Professor Megandhren Govender of the Faculty of Applied Science at the Durban University of Technology recently obtained a C2 National Research Foundation (NRF) Rating.

Prof Govender’s role includes; teaching of mathematics, research, community outreach and being involved in the larger University community, where he serves on various University committees. He has been in this role from 2016. He is also an Honorary Professor in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal. With over one hundred first-class international publications in theoretical astrophysics, Prof Govender’s work has impacted several research areas including gravitational collapse, thermodynamics in curved space time and modified theories of gravity.

He has supervised postgraduate students across a wide spectrum of disciplines including astrophysics, applied mathematics, homoeopathy and chiropractic. He is proficient in the teaching of physics, mathematics and applied mathematics and is widely known for his unique approach to making these subjects lively and fun.

Commenting on his C2 rating which will last for five years, Prof Govender is grateful for the recognition, however, he would have preferred a higher rating.

“Like with everything in life, one has to continuously reset, access, reinvent and make oneself relevant. In order to achieve these, one needs some sort of reference point or level. The NRF rating serves as this point of reference in terms of one’s academic standing in the international research community. It gives one an idea (not absolute) of the impact of one’s work and influence in the respective research fields,” said Prof Govender.

To him, the rating means he has to raise his game in everything that he does. In terms of research, Prof Govender, wants to look at more sophisticated problems in astrophysics. He stated that his current work has moved from the arena of just finding solutions of the Einstein field equations to modelling of stellar structures.

“We are basically testing the robustness of our solutions against observed properties of compact objects such as neutron stars and strange stars. We are in a golden age of observational astrophysics and cosmology. With probes and telescopes designed with cutting-edge science we can test our models and fine-tune parameters. These are interesting times for these research areas,” added Prof Govender.

He believes that excellence in teaching has to be accompanied by some degree of research. Prof Govender highlighted that the applications of mathematics and physics in modelling real-world problems is moving at the speed of light. He feels that students need to be made aware of current progress and applications.

“It is pointless teaching the same thing, in the same manner as one did in the 70’s or 80’s. We have certainly moved away from rubbing two sticks to make a fire. The progression of mathematics and physics or any subject for that matter must be brought into the teaching and learning space,” said Prof Govender.

He indicated that DUT has been recognised for their high calibre of research outputs and moved up on many of the University research rankings in the past few years. He hopes that publishing in high impact journals and presenting at international conferences will certainly solidify DUT’s position in the area of mathematical physics.

Speaking about his passion for mathematics, Prof Govender clarified that he is a physicist by training as his first love is physics.

“The language of physics is mathematics hence I am comfortable with describing the Universe through the beauty of mathematics,” explained Prof Govender.

The highlight of his research work is being privileged to work with some truly creative minds including Professors; Roy Maartens, Naresh Dadhich, Sushant Ghosh and Sunil Maharaj.

“These senior researchers who continue to make great contributions in their respective fields have mentored me since my days of being an Honour’s student. Growing up in such esteemed company was truly a highlight of my academic career,” stated Prof Govender.

Advising other researchers on obtaining an NRF rating, Prof Govender said if they really want to enjoy research, they must remember to never give up. “Have fun and be sincere in the pursuit of truth. Research is not about the number of papers one publishes or the number of conferences one attends in exotic locations. It is about impact and novelty. Once your work starts to impact on your field and you start to influence other researchers, you automatically start growing a strong collaborative network with similar mind-sets and work ethics.”

His current work is directed towards explaining the physics of the coalescence of a black hole and a neutron star, more specifically, modelling the secondary component of the merger using modified gravity theories such as Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity.

Prof Govender’s association with DUT started off in the mid-90s when he was employed in the Department of Physics at Technikon Natal. He then moved over to the Mathematics Department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) only to return to DUT after a decade. My reason for returning home was to create a research unit in astrophysics at DUT which will be internationally recognised for its quality and impact.”

Prof Govender expressed his appreciation to his family for keeping him grounded and for being the centre of his gravity.

“I am greatly indebted to Professor Sibu Moyo, DVC: Research, Innovation and Engagement for her continued support, encouragement and collaborative research ideas. A special thank you to Professor Suren Singh, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences for support in terms of research funding and equipment which makes it possible to pursue novel and innovative problems. I am also thankful for the mentorship and discussions around the trajectory of research within the Faculty and the greater University community. I acknowledge support from the Head of Mathematics and a fellow relativist, Professor Darren Lortan who continually puts up with my crazy ideas and spontaneous thoughts,” added Prof Govender.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement at DUT, Professor Sibusiso Moyo mentioned that as part of DUT’s ENVISION2030 Sustainability perspective, having NRF Rated Researchers is one of the ways we (DUT) can ensure we (DUT) create a sustainable research and innovation enterprise, with a capacity to contribute to the doctoral skills training and mentoring of the next generation scholars.

“Our objective is to ensure we have optimised organisational capabilities with the ability to align and leverage DUT’s resources to realise our stated goals and objectives in the Research and Innovation Blueprint. Congratulations once again to Prof Megandhren Govender on this achievement,” said Prof Moyo.

Pictured: Professor Megandhren Govender.

Simangele Zuma