Wits researchers receive accolades at the National Research Foundation’s annual awards
Wits University palaeontologist Dr Jonah Choiniere received his prestigious P-rating at the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) annual awards ceremony earlier this month.
The NRF Awards celebrate leading researchers, based on peer evaluation and according to international best practice.
The awards ceremony was held at the Thaba Ya Batswana Eco Hotel in Johannesburg on Thursday, 11 September 2014.
Professor Lee Berger’s Rising Star Expedition team won a special award – the Science Team Award – for work that has had a positive impact in its field and contributed significantly to raising the profile of South African research.
Berger is Research Professor in Human Evolution at the Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute and project leader of the Rising Star Expedition team.
Choiniere became only the second palaeontologist to receive his P-rating from the NRF. P-rated researchers are scientists, under the age of 35, who are considered to be future leaders in their fields, based on their published doctoral work and/or research outputs.
Choiniere is an expert on theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs), the evolutionary relationships of vertebrates (systematics) and in palaeontological fieldwork.
Choiniere says he is honoured to have received his P-rating and, with it, the investment the South African government and the University of the Witwatersrand have made in his research.
“I just hope in the next few years I can live up to the high standards and expectations the P-rating sets for me,” he says.
His submission to the review panels is of work he is hoping to research: the evolutionary relationships of South African dinosaurs and one of Earth’s mass extinction events at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.
Choiniere says it is clear that the government takes palaeontology very seriously.
“The investment into research and the investment into the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, based at Wits University, is an indicator that the South African government knows palaeontology is a key strength of our country,” Choiniere says.
He adds: “This award is an indication that the South African investment in palaeontology is already paying dividends.”
In a press release, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, CEO of the NRF, said: “With the success of research comes the acknowledgement of those who have committed their careers to pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge.”
The Director of Research Development at Wits University, Dr Robin Drennan, said: “Wits staff and students are proud of these wonderful achievements, and thank the individuals concerned for showing the way ahead in achieving excellence in research.”
Published on Sep 12, 2014
Dr Jonah Choiniere is only the second palaeontologist in South Africa to be awarded a P-rating by the National Research Foundation. This is a mini-profile on him by the NRF for the 2014 National Research Foundation Awards. (Credits: Megaphone Media/NRF)