The murder of her cousin, her brother dying in his sleep and her child’s year-long hospital stay for an injury which left him partially blind, were no deterrents for a KwaZulu-Natal mother to achieve her doctorate in chemistry.
Dr Samantha Ndlovu stepped on the stage last week to receive her PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) knowing she had overcome painful personal tragedies to accomplish an academic feat which has the potential to tackle energy challenges in South Africa.
Ndlovu, 33, embarked on a PhD project which is expected to contribute to sustainable energy sources and alleviate supply and consumption challenges.
The mother of two who lives in Clare Estate, Durban, told TimesLIVE Premium that despite being shattered by the many personal tragedies she did not give up on her academic goals.
The PhD project saw her fabricate a renewable and novel solar energy device.
“I aimed to replace load-shedding with the use of renewable and robust nanomaterial to harvest light and convert it to electrical energy without the emission of any toxic gases,” said Ndlovu.
Before embarking on her PhD studies, she completed her undergraduate, honours and master’s degrees at UKZN.
At the start of her honour’s degree in 2014, Ndlovu gave birth to her first son Sphosethu and her baby boy Smelokuhle earlier this year.
“It’s been a very long journey with a lot of challenges, which included the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted an entire year, the poor functionality of instruments to analyse data and a fire that burnt the laboratory I worked in.”
The deaths of her cousin Thobani Ndlangamandla, 42, whom she regarded as a brother, and brother Sandile Malembe, 43, left Ndlovu heartbroken.
Amid those tragedies she also had to deal with Sphosethu losing his sight in one eye.
“In July 2020, my world shattered when my cousin, whom I regarded as my brother and our family’s breadwinner, was murdered near a river not far from our home in Pongola.
“This was the most tragic news for us, and until today his killer has not been found.”
In 2021, Sphosethu, suffered a severe injury to his left eye while playing with other children in Greytown during the school holidays.
“He spent a year in hospital. This devastated me and really affected my research progress. The pain my child had to endure and the back-to-back surgeries prevented me from focusing on my research work.”
She then had to deal with the news he had completely lost sight in one eye.
In April 2022, Ndlovu was struck by another tragedy when her brother died of natural causes while asleep.
“Both my brothers were my pillars of strength and my biggest supporters. It was a very dark time for me, but I had to find the strength to refocus on my PhD goal.”
In the face of adversity, Ndlovu persevered: “My studies have been a long and unforgettable journey with a happy ending.”
Ndlovu said she became fascinated by chemistry while she was a pupil at Landokwakhe High School in Pongola because it pertained to everyday life.
“I fell in love with chemistry, specifically the energy sector, because it allowed me to do relevant and impactful research for society.
“From a young age, I wanted to study at UKZN because of its excellence and great research reputation,” said Ndlovu, who has applied for several positions as a postdoctoral researcher.
Vincent Nyamori, a professor at the university’s school of chemistry and physics who supervised Ndlovu’s PhD, said he watched her grow and advance in her research for more than a decade.
Nyamori said Ndlovu’s work focused on developing efficient solar cells with cost-effective nano materials to alleviate global energy supply and consumption challenges.
Solar cells are semiconductor devices which use sunlight to produce electricity.
According to Green.org — a climate tech media platform — the future of nanotechnology in solar cells is promising.
“Continued advancements in nano materials and fabrication techniques will likely lead to higher efficiency, lower costs and increased adoption of solar energy. Nanotechnology holds the key to achieving sustainable and clean energy solutions, powering a greener future,” said Green.org.
Nyamori believes improved solar cells should substitute the existing market of silicon-based solar cells, “which have dominated for decades but are relatively more expensive to produce than other types of solar panels and have unfavourable environmental concerns”.
“In the case of South Africa and Africa as a continent, sunlight is an energy source that can be enhanced anywhere, including remote areas with no or minimal infrastructure or connection.
“Samantha’s research is therefore very relevant to society and its immediate needs since it provides a means to sustainable, affordable energy solutions,” he said.
Nyamori described Ndlovu as “remarkable”, saying despite her personal hurdles and family tragedies she emerged triumphant, because of her “resilient character and a vision to succeed”.
Ndlovu says the device is now available to government and other stakeholders in the energy sector looking for alternative solutions to electricity without charcoal.
The young chemist presented her research and won several awards during the course of her academic journey, including Best Oral Presentation at the 10th Annual Nanoscience Young Researchers’ Symposium, the UKZN Postgraduate Research and Innovation Symposium, the South African Chemical Institute (SACI) Postgraduate Colloquium and the National Young Scientists Symposium — all in 2021.
She received bursaries during her studies, including the Moses Kotane Institute Bursary, the National Research Foundation (NRF) Innovation for Doctoral Scholarship, the Scarce Skills for Masters Scholarship and the Levenstein PG Trust Honours Bursary.
