 4.724 0 1 RSC Advances 3.708 1 0 Nanotechnology 3.672 0 2 Journal of Alloys and Compounds 2.726 2 1 Applied Surface Science 2.538 0 1 Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 2.521 0 2 Journal of Structural Geology 2.42 0 1 Journal of Luminescence 2.367 0 1 Physica Status Solidi C 2.343 0 1 Journal of the European Ceramic Society 2.307 0 1 Materials Letters 2.269 0 1 Journal of Applied Physics 2.185 0 1 Thermochimica Acta 2.105 1 0 Journal of Nuclear Materials 2.016 5 4 Materials Characterization 1.925 1 0 International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 1.764 2 1 Microscopy and Microanalysis 1.757 0 1 Minerals Engineering 1.714 0 1 Physica B: Condensed Matter 1.605 1 7 Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 1.594 0 1 Diamond and Related Materials 1.572 1 1 Infrared Physics and Technology 1.46 1 0 Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 1.186 3 4 Nuclear Engineering and Design 0.972 3 0 Bulletin of Materials Science 0.87 0 1 Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids 0.603 1 0 *http://www.citefactor.org/journal-impact-factor-list-2014.html
Other research outputs include:
• Dr Johan Westraadt, Senior Research Fellow, CHRTEM. EPPEI-2016/1: Power Plant Materials Characterisation Progress Report (February 9, 2016).
• Dr Johan Westraadt, Senior Research Fellow, CHRTEM. EPPEI-2015/1: Power Plant Materials Characterisation Progress Report (March 3, 2015).
• Dr Johan Westraadt, Senior Research Fellow, CHRTEM. EPPEI-2014/1: Power Plant Materials Characterisation Progress Report (May 31, 2014).
• Dr Johan Westraadt, Senior Research Fellow, CHRTEM. EPPEI-2013/1: Power Plant Materials Characterisation Progress Report (September 30, 2013).
• Westraadt J and Minnaar E, Characterisation of Ultra-high Pressured PCD, Progress Report, January 2014.
• Westraadt J, Characterisation of Ultra-high Pressured PCD, Progress Report, July 2013.
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2.3.2. Conference and seminar participation
See Appendix 6.
2.3.3. Research focus and collaborations
A summary of CHRTEM research focus areas and collaborations is given in Appendix 7. For each focus
area, the following is highlighted:
• Collaborators;
• Capacity development;
• Faculty exchange; and
• Outputs.
2.3.4. Impact of CHRTEM on IP and knowledge generation
The Centre for HRTEM can list quite a number of research highlights. These highlights include the discovery of the
silver transport mechanism in the SiC layer of TRISO coated nuclear particles (this solves a 40-year old mystery of
great importance), the discovery of the phase of a silver-platinum alloy (has been under investigation for more than
100 years), HRSTEM and EELS investigation of graphene (led to a joint paper with Oxford University in Nature
Communications), the atomic structure of {001} platelet defects in natural diamond (has been under investigation for
more than 70 years), early stage spinodal decomposition in a Fe-36Cr steel (joint paper with KTH Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm), degradation of polycrystalline diamond compounds used in drill bits for oil and gas drilling
(collaboration with Element Six) and hydrogen reduction of silica-promoted iron oxide particles using an in situ gas
flow TEM specimen holder (Sasol sponsored PhD project). Apart from the generation of high-quality academic
publications, the Centre has made important contributions to applied research for industry. Feedback from
collaborators about the importance of the research performed by the CHRTEM and the likely intellectual property
generated is listed below.
Marthinus Bezuidenhout
Corporate Specialist (Power Plant Materials)
ESKOM, Sustainability Group, Research Testing & Development, Plant Performance & Optimisation
“Limitations of conventional non-destructive testing and metallographic replication for quality control and plant life
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management of complex creep resistant steels is a significant driver for Eskom to develop complimentary state of the
art techniques with local capabilities to overcome these limitations. With significant growth in small sampling
capabilities as a non-destructive tool, Eskom’s Materials, NDT and Welding Study Committee identified
microstructural characterisation using the HRTEM as a critical development area for the Materials Science
Specialisation Centre of the Eskom Power Plant Engineering Institute (EPPEI).
Most MSc and PhD studies included in-depth microstructural characterisation of several ferritic steels and stainless
steels in the assessment of creep, stress corrosion cracking and oxidation behaviour. Special capabilities developed
include industrial techniques for repeatable quantification of precipitates, grain structure and dislocations in the
materials. This intellectual property is ready to be used in the development of material properties and remaining life
prediction models for Eskom power plants.
The prospect of generating significant intellectual property through these models is exciting and it is critical to ensure
maintenance of the current facilities and most importantly the retention of the CHRTEM specialists that developed
the industrial techniques for EPPEI. “
Prof Danie Hattingh
Director, eNtsa; Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth
“From eNtsa’s point of view our work done with the CHRTEM team are primarily to assist with creating an in-depth
understanding of the deformation mechanisms active during friction processing of steels, titanium and aluminium.
This understanding enables the engineering team to critically evaluate interactions between processes variables and
weld quality. The processes under evaluation include Laser welding, Friction Stir Welding, Friction Hydro Pillar
Welding (parallel and tapered pins) and Rotary Friction Welding. There certainly is an indirect link between the
WeldCore® technology developed and work done at the CHRTEM. Although post the development of the IP, the
current work does assist in efforts to optimise welding processes.”
Prof Candace Lang
Mechanical Engineering
University of Sydney, Australia
“South Africa's metal resources have enormous potential for value-addition through manipulation of structure; the
development of IP in this regard offers a profitable alternative to the export of metal as raw material
commodities. The Centre for HRTEM has provided a unique facility for identification and characterisation of novel
metallic materials. We have used the Centre to develop alloys of precious metals which have superior properties to
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the standard alloys which are available. We have achieved this by identifying the atomic configuration of alloys
which exhibit outstanding properties. We have identified, for the first time, unexpected crystallographic structures in
precious metal alloys such as CuPt (L13 structure) an AgPt (L11 structure). These structures form the foundation of a
body of IP which promises to continue to grow"
Dr Isabella van Rooyen
Nuclear Materials Scientist
Fuel Design and Development Department, Idaho National Laboratory, USA
“Collaborative research between INL and Centre for HRTEM on a neutron irradiated TRISO coated
particle; average burnup of 19.38% fissions per initial metal atom; from the first INL Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR-
1) experiment led to a peer reviewed journal paper and significant new information on fission product transport
mechanisms were published. This research was possible due to the Centre's ability to work with low level irradiated
TRISO particle lamellae and the HRTEM available for such research. This research was further undertaken due to the
excellent collaborative network previously established between the INL TRISO fuel advanced microscopy leader and
the Director of the Centre of HRTEM at NMMU.
The HRTEM investigation focused on silver, palladium, and cadmium due to interest in silver transport mechanisms
and possible correlation with palladium and silver previously found. This research led to the following research
highlights as published in the Journal paper:
• First high resolution electron microscopy fission product nano-structural locations of irradiated TRISO coated
particles.
• Pd observed inside SiC grains in proximity to stacking faults.
• Ag co-exists with Pd and Cd only - suggests a Pd-assisted transport mechanism.
• First finding of neutron transmutation product P, in SiC layer of TRISO coated particles. No direct link to Ag
transport.
• This study confirmed palladium both at inter and intragranular sites. Phosphorus was identified in SiC grain
boundaries and triple points.
"Van Rooyen, I. J., E. J. Olivier and J. H Neethling, “Investigation of the Fission Products Silver, Palladium and Cadmium
in Neutron Irradiated SiC using a Cs Corrected HRTEM“, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 476 (2016) 93 – 101."”
Dr Esna du Plessis
Manager X-ray and Synchrotron, R&T, Analytics, Sasol Group Technology
“The research conducted by the Centre for HRTEM for Sasol forms an integral part of understanding our materials
and unravelling challenging research questions. The HTREM research results combined with in-house analytical
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results help to define the landscape for our intellectual Property opportunities. The HRTEM research facility provides
high quality microscopy results as well as the expertise to maximize the benefit from the research. The Centre for
HRTEM provides results for Sasol that helps us grow our Intellectual Portfolio continuously.”
Antionette Can
Element Six (UK)
“Two of our key research areas are focused on designing novel materials for Oil & Gas drilling and Precision
Machining applications. Understanding the relationship between microstructure and behaviour is very important, as
this allows us to identify critical microstructural parameters, which contribute to the success of the materials in
application. In the last 12 years that I have been working on diamond and cubic boron nitride-related research I have
seen the increasing value of filing product-focused patents. A major trend in polycrystalline cubic Boron Nitride
(PcBN) in the past 15 years has been to increase the fraction of fine particles in the ceramic (non-cBN) part of the
material, which has resulted in increasing challenges in microstructural analysis. Standard SEM analysis allows us to
identify basic distribution of cBN grains in the ceramic matrix and diamond grains in metallic matrix (in PCD), but we
have found that more detailed analysis of the ceramic and metallic matrix structures to identify microstructural
fingerprints is enhanced with the following techniques:
• Higher resolution SEM capability, possibly combined with techniques such as broad ion beam polishing and EBSD
and TEM sample preparation by ion beam milling or Focused ion beam (FIB) slicing to get a thin sample, followed
by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) or TEM
• FIB SEM slicing of wear scars of PCD or PcBN has proven useful for understanding wear mechanisms.
All of the above has strengthened our understanding of materials behaviour in different applications and given us
tools to file stronger, more product/ structure based patents, which are in the end easier to police and uphold in the
intellectual property world.”
Prof Robert Knutsen
Head of Department: Mechanical Engineering; Director: Centre for Materials Engineering
“The UCT Materials and Mechanics specialisation, under the leadership of Professor Rob Knutsen, decided early on in
the EPPEI programme to partner with the Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (CHRTEM) at
the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). The CHRTEM is well known for its state-of-the-art
microscopes and infrastructure as well as availability of and expert microscope operators and analysts.
Notwithstanding the impressive capabilities of the CHRTEM, it was recognised that a challenge lay in transforming a
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traditional physics-based operation into an activity more closely aligned with physical metallurgy, and more
particularly the characterisation of multiphase steel microstructures. Dr Johan Westraadt was appointed at the
CHRTEM through the EPPEI support and the transformation journey began. By working closely with Professor
Knutsen and the UCT EPPEI students, Dr Westraadt very quickly got to grips with the different elements of the steels’
constitution and he was able to apply his sound electron microscopy knowledge to interpreting the microstructures.
But this was only the beginning. A physics graduate, Genevéve Marx, was recruited as an MSc candidate at the
CHRTEM to explore specimen preparation and microscopy techniques that would best fit the requirements to
identify the microstructural features that influence creep behaviour in steels. The result of this work is a
comprehensive description of procedures for preparing specimens and for extracting relevant microstructure
information from damaged steels. The quantitative techniques demonstrated in this study opens up the possibility to
perform accurate life assessment on weldments with inhomogeneous microstructures by following an analytical
microstructural based approach. Her dissertation, entitled “Quantitative Microstructural Evaluation of 12 Cr Creep
Aged Steels After Welding”, recently received rave reviews from the external examiners and she successfully
graduated cum laude.
