Ready for the semi-finals with an astonishing presentation

Yonela Ngungeni, a doctoral student at the Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, beat the heat by eloquently narrating her research in three minutes at the 2022 FameLab SA/Unisa regional heat competition, and won the first prize.   

Yonela Ngungeni

FameLab is an international competition that promotes science and technology by creating a space for scientists and researchers to find their voices and reach public audiences.

Ngungeni holds a Master of Science in Nanobiotechnology and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biotechnology from the University of the Western Cape.

To win over the judges with a scientific talk characterised by excellent content, clarity, and charisma, Ngungeni, together with a group of other vibrant young scholars from Unisa, received training in effective science communication.

“The training was informative, it highlighted the need to not only focus on the research, but also on conveying your research purpose beyond scientific settings, for the general public who may not be in the scientific field,” says Ngungeni.

Water is a basic human right

Ngungeni remarks that the access to water is a basic human right essential for human survival. “However,” she continues, “not everyone has access to water of a standard quality. As the population increases, pollution also increases, which affects the availability and quality of water.” These are the driving factors in Ngungeni’s research on biotechnology in water treatment.

In her research project, she looks at how best to manipulate biological systems. She states: “I focus on how we can develop a system for water treatment that is sustainable and environmentally friendly.”

Ngungeni will go through to the FameLab SA semi-finals, where she will be competing against young science, technology, engineering, and mathematics researchers from other universities. She says: “I expect the competition to be tough as I know that there are other researchers who are doing remarkable and impactful work. I think the deciding factor will be how well one conveys the message and engages an audience.”

Three-minute science talk

Here is a sneak preview of Ngungeni’s science talk:

What is the problem?

The government reports that about 57% of wastewater treatment plants are in a poor or critical condition. Poorly treated or untreated wastewater is a source of water pollution, which affects water quality and freshwater resources. Nutrients from this wastewater can cause eutrophication.

What is eutrophication?

Eutrophication is a phenomenon where a body of water has an overload of nutrients. Eutrophication has adverse and dangerous effects. It results in algal blooms that negatively impact water quality, causing oxygen deficiencies that affect (kill) fish and other aquatic life.

How do we solve this problem while trying to minimise pollution?

Nature always tries to restore itself, so why not mimic or enhance nature and its systems, instead of introducing chemicals and/or other physical methods? For example, when a person is infected with a virus, the body does not wait for external resources (medicine) to remedy itself. It starts gathering its soldiers (fighter cells/lymphocytes) to kill or destroy the invader (virus) – that is an example of nature restoring itself.

What does this concept look like in eutrophic water?

The water has bacteria that can consume nutrients. The bacteria need nutrients to grow. These are the same nutrients that cause eutrophic water when they are present in high concentrations.

So, why not enrich these bacteria to do the work on a bigger scale since their growth demands nutrients? The bacteria are enriched, so more nutrients are taken up, thereby returning the water bodies to equilibrium. Thus, a naturally existing system is enhanced for purposes of restoration.

* Compiled by Mpho Moloele, PR and Communications Officer, Department of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation