SA Spectroscopy Society Meeting Report

South African Spectroscopy Society (SASS): Raman Spectroscopy Workshop, 2017.

Stellenbosch University, South Africa , 27^th and 28^th November , 2017 .

A Molecular Spectroscopy Group Prize was awarded to Mr Lebogang Babedi, a Master’s research student at the Department of Earth Sciences , Stellenbosch University under the supervision of Dr Bjorn von der Heyden (Earth Sciences) in collaboration with Dr Pieter Neethling (Physics) for a poster paper entitled :

Vibrational Properties of an Impurity-Doped Synthetic Sphalerite: A Raman Spectroscopic Study by L. Babedi, P.H. Neethling and B.P. von der Heyden .

The poster described elegant qualitative and quantitative spectroscopic work carried out on transition metal doped sphalerite, an important zinc ore , through the analysis of the LO and TO phonon low wavenumber modes in the Raman spectrum.

A photograph of Mr Babedi receiving his award certificate from Professor Howell Edwards, Committee member of the MSG, who attended the meeting and delivered two lectures on Raman spectroscopic applications on the ExoMars 2020 “Search for Life on Mars” Mission and on the science/arts interface in art, archaeology and the preservation of cultural heritage.