Other students UCT students supported by the Centre for HRTEM are the following:
• Intergranular Oxidation Behaviour of 316L Stainless Steel in the Nuclear Primary Water Environment – Ryan
Matthews (PhD)
• Investigation of the fine grain heat affected zone of repair welded creep aged power plant steel – Trisha
Rasiawan (MSc)
• Influence of heat treatment on the stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of low pressure turbine blade steel
FV520B – Lee Naicker (MSc)
• Influence of heat treatment parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of CSEF steels (Steel 91) –
Philip Doubell (MSc)
• Microstructural and property assessment of creep aged 12 Cr steel after welding – Teboho Molokwane (MSc)
• Effect of geometry on the microstructural ageing of a 1CrMoV turbine rotor steel – Philip van der Meer (MSc)
• Grain refinement mechanisms in titanium alloys – Velile Vilane (PhD)
• Ordering in AgPt alloys – Soraya Allies (MSc)”
Mrs Gillian Watson
Collections Manager
Port Elizabeth Museum at Bayworld
“The Port Elizabeth Museum fish otolith collection was initiated in 1972 and comprises >20200 otolith pairs from
>16000 species from >200 families. The majority are southern African marine forms. More than 50% of the marine
fish fauna from this region, approximately 2200 species in about 270 families, is represented in the collection.
Southern Africa has about 15% of the total number of marine fish species in the world (Smith & Heemstra 1995).
Page 36 of 82
During the past 44 years studies have accentuated the usefulness of otoliths in prey identification of marine
predatory piscivores such as marine mammals and birds. It has served to aid the identification of prey from the
stomach contents of predators, archaeological middens and palaeontological studies.
Since 1995 Dr Smale and Mrs Watson continued work on the Otolith Atlas II project. From 2014 the micrographs to
be used in the second publication have been taken using the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s Electron
Microscopy Centre scanning electron microscope. These excellent images will be used to describe the new species to
be included in this publication.
This collection has been used in the production of more than 60 publications on dietary studies by staff and students
of the Museum. It has also been beneficial for numerous national and international collaborative food web research
projects.”
Mr Ryan Matthews (PhD student)
Eskom (Koeberg reactor)
“My PhD research project relates to measuring the growth, under various conditions, of oxidation on the surface of
316L stainless steel when exposed to the primary water environment of a pressurised water reactor (PWR), which
Koeberg Nuclear Power Station operates 2 units. This oxidation penetrates into the material preferentially at grain
boundaries, which, under certain conditions, could create conditions suitable for a primary water stress corrosion
cracking (PWSCC) to initiate. Therefore this research project will contribute towards a larger international effort to
predict PWSCC initiation in the primary systems of PWRs. Considering that Koeberg intends to continue operating
the units to 60 years, accurate prediction of PWSCC in austenitic stainless steels could become very important with
regards to system integrity.
The CHRTEM has made this research project possible, where all four of the centre’s microscopes have been
involved. The stainless steel samples were initially characterised by EBSD, before being exposed to primary water
conditions in autoclaves at R&D laboratories of Electricité de France (EDF). Thereafter a technique was developed for
sectioning the samples with FIB-SEM, and then measuring the oxide penetration using the TEMs. Without the
availability of the CHRTEM facilities and personnel the project could not have been envisaged.
In addition to the research outcomes for Eskom, and the wider PWR operating industry, the skills and in depth
knowledge gained by myself will be an asset for Eskom. I form part of a wider team in Nuclear Engineering which
considers the strategies to mitigate ageing mechanisms that could affect the integrity of the plant. Therefore Eskom
has invested in their people and provided the opportunity for materials research, which will be of long term benefit
to their nuclear operations.”
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Dr Tom Bornman
Elwandle Coastal Node Manager, South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)
“The CHRTEM at NMMU has been an instrumental platform in my and SAEON's (business unit of the NRF funded
primarily by the DST's Global Change Programme) research over the past five years. Eight research
projects/programmes made use of the HRTEM facilities:
1) Algoa Bay Pelagic Ecosystem Long-term Ecological Research Programme (phytoplankton identification);
2) Harmful Algal Bloom dynamics (dinoflagellate identification);
3) Microphytobenthos of tufa stromatolite ecosystems (diatom identification);
4) Microalgae of the greater St Lucia/Mfolozi estuary;
5) Phytoplankton of the Agulhas Current Large Marine Ecosystem;
5) Phytoplankton of the Mozambique Channel (completed)
6) Marine littoral diatoms of the West Coast of southern Africa;
7) Diatom biogeography of South Africa (newly funded project from 2016 to 2019)
8) Phytoplankton of the sub-Antarctic islands of the Southern Ocean.
Three students (two PhD, two MSc) with a further two Professional Development Programme PhD students from
2016 - 2019 benefitted from the data and IP generated for them by the HRTEM.
Additional IP that will be generated over the next few years include the following peer-reviewed manuscripts: 4 in
preparation; 5 planned and at least a further 10 envisaged over the next three years. The identification and
description of species new to science may take several years to complete, hence the delay in publications. In addition
to the manuscripts we, together with colleagues from NMMU and the University of Szczecin, Poland, will develop
several identification guides for marine phytoplankton and diatoms around the coast of South Africa.
I am looking forward to continue our close working relationship with your facility in the years to come and will
provide you with all our outputs that acknowledge the use of your facility.”
Prof Lesley Cornish
Director: DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
“The Centre for HRTEM is invaluable to our work in that we can access techniques there which we do not have here.
We can also send our students and researchers there for them to work, and this means that better work is done,
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because they know the samples better, and know what they are trying to do better. Currently, we have not patented
anything yet, but we have done work which could have been patented, had we not already published it. In the future,
we would like to patent work, because we are still developing a range of materials, and have been presenting at
conferences and also publishing journal papers. In one part of the work, patenting is not an issue because we work
across two companies, and the aim of the work is to advertise the improvements available. However, this does not
detract from the value of the work, and our appreciation of the relationship that we have with the CHRTEM.”
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2.4. Human capital development
Table 8: Summary of performance deliverables relating to human capital development (October 2011 to April 2016)
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
Training Interventions Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Number of emerging researchers trained1
2 8 3 11 5 11*
Number of industry members trained1
2 2 3 4 5 4*
Number of technicians and operators trained1
1 9 2 16 3 16*
Curriculum development 2 courses Done Implement Implemented 2 Implemented Number of students trained1 by accessing CHRTEM:
10 15 13 22 23 32*
- Hons 4 2 4 4 8 6* - MSc 3 6 5 12 8 17* - PhD 3 7 4 6 7 9* - SA Post-doc fellows 1 1 2 1 3 2* - Non-SA Post-doc fellows 1 1 1* - Female students 20% 20% 25% 45% 25% 38%* - Black students 20% 53% 25% 73% 25% 63%* Average duration of dissertations/theses:
- MSc ≤ 2.5 yrs 3.7 ≤ 2.5 yrs 2.3
- PhD ≤ 3.5 yrs 4 ≤ 3.5 yrs 3.3
- PhD (MSc upgrade) ≤ 5 yrs - ≤ 5 yrs -
Outputs Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual No. students graduating from CHRTEM:
- Hons 4 2 4 4 8 6 - MSc - 3 3 3 3 6 - PhD - 2 3 3 3 5
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2.4.1. Curriculum development
2.4.1.1. Undergraduate curriculum development
The following undergraduate courses are required for postgraduate electron microscopy specialisation.
These courses were either presented by CHRTEM staff, or moderated by CHRTEM staff:
1. Optics for 2nd years (moderated by Centre Staff)
2. Modern Physics and Nuclear Physics for 2nd years (presented by Centre Staff)
3. Crystallography and X-ray diffraction for 3rd years (presented by Centre staff)
2.4.1.2. Postgraduate and specialist courses
1. MSc Nanoscience: Experimental Nanophysics (Introductory SEM and TEM theory and practice)
2. MSc and PhD physics degrees: Advanced electron microscopy theory and practice (SEM, EBSD,
TEM, HRTEM, STEM, EELS and EDS) taught to postgraduate students by Centre Staff.
MSc Nanoscience: The NMMU is one of four universities — NMMU, UWC, UFS, UJ — tasked by the DST to
introduce the new MSc Nanoscience curriculum and degree. The two year MSc Nanoscience degree consists
of one year coursework, followed by a one year research project; and students can graduate with an MSc in
NanoChemistry, NanoPhysics or NanoBiomedical science.
2.4.2. Training
Part of the Centre’s mandate is to provide training in advanced TEM techniques at the national level. To
this end, the following key training avenues have been identified:
• Training of scientists (including MSc and PhD students) employed at South African institutions with
EM units – scientists spend a period of 1 to 4 weeks at the CHRTEM
• JEOL/FEI User groups – Centre staff train and assist EM users at their own institutions
• Training of students registered at NMMU
• MSc Nanoscience students
• Biomedical EM training
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2.4.2.1. Training levels
Training levels are defined as follows:
• O – No exposure. Student supported in their absence
• TRL1 – Student observes primary/secondary operator
• TRL2 – Student operates instrument in the presence of a primary/secondary operator
• TRL3 – Operation with limited functional access and with limited supervision of an operator
• TRL4 – Full independent operation during normal working hours
2.4.2.2. Operators trained
A summary of operators trained on the FIBSEM, ARM or feeder-TEM during the reporting period is given in
Table 9.
Table 9: Industry members, emerging researchers and operators trained on the FIBSEM, ARM or feeder-TEM per stage.
Name Current position Category Training Level Industry Emerging
Researcher Operator Stage 1 Stage 2
Dr Matthew Coombes
SASOL Past CHRTEM PhD
X X X 2 3
Willem Erasmus SASOL X X 2 2 Bongani Xaba
SASOL X X - 2
Mr Ryan Matthews ESKOM UCT PhD
X X - 3
Ms Vilile Vilane UCT PhD X X 2 2 Dr Sarah George UCT Researcher X X - 2 Dr Innocent Shuro UCT EMU X - 2 Dr Colani Masina Lecturer - UKZN
Past CHRTEM PhD and Postdoc
X X 2 Operator
Ms Nolufefe Ndzane
Programme Coordinator – TUT Current CHRTM PhD
X X - 3
Dr Jacques O’Connell
CHRTEM Engineer X X Operator Operator
Dr Jaco Olivier CHRTEM Scientist X X Operator Operator Mr William Goosen CHRTEM Scientist X - 2 Dr Arno Janse van Vuuren
CHRTEM Scientist X X Operator Operator
Dr Johan Westraadt
CHRTEM Research Fellow
X X Operator Operator
Ms Candice Blom CHRTEM Technician X - 1 Mr Etienne Minnaar
CHRTEM PhD X X 2 3
Ms Genevéve Marx CHRTEM PhD X X - 3
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2.4.2.3. Industry
Industry training interventions are listed in Table 10. These are in addition to any other training schools or
workshops attended that were organised by the CHRTEM (see 2.4.2.4).
