12 September 2013 Volume :1 Issue :1
R1.5 million high performance computing facility for UKZN
Dr Mahmoud Soliman.The College of Health Science’s Molecular Modelling and Drug Design lab - headed by Dr Mahmoud Soliman – has been awarded a High Performance Computing (HPC) Facility worth more than R1.5 million.
Awarded by the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC), the Facility is set to enhance research at UKZN in computational chemistry.
Soliman’s lab was also provided with a technical engineer dedicated to the lab as well as funding to support a postgraduate student for a year.
CHPC is a national facility offering computational resources to researchers throughout the country in academic institutions, state and privately funded research structures, commerce and industry.
Technical Manager at CHPC, Dorah Thobye said: ‘We are pleased to confirm that a huge HPC computational facility and a technical engineer has been dedicated to Dr Soliman’s molecular modelling and drug design lab at UKZN. These resources are granted to Dr Soliman for his scientific contribution/support to CHPC.’
Soliman’s lab covers a wide range of computational and molecular modeling research areas with the main focus on biological systems and drug design approaches. His main research interest is related to the design and study of biologically and therapeutically oriented targets by employing the applications of computational methods to the study of problems of chemical and biochemical reactivity.
His research has a particular focus on the transition state, environmental effects on mechanisms, the origins of catalysis, and the interpretation of kinetic isotope effects.
Reacting to the award, Soliman said: ‘I am excited by this huge investment in our lab and am willing to grant access to this facility to those who require it to support their research at UKZN.’
Dean of the School of Health Sciences, Professor Sabiha Essack, acknowledged Soliman’s inputs saying: ‘Your motivation and commitment to UKZN and to your research and postgraduate students are highly commended. May you go from strength to strength.’
author : MaryAnn Francis author email : francism@ukzn.ac.za