Our 2023 annual research day a great success!

On 3 October we held our annual research day, attended by members of the Hans Merensky Legacy Foundation (HMLF) board.

It was held, as in previous years, as the lovely STIAS conference venue in Stellenbosch. Along with the HMLF board, a number of guests attended from Stellenbosch University, the Institute of Commercial Forestry Research (ICFR), Sappi, Mondi, Merensky Timbers, York Timbers and University of Pretoria.

This is always a wonderful occasion, during which our young rising stars at EucXylo (see here) are able to showcase the amazing work they’re doing for an audience who appreciate the effort! We are all immensely grateful to the confidence shown by HMLF in funding our research. It is truly a day that reflects the legacy of Dr Hans Merensky.

Seen below are shown (left) Ms. Gugu Gama, a PhD student working on xylem developmental dynamics, explaining her work and (right) Dr Khotso Mokhele, the President of the board of HMLF, commenting on the day’s presentations. The feedback from the Board, as well as the various invited guests was overwhelmingly positive. A range of constructive comments and suggestions during the day were well received by the students and post-doctoral fellows, which will be valuable in improving their research going forward.

On the evening before the event Prof Danie Brink (Dean of the Faculty of Agrisciences) and Prof Bruce Talbot (Forestry HOD) joined Prof Dave Drew (PI of EucXylo) and the visitors from the HMLF board for dinner at Lanzerac. It was an excellent evening of discussing past and future, solidifying the relationship between the University and Stellenbosch and HMLF.