Table 10: Industry training interventions.
Affiliation Name Intervention Willem Erasmus; Bongani Xaba; Stanley Manzini; Esna du Plessis
Visits to the Centre
Willem Erasmus and David Mitchel International Gatan Advanced EELS application training workshop hosted by the CHRTEM (5 - 9 Nov 2012)
Eskom Ryan Matthews Visits to the Centre Hulamin TM Buthelezi; PM Molasi; V Tshivhandekana; TW
Nevhutalu; BE Shingange Prof Mike Lee presented a SEM EDS training course (Hulamin: R&D, Durban, 27-29 October 2015)
2.4.2.4. General training workshops and schools
A list of training workshops and schools organised or hosted by the CHRTEM is given in Table 11.
Table 11: Training workshops and schools organised or hosted by the CHRTEM.
Workshop/School Place Date Host/Organiser MSSA 2014 pre-conference workshop: International Symposium on Electron Crystallography, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, Materials Modeling and Characterization. The international speakers were Profs C Colliex, R LeSar, H Fraser and S Hovmöller.
Protea Hotel, Stellenbosch 1 Dec 2014 Organiser
Nanomegas Advanced Workshop on Electron Crystallography
CHRTEM 14 - 16 Oct 2013
Host
Introductory FEI Helios FIBSEM Workshop
CHRTEM 3 Sept 2013 Host
Advanced applications FIBSEM course
CHRTEM 4 - 6 Sept 2013
Host
ALS AKASAL Metallographic Sample Preparation Workshop
CHRTEM March 2013 Host
Gatan Intermediate EELS (theory and practice) school. Attended by researchers from UP; Element Six, SA; CHRTEM; UCT; Mintek; UWC; Brunel University, London.
CHRTEM 12 - 16 Nov 2012
Host
SA Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Summer School.
CHRTEM 27 Nov - 2 Dec 2011
Hosted and presented
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2.4.2.5. JEOL/FEI TEM User Groups
The Centre has initiated the establishment of JEOL TEM and FEI TEM user groups in South Africa. Within
South Africa numerous TEMs are in operation at different research sites. These instruments represent a
significant capital investment in research capacity, and it is important to ensure proper utilisation of the
instruments. The formation of user groups aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience in
the operation of these microscopes and the interpretation of results obtained.
As part of this initiative, Centre staff visit EM units across the country to train and assist EM users at their
own institutions. Training activity is summarized in Table 12.
Table 12: A lists of operators who have received training as part of the JEOL/FEI TEM user group.
Student Position Instrument Institution Field
Ms Rhandzu Rikhotso TEM Technician
Ms Charity Maepa SEM Technician
Mr Lindokuhle Mdletshe Technician
Ms Zamaswazi Tshabalala MSc Student
Ms Katekani Shingange MSc Student
Ms Abesach Motlatle MSc Student
Mr Amos Akande PhD Student
Dr Kaustav Bhattacharjee Post-Doc
Dr Siva Goddetti Post-Doc
Dr George Chimowa Post-Doc
Dr Phumelele Kleyi Post-Doc
Dr Ntombi Mathe Post-Doc
Dr Peter Makgwane Researcher
Dr James Wesley-Smith Manager, Characterisation Facility
Dr Innocent Shuro Chief Scientific Officer FEI F20 Technai TEM
UCT Centre for Imaging and Analysis
Ms Erna van Wilpe Staff
Ms Antoinette Buys Staff; PhD student
Ms Chantelle Venter Staff; PhD student
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2.4.2.6. Training of CHRTEM staff
A list of CHRTEM staff training activities is given in Table 13.
Table 13: Training of CHRTEM staff.
Name Training Intervention Place Date Dr Westraadt Dr Olivier Mr Minnaar Mr Ngongo Mr Mfuma
Training on Gatan PIPS II ion mill
CHRTEM 24 Nov 2015 The Centre had obtained a Gatan PIPS II ion mill on loan from Gatan UK for evaluation purposes.
Olusola Adewale, Biochem & Micro; Lukanyo Bolo, Chemistry; Candice Blom, CHRTEM; Kegomoditswe Mathobela, CHRTEM.
Training on new ultra microtome
CHRTEM 14-18 Sept 2015 New equipment installation and training
Prof Lee Applications training Bruker-Nano, Berlin, Germany
15-16 Sept 2014
Dr Westraadt MatCalc training course Vienna, Austria 5-8 Aug 2014 Mr Mfuma Struers Theoretical and
Practical Materialographic Sample Preparation Training Course
22-23 July 2014
Dr Olivier Stuttgart Center for Electron Microscopy (StEM) Workshop on "“Advanced Transmission Electron Microscopy Techniques”
Ringberg Castle, Lake Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany
2-5 July 2014
Mr Goosen Advanced EBSD Applications Training
Oxford Instruments, London, UK
3 April 2014
Prof Lee Mr Goosen
HR-EBSD Workshop Imperial College London
2 April 2014
Centre staff and students
Workshop on Exit Wave Reconstruction
CHRTEM 5 March 2014 Presented by Prof Angus Kirkland and Dr Neil Young from Oxford University
Prof Lee X-Ray Microscopy and Mineralogic Workshop
Carl Zeiss, Johannesburg)
30 Jan 2014
Dr Westraadt Mr Goosen Prof Lee Dr George (UCT)
EBSD Applications Training
CHRTEM 9-12 Dece 2013 Presented by Oxford Instruments
Dr O’Connell Service engineer training on Gatan GIF installation and alignment
University of Oslo, Norway
3-11 Nov 2013
Dr Westraadt XRD training Bruker, Germany 17-21 June 2013 Dr O’Connell Dr Olivier
School on Advanced TEM Quantitative Techniques
St Aygulf, France 13-24 May 2013
Dr O’Connell Dr Westraadt Mr Goosen Mr Janse van Vuuren
Oxford Aztec application training (TEM and SEM)
CHRTEM 10-11 April 2013 Installation of new software
Dr O’Connell Special advanced FEI Helios FIB SEM diagnostics and service
FEI, Eindhoven March 2013
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training course Dr Olivier Dr O’Connell
International Gatan Advanced EELS application training
CHRTEM 5-9 Nov 2012
Mr Goosen CSM Advanced Course on Instrumented Indentation Testing
Peseux, Switzerland 22 Oct 2012
Mr Jansen van Vuuren (PhD student)
Operation of the Helios FIB-SEM
FEI, Eindhoven
June 2012
Dr Olivier Mr O’Connell (PhD student)
Gatan EELS and EFTEM Analysis Training School
Pleasanton, CA, USA
17-20 April 2012 This Gatan Training School is a professional Training program for electron microscopists.
2.4.2.7. Postgraduate students and post-docs
A breakdown of student training per degree per instrument per stage is given in Table 14 and Table 15.
The total number of students trained per instrument per stage is shown in Figure 9. Demographics of
students trained is shown in Figure 10.
Figure 9: Students trained per instrument per stage.
4
1
7
13
4 4
10
20
FEI HELIOS FIB-SEM JEOL ARM JEOL JEM TEM JEOL FEG SEM
Stage 1 Stage 2
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Figure 10: Demographics of students trained per stage.
Table 14: Breakdown of student training – Stage 1.
Training Stage 1
FEI HELIOS FIB-SEM
JEOL ARM
JEOL JEM TEM
JEOL FEG SEM
Hons 0 0 1 2 MSc 0 0 0 6 PhD 3 1 6 3 PD - SA 1 0 0 1 PD - Other 0 0 0 1 Total 4 1 7 13
Table 15: Breakdown of student training – Stage 2.
Training Stage 2
FEI HELIOS FIB-SEM
JEOL ARM
JEOL JEM TEM
JEOL FEG SEM
Hons 0 0 2 4 MSc 1 1 1 12 PhD 3 2 6 2 PD - SA 0 1 1 1 PD - Other 0 0 0 1 Total 4 4 10 20
2.4.2.8. CHRTEM student enrolment and throughput
Table 16 provides a full list of students supervised and/or co-supervised by CHRTEM staff since 2011. Where possible, the current position of past students has been indicated. Honours students are NMMU physics honours students and are not registered with the Centre. Figure 11 shows student enrolment per stage. Summaries of postgraduate student enrolment and throughput for Stage 1 and Stage 2 are given in Table 17 and Table 18, respectively.
20%
53%45%
73%
Female Black
Stage 1 Stage 2
Page 47 of 82
Figure 11: Students enrolled per stage. These numbers include all students who were supervised and/or co-supervised by
CHRTEM staff members.
Table 16: CHRTEM Students: Oct 2011 – April 2016. This list includes students registered at NMMU as well as students
registered at other institutions who were/are co-supervised by CHRTEM staff.
2
6
8
1
4
9 9
2
Honours MSc PhD Postdoc
Stage 1 Stage 2
Student M/F Nationality Race Degree Institution Field Start Finish Current Position
Mr Dobson M SA White Honours NMMU Physics 2011 2011 PhD NMMU Physics Ms Deyzel F SA White Honours NMMU Physics 2013 2013 PhD CHRTEM Ms Dlamini F SA Black Honours NMMU Physics 2014 2014 MSc NMMU Physics Ms Sephton F SA White Honours NMMU Physics 2015 2015 MSc NLC Ms Venter F SA White Honours NMMU Physics 2015 2015 MSc NMMU Physics Mr Dix-Peek M SA White Honours NMMU Physics 2015 2015 MSc NMMU Physics Mr Vosloo M SA White MSc NMMU Physics 2007 April 2013 Salesrep - Anton Paar Ms Dhladhla F Swazi Black MSc NMMU Biochem 2009 April 2012 Unknown
Mr Minnaar M SA Coloured MSc NMMU Physics 2010 April 2012 PhD CHRTEM Operator CHRTEM
Ms Ndzane F SA Black MSc NMMU Physics 2012 Dec 2014
Extended programme coordinator, Physics, TUT PhD CHRTEM
Mr Masilela M SA Black MSc Wits Chem & Met Eng 2012 Dec 2016 Works at SEDA
Current student
Mr Mwanza M Zim Black MSc NMMU Biochem 2013 April 2015 PhD NMMU Biochem
Ms Marx (nee Deyzel) F SA White MSc NMMU Physics 2014 April 2016 PhD CHRTEM
Mr Ngongo M SA Black MSc Nano NMMU Physics 2014 Dec 2016 PhD CHRTEM
Mr du Preez M SA White MSc NMMU Physics 2015 April 2017 Technician NMMU Mech Eng Current student
Mr Gandidzanwa M Zim Black MSc NMMU Chemistry 2015 April 2017 Current student Mr Anderson M SA White MSc Stellenbosch Mech Eng 2016 Dec 2017 Current student
Mr Nyembe M SA Black MSc Nano NMMU Physics 2016 April 2018 Current student
Mr Nshingabigwi M Rwandan Black PhD Wits DST CoE 2009 2012 Unknown Mr O’Connell M SA White PhD NMMU Physics 2009 April 2013 Engineer CHRTEM
Mr Downey M SA White PhD NMMU Physics 2009 Dec 2016 High School Teacher Current student
Page 48 of 82
Table 17: Postgraduate student enrolment and throughput (Stage 1: October 2011 to September 2013)
Stage 1 Student enrolment No. of students graduated Average duration of completion of degree (years)
Students Race Gender Total Race Gender Total Goal Actual B C I W F M B C I W F M
Honours 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 1
MSc 4 1 1 2 4 6 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 3.7
MSc upgrade to PhD
PhD 3 1 4 1 7 8 1 1 2 2 3 4
Postdocs 1 1 1 1 1 1
Table 18: Postgraduate student enrolment and throughput (Stage 2: October 2013 to April 2016)
Stage 2 Student enrolment No. of students graduated Average duration of completion of degree (years)
Students Race Gender Total Race Gender Total Goal Actual B C I W F M B C I W F M
Honours 1 3 3 1 4 1 3 3 1 4 1 1
MSc 6 3 2 7 9 2 1 2 1 3 2 2.3
MSc upgrade to PhD
PhD 3 1 1 4 4 5 9 1 2 3 3 3 3.3
Postdocs 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2
Mr Masina M SA Black PhD NMMU Physics 2010 Dec 2014 Lecturer - UKZN Mr Janse van Vuuren M SA White PhD NMMU Physics 2011 April 2014 Operator CHRTEM
Mr Minnaar M SA Coloured PhD NMMU Physics 2012 Dec 2016 Operator CHRTEM Current student
Mr Coombes M SA White PhD NMMU Physics 2013 April 2016 Researcher SASOL Ms Vilane F Swazi Black PhD UCT Mech Eng 2013 Dec 2016 Current student
Ms Ndzane F SA Black PhD NMMU Physics 2014 April 2017
Extended programme coordinator, Physics, TUT Current student
Ms Govender F SA Indian PhD UCT Chem Eng
Nov 2014 Dec 2017 Works at SASOL
Current student Ms Marx F SA White PhD NMMU Physics 2016 April 2019 Current student Dr Heiligers F SA White Postdoc NMMU Physics 2011 2011 Immigrated to USA
Dr Kumarakuru M Sri-Lankan Asian Postdoc NMMU Physics 2014 2014 Lecturer, Northeastern University, Boston
Dr Masina M SA Black Postdoc NMMU Physics Sept 2014 2015 Lecturer - UKZN
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2.4.3. Career development
Over the past years, the Centre has provided opportunities for training and/or academic career
development (including lecturing, post-graduate supervision, funding applications) to the following career
academics:
• Dr Nobom Hashe;
• Dr Colani Masina;
• Mr Etienne Minnaar;
• Dr Jaco Olivier;
• Dr Jacques O’Connell;
• Dr Arno Janse van Vuuren;
• Dr Johan Westraadt;
• Dr Matthew Coombes;
• Ms Nolufefe Ndzane;
• Ms Vilile Vilane.
CHALLENGE: POST-DOCTORAL PROGRAMME
Proportion of South African postdoctoral researchers (percentage of all postgraduate students):
October 2011 – September 2013 = 6.3%
October 2013 – April 2016 = 4.5%
The Centre is finding the recruitment of post-doctoral candidates a challenge.
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2.4.4. Impact of CHRTEM on human capital development
An important human capital development achievement has been the training of a number of young
electron microscopists who have mastered the advanced electron microscopy techniques and are able to
apply it successfully to materials research. These techniques include electron backscatter diffraction
(EBSD) and transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) in the scanning electron microscope (SEM), Cs corrected
transmission (and scanning transmission) electron microscopy (TEM and STEM), atomic resolution imaging,
electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and electron
tomography. Data processing includes HRTEM and HRSTEM image simulation, strain mapping of HR(S)TEM
images, EBSD analysis, 3D reconstruction of FIB sections and simulation of phase transformations in
metallic systems. On the electron microscope side, a high level of competency in the aligning and
optimisation of the Cs-corrected HRTEM, FIB SEM and FEG SEM has been attained. The young HRTEM
scientists trained are now employed at the CHRTEM and they are mainly responsible for training the next
generation of electron microscopists for South Africa. The director was able to entice this group of four
very talented NMMU physics students to specialise in electron microscopy with the help of SANHARP
(nuclear energy) and Element Six postgraduate bursaries. The challenges experienced in training students
from other universities to master advanced electron microscopy theory and materials characterisation are
discussed in section 3.2.1. The specialised training intervention proposed is also included in section 3.2.1.
The KPIs and performance deliverables relating to human capital development (Oct 2011 to April 2016) are
summarised in Table 8. It should be mentioned that these targets and projections were estimated in 2008
when the business plan of the CHRTEM was being developed. With the exception of industry members,
honours students and postdocs, the overall impression is that the mid-term total KPIs exceed the targets.
The low number of honours students assisted is a consequence of the decrease in NMMU physics honours
students during the past few years. In spite of regular and wide advertising for post-doc fellows, the Centre
has not yet been able to attract any SA post-doc fellows from outside NMMU.
A summary of scientists trained on TEM and SEM is given in Table 9. Training was given to internal and
external scientists using CHRTEM facilities as well as training EM users at their own institutions. Industry
training interventions are listed in Table 10 and training workshops hosted or organised by the Centre are
given in Table 11.
The industry training interventions are of great importance to South Africa since Sasol and Eskom are two
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of the major industries in the country. In the case of Sasol, the CHRTEM is involved in on-going training and
collaboration with five Sasol scientists (W Erasmus, B Xaba, S Manzini, E Du Plessis and M Coombes) and a
PhD student (A Govender). In the case of Eskom, the major energy producer in the country, The CHRTEM
now plays an important role in the research and training activities of the Materials Science Specialisation
Centre of the Eskom Power Plant Engineering Institute (EPPEI). Most MSc and PhD studies include detailed
microstructural characterisation of several ferritic steels and stainless steels in the assessment of creep,
stress corrosion cracking, oxidation behaviour and quantification of precipitates, grain structure and
dislocations in the steels. More than six students employed by Eskom have been trained and the IP
generated is ready to be used in the development of material properties and remaining life prediction
models for Eskom coal fired power plants.
In order to train EM users at their host institutions, JEOL/FEI user groups were formed and the list of TEM
operators who were trained is given in Table 12. A total of 14 staff and students at the CSIR in Pretoria
received training; and one scientist from the University of Cape Town and three from the University of
Pretoria were trained. This training intervention aims to ensure proper utilization of JEOL and FEI TEMs at
other institutions in the country.
Finally Table 13 lists CHRTEM staff training activities. Figure 10 shows the demographics of students
trained. The average duration of completion of degrees during stages one and two, given in Table 17 and
Table 18, indicates that the actual time taken to complete MSc and PhD studies was longer than the goal
set.
Although the impact of human capital development by the Centre is considered to be very significant, the
number of NMMU registered physics students progressing to master’s level is still too low to support all
four research focus areas of the NMMU physics department – of which the electron microscopy focus of
the CHRTEM is but one. Apart from on-going advertising and marketing, a specialised training intervention
is proposed. This consists of a coursework (taught) master’s degree in materials characterisation using
advanced electron microscopy as discussed in section 3.2.1. It is hoped that this type of specialised
master’s degree will capture the interest of potential students.
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Figure 12: Dr Innocent Shuro (right) with Dr Johan Westraadt from the CHRTEM at the JEOL 2100 TEM. Dr Shuro spent a week at
the CHRTEM to receive training. Dr Shuro is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Centre for Imaging and Analysis at the University
of Cape Town.
Page 53 of 82
2.5. Outreach
Table 19: Summary of performance deliverables relating to outreach (October 2011 to April 2016)
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
Outreach Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual No. of local workshops 1 2 2 3 3 5 No. international symposia 1 1 1 1 2 2
Media engagement Ad-hoc and ongoing Ongoing Ad-hoc and
ongoing Ongoing Ad-hoc and ongoing Ongoing
Schools engagement 1 2 3 14 4 16 Interactive website http://chrtem.nmmu.ac.za
Live Live, Nov 2013
Updated Ongoing Updated Ongoing
Marketing Material Printed Done Updated Ongoing Updated Ongoing Marketing and outreach strategy in partnership with SAASTA and NPEP
Approved Accepted by AB - May 2016
Roll out strategy
Ongoing
2.5.1. Workshops and symposia
• A High Resolution Electron Microscopy Symposium to discuss the establishment of the CHRTEM was
held on 11 October 2011.
• A Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Fuel Cell Symposium was held at the CHRTEM on 26 October 2012.
The speakers included representatives from the CHRTEM, DST, HySA Infrastructure at North West
University and CSIR, SAASTA and Tshwane University of Technology. Delegates included
representatives from NRF and SAASTA. The symposium was co-ordinated by Mr M Zamxaka from
SAASTA. The purpose of the symposium was to introduce the HySA and Nano research stake holders to
the high resolution electron microscopes at the CHRTEM with the aim of initiating future collaboration.
• IMP Scientific and Precision Company held a demonstration of the Phenom desktop SEM at the Centre
for HRTEM on 26 - 27 March 2013. Apart from NMMU staff, this demonstration/workshop was also
attended by delegates from the CSIR, TENNECO, Aberdare cables, ASPEN Pharma care and
Volkswagen. The purpose of the workshop was to demonstrate the new Phenom desktop SEM to
HRTEM Centre staff and secondly to invite delegates from local industry and institutions to the Centre
for HRTEM as a marketing initiative, which could lead to possible future collaboration.
• The CHRTEM initiated and hosted the Workshop on Advanced Electron Microscopy of Titanium Alloys
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and PGMs on 3 - 4 March 2014. The purpose of the event was to establish international collaborative
networks to enhance the application of advanced electron microscopy and modeling techniques in the
research of titanium alloys and platinum group metals (PGM).
• The Centre hosted a two-day Oil and Gas Workshop presented by FEI on 28 - 29 August 2014. The
workshop focused on the electron microscope requirements for the analysis of shale to determine
whether shale gas can be explored economically. In attendance were staff and students from the Africa
Earth Observatory Network (AEON), NMMU Geosciences, the NMMU Centre for HRTEM, and the
Geology Department at the University of Fort Hare.
• The Centre hosted an XRM workshop – From Synchrotron to Lab – presented and sponsored by Carl
Zeiss Pty (Ltd) on 25 March 2015 as part of Zeiss’ 2015 3D X-Ray Microscopy Frontier Workshop Series
hosted by various institutions across South Africa. The workshop explained X-ray microscopy (XRM)
technology, and looked at XRM applications for materials science, geologists and the life sciences.
