DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials
Physics Building
University of the Witwatersrand
Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 717 6866
Fax: +27 11 717 6830
The DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials (CoE-SM) is a major South African Research
Network hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University, the Universities of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, KwaZulu-Natal and
Limpopo, the Council for Mineral Technology (MINTEK) and the Nuclear Energy Corporation of
South Africa (NECSA) would like to invite your learners to participate in the Materials Science
Poster Competition based on strong materials. This newly established competition has been formulated to attract more learners to the field of Material Sciences and hence develop their knowledge of properties and learn about the applications of strong materials. Science teachers, help your learners enter this exciting competition while using it as part of your programme of assessment!
Please visit the website below to view details of the 2014 competition: http://www.wits.ac.za/strongmaterials/newsclips/23887/outreach_programme_2014.html
SCHOOL PRIZES:
1 st Prize
2 nd Prize
3 rd Prize
R 15 000
R 10 000
R 5 000
The above prizes will be awarded to the winning schools.
In addition teachers and scholars from the winning teams will receive gift vouchers.
Additional prizes may be presented.
Prizes are sponsored by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials (CoE-SM).
Closing date for submission of entries:
Prize giving for winning schools ONLY:
Friday, 18 September 2015
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Public announcement of winning schools/groups: Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Details of Competition
The competition requires teams to produce an A3 poster on the properties and applications of a strong material . Strong materials are materials that retain their distinctive and applied properties under extreme conditions and have established or potential commercial applications. Examples include:
 Carbides and Cermets: Manufacturing, testing and characterisation of mainly WC, VC, CrC and
TiC sintered alloys and coatings.
 Carbon Nanotubes and Strong Composites: Carbon nanotubes (among the strongest and stiffest structures ever made) are being studied for potential chemical and mechanical applications.
 Ceramic Materials: Multi-component, ultrahard-phase (Diamond, Cubic Boron Nitride and others) containing composites for cutting tools and wear parts.

Diamond, Thin Hard Films and Related Materials: Laser-based methods are used to measure stresses, elastic and structural properties, and to study defects in materials. Developments and studies using diamond include radiation detectors and radiation damage effects.

New Ultrahard Materials: Computational and experimental investigations of potentially new ultrahard materials including advanced borides, carbides, nitrides and oxides.

Strong Metallic Alloys: Development of new alloys, property studies of metals, structureproperty relationships and phase diagrams. Alloys include: superalloys, steels and titanium.
Research a material e.g. diamond and include the following information in your poster:
Title of poster: Catchy title
Names of learners, teacher and school: Please include these details on the poster
Introduction: Objectives, background information of the material – where it could be found, how it is synthesised, etc.; why you chose the material; interesting facts etc.
List of properties of the material: e.g. mechanical, physical, etc.
Current applications of the material: e.g. drill bits, etc.
Future applications of the material: use your imagination
Conclusions: References: Books/Journals, etc…: Names of authors, title of journal, year of publication, volume, page number, etc… or/and Websites used.

Criteria
HINTS FOR POSTER DESIGN:
 Use your school/family/friends’ computer or go to an INTERNET Café.

It is strongly suggested that learners prepare posters using Microsoft PowerPoint .

After accessing PowerPoint, choose the “Design” menu and then go to “Page Setup” and change the “slides sized for:” to A3 Paper (297 x 420 mm).

You may then commence preparation of your poster.

Choose an appropriate font size.
 Try to avoid placing too much text on your poster.
 Use pictures, diagrams, tables, flow charts, etc. to illustrate your work.
 When complete go to “save as” and save as a PowerPoint Presentation and also as Portable
Document Format (PDF) .
THE POSTER WILL BE ASSESSED USING THE FOLLOWING RUBRIC
Organisation
Creativity
Content and
Literacy
1
 Sections scattered
 No sections at all

No use of colour

Doesn’t catch attention

Lack of interest, motivation, effort and time

Poster is untidy and unorganised – in terms of design, layout and neatness
– unattractive.

No explanation

No science concepts

No use of resources
2
 No heading
 Missing sections

Difficult to follow

Very little use of colour or pictures etc. but sufficient to engage and catch attention

The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit untidy.

Poor explanation

Inaccurate science concepts

One resource
3
 All sections inclusive but unclear

Some use of colour, diagrams etc.

Engages but doesn’t stimulate
 The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness

Adequate explanation

Evidence of use of science concepts but could be further developed

More than one resource used
4
 Defined sections
 Clear heading

Flows well

Finished product

Interesting, engaging and visually stimulating

Appealing use of colour, diagrams and text

The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness

Good explanation

Concepts fully understood and explained

Content is accurate, comprehensive and well supported

Conditions of submission
 This competition is specifically for Grade 10 learners.
 The learners must adhere to the maximum of 3 members per team. A maximum of 4 teams
per school will be accepted for this competition.
 All entries and the information sheet must be submitted electronically (by e-mail) as a PDF file to: deena.naidoo@wits.ac.za
For further information, please contact:
Professor Deena Naidoo during office hours at: (011) 717 6866.