Dr Mlungisi Nkosi

Dr Mlungisi Nkosi completed a BSc degree (Physics and Mathematics) in 1997 and an MSc (Solid State Physics) in 2001 with the University of Zululand. The MSc project was in collaboration with iThemba LABS and was focused on the study of phase formation of thin film metals deposited on silicon substrates. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry was used to measure the film thickness and depth profile of the material after annealing at elevated temperatures. In 2002, Dr Nkosi enrolled for a PhD degree in Chemistry and graduated in 2006 with the University of the Western Cape, the project was a collaboration with iThemba LABS and the Joint Institute of Nuclear Reactions (JINR) in Russia. In 2007 Dr Nkosi was employed by iThemba LABS as a Post-doctoral researcher in the field of thin film deposition technology. Since February 2008 Dr Nkosi have been employed as a Research Scientist at iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (LABS), conducting research in physico-chemical properties of metal thin films using the electron beam evaporator, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry, Atomic Force Microscopy, Nanolithography and X-ray diffraction facilities. Over the years, Dr Nkosi participated in a number of scientific collaborations with local and foreign researchers. The results of his research have been published in a number of publications and conference proceedings indexed in the Web of Science. Dr Nkosi is currently the Head of the Materials Research Department responsible for the implementation of the long term strategy of the department and the supervision of postgraduate students