• The Centre hosted a ZEISS Focused Ion Beam (FIB) workshop on 9 June 2015. In attendance were staff
and students from the CHRTEM, NMMU Chemistry, NMMU Geology and the Rhodes EMU. The
workshop consisted of a technology overview, and looked at FIB applications for materials and
biological sciences.
2.5.2. Media engagement
The Centre, its staff and its students feature regularly in media articles. These include mentions in
the Weekend Post (Port Elizabeth), the Herald (Port Elizabeth), Nano eNews, Die Burger (Port
Elizabeth), UD News (Uitenhage/Dispatch), Physics Comment Magazine, Quest, and NMMU
publications (e.g. NMMU Faculty of Science Newsletter and NMMU Talk). The Centre also featured on
radio, with telephone interviews on Weekend AMLIVE on SA fm, and RSG.
2.5.3. Marketing and outreach strategy
The CHRTEM marketing and outreach strategy is attached as Appendix 8. Areas where the Centre is
already active have been highlighted in yellow.
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The main focus of the CHRTEM marketing strategy is to increase the number of postgraduate students and
postdoctoral fellows studying at the Centre; to expand the user base of the Centre; and to showcase
Centre achievements to decision makers.
This will be achieved by:
• Working with and supporting the physics department at NMMU to attract learners into the physics
stream, and to retain undergraduate physics students with the purpose of increasing the pool of
NMMU students entering the postgraduate physics research streams;
• Creating a strong presence in the microscopy community through science advancement and
community engagement initiatives aimed at developing and attracting collaborators and
postgraduates from other universities; and
• Reporting on Centre activities and performance.
The marketing strategy employs various marketing and outreach measures aimed at strategic audiences.
The target audiences are as follows:
• Secondary school learners (predominantly qualifying grade 12 learners);
• Undergraduate physics students;
• Postgraduate students;
• Postdoctoral fellows;
• Potential collaborators;
• Policy makers, university executives and funders.
2.5.4. Impact of CHRTEM on science engagement
The CHRTEM is regularly involved in public engagement activities by way of school visits to the Centre,
media articles, and invited public and conference/workshop talks. The Centre also has a well-established
presence in the national and international microscopy community. Over the past 5 years, the Centre has
leveraged its connections to facilitate national and international collaboration and capacity development
through the organisation of schools, workshops and symposiums.
Looking ahead, the CHRTEM marketing and outreach strategy was accepted by the Advisory Board in May
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2016. This strategy will employ various marketing and outreach measures aimed at strategic audiences.
Exciting prospects for the next cycle include the development of a YouTube channel and the use of the
new telepresence system which was commissioned in August 2015. The Sasol-funded facility is linked to
the electron microscopes at the Centre to allow live remote viewing of electron microscope images by
collaborators in South Africa and abroad. It will also be used for school outreach programmes; and for
distance education as part of the DST-funded MSc Nanoscience programme that is presented jointly by the
University of Western Cape, NMMU and Universities of the Free State and Johannesburg.
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2.6. Intellectual property (IP) and data management
Table 20: Summary of performance deliverables relating to IP and data management (October 2011 to April 2016)
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
IP and Data Management Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Data integrity and management strategy
Approved
Done Roll out strategy
In place
IP strategy for persons accessing the centre
Approved
Done Roll out strategy
In place
2.6.1. Data integrity and management strategy
A file management system developed by Synapsis Software is in place. The system centralises access to
and storage of project related data, and allows for secure on-line access to data. Data is backed-up daily to
two different servers at two different locations.
2.6.2. IP strategy for persons accessing the centre
IP and collaborative projects are governed by a memorandum of understanding based on NMMU policy.
Appropriate on-site and on-line security measures are also in place. See Appendix 9 for examples of
agreements. Users are notified in the CHRTEM Terms of Use (included in access forms) that IP sensitive
research needs to be governed by an appropriate confidentiality agreement (Appendix 4).
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2.7. Operations and sustainability
Table 21: Summary of performance deliverables relating to operations and sustainability (October 2011 to April 2016)
KPIs and Deliverables Stage 1: Oct 2011- Sep 2013
Stage 2: Oct 2013- Apr 2016
Mid-term Total
Training Interventions Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Succession planning (internal and external candidates with at least one from HDI)
Strategy developed
Under review
2 Internal successors identified and trained
2 2 2
Operations and Sustainability Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Staff employed – technicians 1 1 - - 1 1 Staff employed - operators 4 4 - - 4 4 Staff employed – co-ordinator 1 1 - - 1 1 Set up committees: Advisory Board; Management Committee; Management and Operations Team; User Forum
Set up committees
Done
Equipment maintenance (incl. replacement of parts) strategy for next 5 years
Recommended by Board
Done
2.7.1. Human capital
2.7.1.1. Succession plan
The three more experienced scientists (NMMU students) at the CHRTEM were trained in advanced electron microscopy, materials characterisation and modeling/simulation techniques. These scientists have also been provided the opportunity to become involved in MSc and PhD co-supervision, grant applications and report writing as well as the operational aspects of the CHRTEM. The three internal candidates are:
• Dr Johan Westraadt (PhD) • Dr Jaco Olivier (PhD, NRF Y-rating) and • Dr Jacques O’Connell (PhD, NRF Y-rating)
Both Drs Westraadt and Olivier will complete their MBA studies this year.
The CHRTEM has met the KPI for the current reporting period. However, external candidates have also been identified and their training plan is discussed in section 3.2.5.
Prof Jan Neethling will retire in December 2019 and the recruitment of a successor will commence at the beginning of 2018.
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2.7.1.2. Staffing
The CHRTEM has hired the required staff for the reporting period (see section 1.1).
2.7.2. Governance and management
2.7.2.1. Committees
All required committees have been established and are functioning effectively. The user forum is chaired
by Dr James Wesley-Smith who surveys CHRTEM users annually to gain feedback on user satisfaction.
2.7.2.2. Management
Adequacy and service of infrastructure where instruments are located
A new building that exceeds the minimum specifications for the HRTEM was constructed at a cost of
R 30.5 million. A number of issues were given careful attention when designing the new building. Some of
CHALLENGES: ADDITIONAL OPERATORS AND STAFF RETENTION
Two additional TEM operators are needed to increase the usage of the TEMs and do more research for
internal and external students/scientists. This is in line with the requirements of the Governance and
Management Plan from 2017 onwards (section 3.2.2). The Centre is fortunate to have a very promising
black MSc student (Mr Sinoyolo Ngongo) who has been identified as a likely future TEM operator. Other
external students or young scientists being developed are listed in section 0.
The main challenge for the CHRTEM to retain the highly skilled HRTEM specialists is the fact that the long
term future of the CHRTEM beyond 2021 is uncertain. All the CHRTEM staff members are therefore on
contract appointments until 2021 (see section 3.2.3 for details).
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the most important parameters considered are listed below. Solutions that will minimise disruption from
the sources have also been listed.
Mechanical vibrations:
• External factors (e.g. wind, sea, cars, trains) and Internal factors (e.g. acoustic noise, vibrations from
auxiliary equipment)
• Microscope on isolated anti-vibration block (80 000 kg)
• Auxiliary equipment in separate room
• Walls have acoustic cavities and acoustic material tiles
• Microscope has built in anti-vibration facilities
Magnetic fields:
• Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) fields; AC fields from external sources and internal
sources; External power cables; Internal – lights, cables and the microscope
• Design includes magnetic field cancellation
• Microscope has magnetic field shielding
Environment:
• Heat generated by equipment and operators (ambient temperature control required to be better than
0.1°C), Air flow – ventilation noise from conduits, pressure pulses from the ventilation system,
Particulate matter – dust and sea air
• Airlocks
• High specification ventilation and filtration systems
Maintenance of equipment
Two service engineers for the electron microscopes in the Centre have already been trained. Mr James
Troup (electronic engineer) is employed by the local agent (Analytical Laboratory Solutions) and stationed
in Port Elizabeth. The second microscope engineer, Dr Jacques O’Connell (PhD in physics and electron
microscopy) who is employed by the Centre, was trained the United Kingdom during 2010. These two
microscope engineers together have the technical and scientific expertise required to maintain the wide
range of instruments in the Centre and to interact with the service engineers in the JEOL and FEI factories
overseas.
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The four electron microscopes were purchased with comprehensive five year service (extended warranty,
parts and labour) contracts. These contracts must be renewed by the end of 2016.
Safety and security
All entrance doors to the administrative/preparation area of the building are secured by security card
access locks. Intercoms are placed at these entrances. All visitors entering and leaving via the main
entrance are controlled by a receptionist and escorted through the building. The door between the
administrative/preparation area and the microscope area also has security card access locks. There is a
security alarm system which is activated after working hours.
The normal security services as provided by NMMU are also available.
Capability of staff to operate equipment
The scientists employed by the CHRTEM are highly skilled and competent. The research group consists of
the Director and twelve staff members. Five staff scientists (electron microscopists) have PhD degrees and
two have MSc degrees. There are two laboratory technicians, one science administrator and one
academic/financial administrator. The Centre has three collaborating honorary professors from Oxford
University in the UK, Max-Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany and The Ohio State University in the USA.
2.7.3. Finances
2.7.3.1. Rigor and accountability
The Centre’s financial accounts were externally audited by KPMG in March 2014, October 2015 and March
2016. The Centre’s records were verified.
2.7.3.2. Income generation
The income generated from instrument usage, training as well as an Eskom/UCT contract for the salary of
a scientist (included under industry contracts from 2013) is shown in Table 22.
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Table 22: Income received
Note: The funds received for a video conferencing facility were not included in the table of income (Table
22). Funding for a video conferencing system amounted to R1.37 million from Sasol in 2013 and R326 000
from the DST in 2014 via UWC as part of the MSc Nanoscience programme.
It is clear from Table 22, that the income generated from 2011 to 2015 by charging for instrument usage,
training and an industry contract, exceeds the amounts projected in the Governance and Management
Plan for this period and the CHRTEM has therefore been successful in leveraging additional funds in spite
of the current economic crisis in South Africa (see section 3.3.2).
The costs for accessing the CHRTEM is summarised in Table 23.
Table 23: Costing table (June 2016)
Per Hour Per Sample
Feeder TEM ARM FIBSEM
SEM, EDS, EBSD
Post Processing Ion
Milling Mechanical Polishing
Cross Polishing
AFM Nano-Indentor
Commercial *1400 *3000 *1400 *1300 300 200 400 400 1300 External non-commercial (incl universities)
350 600 600 350 200: 100 200 200 350
Internal 300 600 450 300 200 80 200 100 300 * Totals consist of operator cost (R 500) and machine time
Sources of income Year Year Year Year Year
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Microscope usage and trainingInternal R 6 000 R 14 000 R 19 865 R 38 302 R 54 428Universities R 8 050 R 25 350 R 19 475 R 92 272 R 72 637Research Institutions R 35 400 R 32 266 R 17 100 R 15 150 R 51 930Industry R 468 034 R 358 491 R 228 800 R 265 843 R 74 838
R 517 484 R 430 107 R 285 240 R 411 567 R 253 834Contracts
Industry R 340 000 R 698 246 R 1 493 045 R 1 331 590 R 1 416 684TOTAL R 857 484 R 1 128 353 R 1 778 285 R 1 743 157 R 1 670 518
Income projected in 2008 R 201 750 R 424 188 R 626 869 R 1 009 085 R 1 421 835
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The total income received for the reporting period is summarised in Table 24.
Table 24: Total income received for the period 2011 to 2015
2011-2015 (1)
Source or revenue Anticipated as per Governance Document
Actual Amount Collected
Over/Under collection
Industry R 2 701 630 R 1 396 006 -R 1 305 624
Universities And Research Institutions R 232 096 R 502 226 R 270 130
International Collaboration R 750 000 -R 750 000
Industry Contracts R 5,279,565 R 5,279,565
NRF Grants (2) R 1 329 682 R 1 329 682
Total Income Received R 3 683 726 R 8 507 479 R 4 823 753
Note: (1) Accurate financial information cannot be supplied for the 2016 budget as it is still on-going.
(2) Does not include NEP/NNEP equipment grants.
The total over collection for the period 2011 to 2015 amounts to R 4 823 753. This is again a very good
indication of success of the Centre in leveraging additional funds in spite of the loss of potential grants
from PBMR Company, Element Six, Sasol and associated THRIP as discussed in the section on the cost-
recovery model.
The CHRTEM is disappointed that a number of joint research applications submitted under RSA bilateral
agreements with China, Russia, Japan and Sweden were not successful. In all cases a lack of funds were
given as the reason for the unsuccessful outcomes.
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2.7.3.3. Expenditure
It should be noted that, of the 2011 DST grant, R 2 million was only released in October 2011 while the remaining R 3 million was released in January 2012. The
2012 grant was received in December 2012 as has been the case every year since then. The final grant is expected in December 2020. Thus the Governance
budget shows an extra R 5 million the Centre did not have access to.
Table 25: Expenditure for the period 2011-2015; comparison of the budget as per the Governance Document against actual funds spent.
2011-2015 (1)
Initial budget as per Governance document 2011-
2015
Actual Expenditure 2011-2015
Comments on Variance Expenses from DST grant
Variance Expenses from
other accounts (6) Total spent
Variance incorporating both
DST and Other Accounts
Staff Costs (2) R 19 208 291 R 11 830 551 R 7 377 741 R 3 266 021 R 15 096 571 R 4 111 721
Running Costs R 9 506 948 R 3 857 198 R 5 649 751 R 1 285 656 R 5 142 854 R 4 364 095
Other Costs (3) R 2 415 551 R 55 571 R 2 359 981 R 55 364 R 110 934 R 2 304 618
Support costs (4) R 2 490 700
R 2 490 700
R 0 R 2 490 700
IT Equipment and Licences
R 948 872 R 390 284 R 558 589 R 191 937 R 582 220 R 366 653
Travel and training costs (5)
R 5 027 574 R 3 629 665 R 1 397 910 R 1 573 268 R 5 202 933 -R 175 359
International travel has become more expensive due to the weak Rand. In 2014, an IMC international conference held in Prague was attended by multiple staff and students.
(1) Accurate financial information cannot be supplied for the 2016 budget as it is still on-going. (2) The Governance Budget takes the Director’s salary into account. However the director is paid by the NMMU. (3) Other Costs consists of Entertainment, Marketing, and Teambuilding. (4) Support costs were never made use of and never requested. (5) Travel and training costs include: Local and international travel; Advisory Board Meetings; Succession, staff and student development; Hosted and attended conferences, workshops and events. (6) Salary expenses from other accounts include the salary of a senior researcher as well as the salaries of Centre staff in 2011, before the DST grant was released.
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Table 26: Expenditure for the period 2013-2015; comparison of the Budget requested annually from the NRF with the actual expenses.
2013-2015 (1)
Initial budget as per Governance document 2013-
2015
Requested Budget as approved 2013-2015
Actual Expenditure 2013-2015
Comments on Variance Expenses from DST grant
Variance Expenses from other accounts
Total Spent
Variance to Budget requested
incorporating both DST and
Other Accounts Staff Costs (2) R 12 759 556 R 10 310 679 R 9 873 254 R 437 426 R 1 487 572 R 11 360 825 -R 1 050 146
Running Costs R 5 505 794 R 4 125 011 R 2 803 116 R 1 321 896 R 808 962 R 3 612 078 R 512 934
Other Costs (3) R 1 498 061 R 867 577 R 49 305 R 818 273 R 23 614 R 72 918 R 794 660
Support costs (4) R 1 691 800
R 0
IT Equipment and Licences
R 607 322 R 598 123 R 374 456 R 223 668 R 59 237 R 433 693 R 164 431
Travel and training costs (5)
R 3 182 588 R 2 099 949 R 2 786 579 -R 686 630 R 1 259 057 R 4 045 636 -R 1 945 687
International travel has become more expensive due to the weak Rand. In 2014, an IMC international conference held in Prague was attended by multiple staff and students.
(1) The Centre started submitting approved (advisory board) budget requests to NRF from 2013. (2) The Governance Budget takes the Director’s salary into account which is paid by the NMMU. As a result, this was removed from the Governance Budget. (3) Other Costs consist of Entertainment, Marketing, and Teambuilding. (4) Support costs are covered by the university and were therefore not included in the budget requests. (5) Travel and training costs include: Local and international travel; Advisory Board Meetings; Succession, staff and student development; Hosted and attended conferences, workshops and events
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2.7.3.4. Equipment maintenance for next five years
The three JEOL and one FEI electron microscopes at the CHRTEM were purchased with extended five year service contracts/warranties (spares and service). These service contracts have to be renewed by September 2016 (FEI) and November 2016 (JEOL). During August 2015 an application was submitted to the NRF for R10 million, with the balance to be contributed as follows: R 5 million from NMMU and the balance of R 2.53 million to be provided by the CHRTEM. In August 2015, the quotation for the service contracts was R17.63 million for JEOL (2 TEMs and 1 SEM, 5 year coverage) and FEI (1 FIB-SEM, 3 year coverage). As a result of the dramatic devaluation of the SA rand, the current quote for 3 year warranties for JEOL (2 TEMs and 1 SEM) and FEI (1 FIB-SEM) is a total of R16.7 million. The NRF/DST has agreed to provide R 10 million on condition that NMMU and CHRTEM make a 1:1 contribution.
CHALLENGE: FULL-COST RECOVERY
In order to ensure the long term sustainability of the CHRTEM, it is necessary to adopt a full-cost
recovery model for the Centre so that at least the cost of future maintenance contacts for the
instruments may be recovered. Such a model, based on a UK example, is proposed in section 3.3.2.
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3. Addressing Challenges
This section of the SER looks at addressing the challenges identified in section 2, as well other
challenges brought to the Director’s attention by the CHRTEM advisory board.
3.1. Facilities
The utilisation of the FIB-SEM is currently at 64% of capacity; however, this is the main instrument
where a bottleneck is experienced. This is due to the fact that a FIB-SEM has become a vital
instrument for the preparation of TEM and HRTEM specimens. In addition, the Helios FIB-SEM in the
CHRTEM is also used for slice and view experiments (takes 1 day per sample), HR SEM imaging and
low energy backscatter electron imaging.
A second FIB-SEM for the CHRTEM is therefore the first priority. A second feeder TEM (with FEG) is
the second priority, however, a second feeder TEM can only be considered after two additional TEM
operators have been trained and appointed. The CHRTEM has enough space to accommodate the
additional instruments and staff.
3.2. Human capital
3.2.1. Envisaged training interventions and researcher development plans
While the NMMU physics students are exposed to a well-planned undergraduate curriculum
covering the introductory subjects (optics, modern physics, quantum mechanics, crystallography,
solid state physics, etc.) required for specialisation in advanced electron microscopy during master’s
and doctoral studies, the majority of students from other universities lack this background and
therefore find it very difficult to master the theory of materials characterisation using conventional
and advanced TEM techniques.
So while the training of external candidates accessing the Centre or attending special training
workshops will continue as before, the following specialised training intervention is proposed.
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3.2.1.1. Coursework (taught) masters in materials characterization using advanced
electron microscopy
The introduction of a 2-year coursework (taught) masters with mini-dissertation focusing on courses
in materials (e.g. for energy systems) and a wide range of electron microscopy theories (SEM, EBSD,
EDS, TEM, STEM, HRTEM, EELS and image simulation) and practical aspects is proposed. All these
courses will be presented by scientists from the Centre for HRTEM as well as one or more visiting
professors from abroad. We believe that such a focused intensive coursework masters is the best
way to train skilled electron microscopists for SA. International students would also be welcome to
register for his MSc course.
The above suggestion is in line with a number of UK universities which are offering 12-month
Master’s courses. E.g., the University of York is offering a 12-month taught MSc (physics) in Fusion
Energy.
3.2.2. Additional microscope scientists
According to the Management and Governance plan of the Centre, during Stage 3 (Oct 2015 – Sep
2017), the total instrument usage should increase from 75% to 100% capacity and two additional
HRTEM scientists should be appointed. The current utilisation of the two HRTEMs is about 50% and
this can only be increased with additional operators. The 50% utilisation is an acceptable value and is
related to the number of current TEM operators, which is four (three paid by the Centre and one
paid by UCT/Eskom). One microscope session requires about two sessions of post processing and
analysis. Additional funds will be required to appoint two additional TEM scientists.
3.2.3. Staff retention
The retention of the highly skilled electron microscope scientists and the microscope engineer (all
with PhDs) is an essential strategy for the long term sustainability of the CHRTEM. These scientists
were all trained and developed at NMMU (and abroad) over a period of about 9 years. The fact that
the financial support of the DST for the CHRTEM will stop at the end of 2021 (first phase of the Ten
Year Plan) creates uncertainty among the young Centre staff and, since these highly skilled electron
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microscope scientists would easily find jobs abroad, the lack of long term security that the Centre
offers presents a real risk that the these scientists will leave resulting in disastrous consequences for
the Centre, its collaborators and stake holders. It is therefore important to create a career track for
the highly skilled electron microscope scientists and other skilled staff at the Centre so that the
future of this strategic national asset can be secured.
3.2.4. Revision of CHRTEM staff salaries
The Ten Year budget for the Centre was drawn up during 2008 before the Centre was launched in
2011. It is therefore necessary to review the salaries and compare it with pay scales of a typical
government funded research institution in SA. The comparison of Centre for HRTEM pay scales (cost-
to-company) with that of a Government funded Research Institution in Gauteng, revealed that the
payment of administrative personal in the Centre for HRTEM is competitive. However, the Centre
pay scale for specialist high resolution TEM microscope scientist is about 14% lower than the pay
scale (mid-point) of a specialist at the research institution in Gauteng. An upward salary adjustment
for the specialist microscope scientists would therefore be necessary in future Centre budgets.
3.2.5. Scientific leadership development for succession planning
3.2.5.1. Job description of the Director of the CHRTEM
The future director of the Centre should ideally be an established scientist/academic with an NRF
rating, if South African.
The following core competencies are required for the position of director of the Centre for HRTEM:
• In-depth electron microscopy and materials knowledge
• Track record of MSc & PhD student supervision
• Problem solving skills in a range of materials and technologies relevant to SA
• Experience with curriculum development
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• Able to give research direction to the Centre on a range of topics (such as energy materials,
catalysis, nanoscience) of relevance to SA
• Skilled in the negotiation of industry contracts
• Grant applications
• Financial management
• Collaboration and networking with international scientists and institutions
3.2.5.2. Challenges
During the first phase of the Centre, the expectations and demands on the Director and Centre have
increased significantly. These include ever-increasing administrative loads and reports, marketing
and outreach activities, fund raising and grant applications for bursaries, equipment and research.
The Centre holds four management meetings per year, two advisory board meetings; in addition, the
director has to attend four physics department, four facility board and four senate meetings per
year. Other responsibilities of the director include being the president of the Microscopy Society of
Southern Africa plus ad hoc meetings with industry partners, collaborators as well as undergraduate
and postgraduate lectures. It remains a challenge to find enough time to focus on the core business
of the Centre which is research and training. The current situation will present serious challenges to
any successor of the current director. Although the current director is paid by the NMMU, he
receives no extra compensation for being the director of the CHRTEM. His normal physics lecture
load is shared by CHRTEM staff and includes Modern Physics and Nuclear Physics for 2nd years,
Crystallography and X-ray diffraction for 3rd years, MSc Nanoscience: Experimental Nanophysics,
Properties of Matter for 1st years, Physics for Pharmacy students and Physics for Dietitians.
3.2.5.3. Succession plan
The four most experienced scientists with PhDs in the Centre have been trained and developed as
possible successors. Two have NRF Y ratings and all four are involved in postgraduate student co-
supervision. These scientists also assist with grant applications and preparation of research reports.
In order to increase the national pool of potential successors, a serious intervention is needed. The
DST favours a funding strategy to support short research visits (about 4 weeks) by emerging
scientists to the Centre for HRTEM. However, a funding instrument is needed to pay the costs (travel
and accommodation) of these short visits.
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It is strongly recommended that broader pool of national successors be developed using the
following two approaches:
1. Emerging researchers busy with PhD studies spend time at the Centre for further training in
electron microscopy and materials.
2. Established scientists spend time at the Centre to be exposed to the operation of the Centre
and the responsibilities and skills of the director.
Funding streams for these development programmes will have to be found or created. A number of
young black scientists who were trained, or who had contact with the Centre before, have been
earmarked for further training, mentoring and exposure to the operation of the Centre. These
candidates are Dr Ntombi Mathe (CSIR), Mr Sinoyolo Ngongo (NMMU), Ms Vilile Vilane (UCT)
Dr Nobom Hashe (NMMU), Dr Colani Masina (UKZN), Mr Etienne Minnaar (NMMU) and Ms Nolufefe
Ndzane (TUT).
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3.3. Finance
3.3.1. Projected financial requirements (next 5 years)
Table 27: Operating costs of the second five years of the CHRTEM (DST contribution)
Note: (1) Salary costs of the 10 staff members (excluding the director) as defined in the budget from the
original Governance and Management plan (see Table 30)
Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y102016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Staff costs (1)10 staff members 4 036 648 4 319 214 4 621 560 4 945 068 5 291 223 Total Staff Costs 4 036 648 4 319 214 4 621 560 4 945 068 5 291 223 5 661 608
Running costsResearch consumables 100 000 107 000 114 490 122 504 131 080 140 255 Maintenance 360 000 385 200 412 164 441 015 471 887 504 919 Liquid nitrogen 70 000 74 900 80 143 85 753 91 756 98 179 Total running costs 530 000 567 100 606 797 649 273 694 722 743 352
Other costsExternal auditors 30 000 32 100 34 347 36 751 39 324 42 077 Marketing 15 000 16 050 17 174 18 376 19 662 21 038 Office expenses 47 000 50 290 53 810 57 577 61 607 65 920 Proposal screening honoraria 10 000 10 700 11 449 12 250 13 108 14 026 Team building 12 000 12 840 13 739 14 701 15 730 16 831 Entertainment 10 000 10 700 11 449 12 250 13 108 14 026 Total other costs 124 000 132 680 141 968 151 905 162 539 173 916
IT equipment and licensesComputors and peripherals 80 000 85 600 91 592 98 003 104 864 112 204 Software licenses 25 000 26 750 28 623 30 626 32 770 35 064 Total IT equipment and licences 105 000 112 350 120 215 128 630 137 634 147 268
Travel costs/accomAdvisory board meetings 170 000 181 900 194 633 208 257 222 835 238 434 Conferences 100 000 107 000 114 490 122 504 131 080 140 255 International travel 550 000 588 500 629 695 673 774 720 938 771 403 Local travel 120 000 128 400 137 388 147 005 157 296 168 306 Total Travel costs 940 000 1 005 800 1 076 206 1 151 540 1 232 148 1 318 399
Training costsInternational courses 30 000 32 100 34 347 36 751 39 324 42 077 Training other institutions 50 000 53 500 57 245 61 252 65 540 70 128 International workshop 90 000 96 300 103 041 110 254 117 972 126 230 Succession training 20 000 21 400 22 898 24 501 26 216 28 051 Total training costs 190 000 203 300 217 531 232 758 249 051 266 485
Total expenses R 5 925 648 R 6 340 444 R 6 784 276 R 7 259 174 R 7 767 317 R 8 311 028
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Table 28: Operating costs of the second five years of the CHRTEM (NMMU/ other contributions)
Note: (1) Salary costs of director paid by NMMU together with the salaries of a research fellow and MSc
nanoscience node administrator paid by external funds.
Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y102016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Staff costs (1)3 staff members 1 672 800 1 773 168 1 879 558 1 992 332 2 111 871
Total Staff Costs 1 672 800 1 773 168 1 879 558 1 992 332 2 111 871
Running costsConsumables 100 000 107 000 114 490 122 504 131 080 Maintenance (equipment) 551 000 589 570 630 840 674 999 722 249 Liquid nitrogen 110 000 117 700 125 939 134 755 144 188 Electricity and water 483 880 517 752 553 994 592 774 634 268 Insurance 101 000 106 050 111 353 116 920 122 766 Key man insurance 28 051 29 454 30 926 32 473 34 096 Maintenance, cleaning, security 1 683 062 1 767 215 1 855 576 1 948 355 2 045 772 Telephone, internet 77 421 82 840 88 639 94 844 101 483 Photocopier rental 7 600 8 132 8 701 9 310 9 962 Total running costs 3 142 014 3 325 713 3 520 458 3 726 933 3 945 864
Other costsInternal auditors 22 000 23 540 25 188 26 951 28 838 Marketing 35 000 37 450 40 072 42 877 45 878 Office stationary 12 000 12 840 13 739 14 701 15 730 Team building 7 000 7 490 8 014 8 575 9 176 Entertainment (visitors) 18 000 19 260 20 608 22 051 23 594 Total other costs 94 000 100 580 107 621 115 154 123 215
IT equipment and licensesData processing computers 16 000 17 120 18 318 19 601 20 973 Computer and printer upgrades 25 000 26 750 28 623 30 626 32 770 Software and licences 35 000 37 450 40 072 42 877 45 878 Total IT equipment and licences 76 000 81 320 87 012 93 103 99 620
Travel costs/accomInternational/national visitors 40 000 42 800 45 796 49 002 52 432 Conferences 60 000 64 200 68 694 73 503 78 648 International travel 360 000 385 200 412 164 441 015 471 887 Local travel 108 000 115 560 123 649 132 305 141 566 Total Travel costs 568 000 607 760 650 303 695 824 744 532
Training costsInternational courses 30 000 32 100 34 347 36 751 39 324 Training other institutions 8 000 8 560 9 159 9 800 10 486 International workshop 30 000 32 100 34 347 36 751 39 324 Succession training 15 000 16 050 17 174 18 376 19 662 Total training costs 83 000 88 810 95 027 101 679 108 796
Total expenses R 5 635 814 R 5 977 351 R 6 339 979 R 6 725 025 R 7 133 899
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Table 29: Revised budget based on 80% cost recovery of maintenance contracts, two additional TEM operators and
salary increases of 3 HRTEM specialists (DST contribution).
Notes:
1. Salary costs of two additional operators of the TEMs to increase current usage levels (section 3.2.2).
2. See section 3.2.4 for motivation.
3. Cost recovery (80%) of future maintenance; free instrument usage for postgraduate students (section 3.3.2).
4. Current budget totals from Table 27.
3.3.1.1. Discussion
The budget (projected financial requirements) of the CHRTEM for the next five years has been split
into the operating costs to be covered by the DST baseline grant (Table 27) and that to be covered
by the NMMU and other CHTEM funds (Table 28). These budgets are based on current costs and are
therefore more realistic than the original projections in the Governance and Management Plan
made in 2009 (Table 30) .
It should also be noted that although the first year of the 10 year business plan was 2011, the first
DST baseline grant was only released in October 2011 (R 2 million) and January 2012 (R3 million).
The last year of initial DST support period is therefore 2021.
From Table 27, it is clear that the staff costs (salaries) will exceed the R 5 million baseline grant in
2020 and the total expenses will exceed the baseline grant in 2017. Without an increase in DST
support from 2017 onwards, the Centre will increasingly experience financial difficulties.
Table 28 lists the contributions by the NMMU and CHRTEM (industry grants and CHRTEM income
generated) towards the operating costs of the Centre. The director and Centre Staff are actively
pursuing every possible grant/research funding opportunity (see section 3.4 for details) to increase
the income generated by the Centre. However, it is clear that without DST support, a National
Centre for advanced HRTEM is not sustainable in the current economic climate and with the small
number of high tech industries in the RSA.
Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y102016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Revised budget - cost recovery(1) Two additional TEM operators 967 280 1 034 990 1 107 439 1 184 960 1 267 907 (2) 14% salary increase: 3 specialists 206 338 220 782 236 236 252 773 270 467 (3) 80% cost recovery 4 488 000 4 802 160 5 138 311 5 497 993 5 882 852 (4) Current budget 5 925 648 6 340 444 6 784 276 7 259 174 7 767 317 8 311 028 Total revised budget R 5 925 648 R 12 002 062 R 12 842 207 R 13 741 160 R 14 703 042 R 15 732 254
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In order for the CHRTEM to grow, recover the costs of future service contracts, and continue to
provide a service of strategic importance to the academia and industry in the RSA, a revised budget
is proposed in Table 29. This revised budget is based on a 80% cost recovery of maintenance
contracts (see section 3.3.2), two additional TEM operators (see section 3.2.2) and salary increases
of three HRTEM specialists (see section 3.2.4) employed in the CHRTEM. The basis of the revised
budget in Table 29 is that Government (DST) provide additional funds to allow a 80% cost recovery
per annum for future maintenance contracts (see Table 29) on condition that postgraduate students
get free access to the electron microscopes (and training) in the CHRTEM subject to the approval of
their research project applications by the independent project proposal screening committee.
The international scientific members on the advisory board of the CHRTEM believe that the current
funding and cost recovering model of the Centre is not sustainable and they strongly advise the
Centre and DST/NRF to adopt the cost recovery model of small research facilities in the UK or EU.
This proposal is discussed in more detail in section 3.3.2.
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Table 30: Operating expenses for according to the original Governance and Management Plan of the CHRTEM (include
projected total contributions by DST and NMMU).
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3.3.2. Cost-recovery model
3.3.2.1. State of economy and consequences
At the HRTEM consultative workshop hosted by the NRF and the Department of Science and
Technology (DST) in 2008 in Cape Town, participants comprising academics, industry stakeholders
(including Sasol, Element Six and PBMR company) and international experts unanimously supported
the proposed establishment South African Centre for HRTEM at NMMU. During the period when the
microscopes were ordered, the rand remained stable. However soon after this, the effects of the
global economic crisis had a widespread negative impact in South Africa. The global economic crisis
hit SA in 2009, the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project was terminated in 2010, Element Six
moved its diamond research labs to UK in 2012 and Sasol cut its university funding for 2014 by close
to 50%.
The rand lost 41% of its value from 2009, the SA economy is currently on the brink of junk status and
the zero % increase in student fees in 2016 resulted in a shortfall of millions of rand for universities.
This has created serious financial constraints for universities to fund research. The challenges
mentioned above have led to a loss in potential external funding for the Centre. In addition, the
current weak rand has significantly increased the cost of new service contracts/extended warranties
to be purchased by the end of 2016.
3.3.2.2. Current cost recovery
Although a fair amount of the Centre’s operating cost is recovered, it is not enough to grow the
Centre and to provide for future maintenance contracts. The current funding of the Centre is not
sustainable because the majority of academics and postgraduate students who make use of the
Centre have limited research funds. This is mainly due to SA’s current low economic growth which
impacts negatively on the ability of government and industry to support academic and industrial
research. This together, with the fact that current NRF mobility grants are too small to cover
microscope rates adequately, has led to a reduced utilisation of the Centre by academics and
postgraduate students which contributes towards a reduced cost recovery.
In order to ensure that the Centre remains affordable to students and academics while at the same
time generating enough income to pay for maintenance contracts, it is important to reconsider the
viability of the current funding model. The international scientific members on the advisory board of
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the Centre for HRTEM believe that the current funding and cost recovering model of the Centre is
not sustainable and they strongly advise the Centre and DST/NRF to adopt the cost recovery model
of small research facilities in the UK or EU.
3.3.2.3. Cost recovery model based on Small Research Facility costing in the UK
In this model, the charge-out rates of a specific instrument (e.g. HRTEM, FIBSEM, SEM, etc.) will
generally include the running costs of the facility, full costs of academics/scientists and research
assistants involved, instrument maintenance contract costs, university levies, payroll costs of other
staff, staff training and travel and consumables.
(Some EU/UK institutions include equipment depreciation in the charge-out-rates in order to
generate funds for eventual replacement of the instruments).
The following differentiated charge-out-rate scheme is used:
• Internal (host university) and external students are not charged
• Academics apply to UK Research Council for funds to pay the full academic rates for
instrument usage
• Industry pays commercial (IP) rates which amounts to £ 2671 per day (R57 105) for the
Cs- corrected HRTEM.
• Industry members who publish joint papers with SRF (EM unit) pay academic rates
• Research institutions (such as CSIR or Mintek in RSA) pay academic rates if they publish
joint papers with SRF and pay industry rates if they do not publish a joint paper.
A typical HRTEM centre in the UK works on 50% cost recovery. An example of a sustainable cost
recovery model for a Small Research Facility in the UK is provided in Table 31.
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Table 31: Example of a cost recovery model for a Small Research Facility in the UK
Costs to be included in calculations
Department Physics
Facility Name EM facility Cost Centre Number#Space Sqm 250Category HRTEMSub-category
Direct costs FTE £Staff costs- Admin 1Staff costs- Academic 1Staff costs- Premises related 1Staff costs - technicians 1Staff- other 0TOTAL - PAY 4
Consumables 1Equipment maintenance and service contracts 1Equipment replacement (depreciation) 0Miscellaneous 1Utilities (rate /m2) or £0 0Utilities 1TOTAL- NON-PAY 4
Infrastructure and Capital charges £Non-premises related- academic staff /FTE 1Non-premises related other staff/FTE 0University space charge/m2 1TOTAL CHARGES 2
TOTAL COSTS 10
% Usage of facility by research 100Costs for research 10
Unit of outpute.g. per day/hour/sample 365
100% utilisation 100Expected utilisation 220SRF Charge-out rate per day 2 700.00
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3.3.2.4. Proposed cost recovery model for the CHRTEM
If this model is adopted for the RSA and applied to the Centre for HRTEM, academics and scientists
(including their students) could apply to a “National Research Council” for funds to pay the full cost
recovery rates for the usage of the electron microscopes in the Centre. In SA there are only two calls
per year for NRF Mobility Grants and these grants cover the travel and accommodation costs of the
postgraduate student or scientist, but it is not enough to pay for the instrument usage to allow cost
recovery. The adoption of the UK/EU model would enable many more scientists/students to use the
instruments (i.e. increased access and instrument usage) and it would greatly increase cost recovery
and provide funds for future renewal of service contracts.
During the interim phase (from 2017 onwards), the DST could provide additional funds to allow a
80% cost recovery per annum for future maintenance contracts (see Table 29) on condition that
postgraduate students get free access to the electron microscopes (and training) in the CHRTEM
subject to the approval of their research project applications by the independent project proposal
screening committee. It should be noted that since 2011, no external requests for time on the TEMs
have been turned down. The only requests that were not approved were in cases where the
specimens to be analysed were not suitable for TEM investigations. In these cases, alternative and
more suitable analysis methods were suggested.
3.4. Long-term Strategy
3.4.1. Strategy to evolve into a National Facility/Centre of Excellence
The Centre for HRTEM was established under the NRF strategic platform programme. It is expected
to operate as a National Centre in advanced Electron Microscopy. According to the 10-year business
plan accepted by the DST/NRF, the Centre will receive a baseline grant of R5 million per year for 10
years ending 2021 (the first DST baseline grant was only released in October 2011 (R 2million) and
January 2012 (R3 million).
It is quite obvious from the high quality research outputs and extensive collaborations that the
Centre is of strategic importance to the academia and R&D of number of industries in the RSA. In
order to grow the Centre and ensure long term financial sustainability, the Centre should evolve into
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a National Facility for Advanced Electron Microscopy with a cost recovery charge-out-rates based on
the internationally accepted models used in the UK and EU. Ultimately the best model for the Centre
for HRTEM, whether it becomes a National Facility or Centre of Excellence, should be developed in
co-operation with the DST, NRF and other stake holders as a matter of urgency.
The Centre for HRTEM is already part of the Materials Characterisation Research Infrastructure
which is a component of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR). The SARIR is a
DST initiative.
3.4.2. New research and collaboration initiatives
3.4.2.1. Strategies to overcome constraints
In spite of the all the economic challenges facing South Africa we have succeeded in initiating the
following new, or expand current, collaborations which involve high quality research projects and
funding opportunities.
Sasol – research on nanoparticle catalysts, core-shell catalysts and in situ reduction/oxidation of
catalysts using an in situ gas cell TEM specimen holder. Other collaborators include the DST-NRF
Centre of Excellence in Catalysis at UCT and the Universities of Manchester and Oxford. The Centre
has submitted a 2016 THRIP application based on a 2016 Sasol grant.
Eskom (coal power) – new contacts for the characterization of coal fired power plant steels have
been negotiated. Eskom has approved the renewal of four of its oldest coal power stations and has
indicated that it wants to grow the expertise in steel research and analysis at the Centre for HRTEM.
Other collaborators include Prof Bernhard Sonderegger, Dept. of Materials Science and Welding,
Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
Eskom (nuclear power) – Eskom has expressed interest in the development of a small modular
nuclear reactor and the Centre for HRTEM has been asked to assist with the nuclear fuel design and
characterization.
Element Six – The CHRTEM has close contact with Element Six in the UK and a new cutting edge
research project has been proposed.
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Titanium Centre of Competence (TiCoC) – After recent discussions with the manager of the Light
Metals division at the CSIR, it was agreed that the Centre for HRTEM becomes part of the TiCoC.
Other collaborators include the Center for Accelerated Maturation of Materials at The Ohio State
University, USA (Prof Hamish Fraser) and Dr Muriel Veron, Grenoble Institute of Technology, France .
South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (DST initiated) - The Centre for HRTEM is part of
the Materials Characterization Research Infrastructure component of the DST initiated South African
Research Infrastructure Roadmap which will in future contribute research and maintenance funds.
Hulamin – A MoU with Hulamin for aluminium alloy research has been agreed on.
BRICS multilateral projects – an application for a joint research project on functional materials for
nuclear energy will be submitted shortly with partners the JINR, Dubna (Russia), C HRTEM (NMMU)
and Amity University, Noida, India.
Horizon 2020 - The Centre HRTEM is busy with an EU Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)
grant application with EU partners Oxford University (UK) and the Max Planck Institute (Stuttgart).
SAN-NEST – The director of the Centre HRTEM is a founder member of the South African Network
for Nuclear Education, Science and Technology (SAN-NEST). This network has started to prepare for
the envisaged Nuclear Build in SA.
Flanders-RSA bilateral grant: A joint application is being prepared to enable the Dept. of Physics at
University of Antwerp and the Centre for HRTEM to collaborate on electron tomography. The focus
will be on “novel image reconstruction and analysis methodology to allow quantitative
interpretation of electron tomography data”. At the C HRTEM, the technique will mainly be applied
to the study of precipitates in new and creep aged steel used in Eskom coal power plants.
Flanders – RSA bilateral grant: The Centre for HRTEM is included in a joint Flanders application by
the DST-NRF CoE in Catalysis at UCT on supported nanoparticle catalysts.
IAMNano 2016 – The international organisers of IAMNano, an annual workshop on Advanced and
In-situ Microscopies, have asked the Centre for HRTEM to host the November 2016 workshop in Port
Elizabeth. The international keynote speakers represent the top electron microscopists in the world
and this event will be a highlight for microscopy in South Africa and will also present excellent
networking opportunities for South African scientists and students. Please visit the IAMnano 2016
website: http://chrtem.nmmu.ac.za/iamnano-2016.