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Deputy HOD: Research
Name: Siyabonga Majola
Location: John Orr Building 7156 Doornfontein Campus
Physics Academic Staff Staff Members
Contact Details:
Tel: 011 559 6008
Email: smajola@uj.ac.za
About Dr. Siyabonga Majola
Fields of Specialisation: Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Structure Physics, Applied Radiation Science and Physics Education.
NRF rating: C2
Personal Profile
Dr Majola holds a PhD in Physics obtained from the University of Cape Town. He joined UJ in March 2019 after gaining 2-3 years of postdoctoral research experience at the Universities of Stellenbosch and Zululand in the field of Nuclear physics. Before this, he served (2012-2016) as a junior research scientist at iThemba LABS. Dr Majola currently serves as a lecturer and Deputy Head of the Department (Research) in the department of physics. Since joining UJ, he has served in various portfolio committees at the faculty and departmental levels. This includes FTLC, Faculty transformation committee, timetable co-ordinator, and more recently FHDC. He has also been instrumental in championing initiatives that assist in nurturing emerging academics in the department of physics. This includes the formation of the nuclear physics and multidisciplinary research group, which he played a key role in establishing and leading.
Dr Majola is a C2 NRF rated researcher and specialises in nuclear physics. His research interests are chiefly centred on the study of low-lying, collective phenomena in atomic nuclei using techniques of in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy. These phenomena include but are not limited to single-particle excitations, collective excitations as well as the interplay between single particle and collective excitations. To date, he has published over 50 Scopus h indexed papers. This includes over 30 papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals (such as Physics Review letters, Physics Letters B, Physical Review C and European Physical Journal A) and over 10 peer-reviewed conference proceedings. The impact of these publications has culminated to a Scopus h-index of 12 citations. He has served as a referee/reviewer of the South African Institute of Physics journal(s) as well as some of the leading peer review journals in his field, namely EPJA and Euro Phys Letters (EPL).
In the last 5-8 years, he has successfully trained over 10 MSc and 2 PhD students to completion (through supervision and mentorship). Most students who did their MSc projects under his (co)supervision obtained their degrees (in record time) with a distinction, and subsequently published their MSc results in reputable peer review journals. He is currently (co)supervising 2 MSc and 5 PhD students.
Recent Research outputs
Selected Review Article:
“Stiff” deformed nuclei, configuration dependent pairing and the β and γ degrees of freedom
J.F. Sharpey-Schafer, R.A. Bark, S.P. Bvumbi, T.R.S. Dinoko, S.N.T. Majola
Eur. Phys. J.A 55 (2019) 2, 15
Selected recent publications:
1. First observation of rotational bands in the nucleus 231U
D.G. Roux, R.A. Bark, E.A. Lawrie, J.J. Lawrie, …S.N.T. Majola… et al.,
Eur. Phys. J.A 60 (2024) 5, 118
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epja/s10050-024-01337-z
2. First observation of band structure in 76As: Possible chirality and octupole correlations
W.Z. Xu, D.P. Sun, S.Y. Wang, R.A. Bark, H. Hua, …S.N.T. Majola… et al.,
Phys. Rev. C 109 (2024) 4, 044303
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.109.044303
3. Impact of Bi2O3 on the X-ray shielding characteristics of telluro-borate-bismuth glass for medical applications
B.V. Kheswa, S.N.T. Majola
Journal of Theoretical and Applied Physics 18, 182438 (2024)
https://dx.doi.org/10.57647/j.jtap.2024.1803.38
4. Investigation of the effect of bismuth-oxide on the X-ray and neutron shielding efficacy of the new ceramic system Bi2O3–BaO–Fe2O3–SrO–B2O3 Investigation of the effect of bismuth-oxide on the X-ray and neutron shielding efficacy of the new ceramic system Bi2O3–BaO–Fe2O3–SrO–B2O3
B.V. Kheswa, S.N.T Majola
Journal of Theoretical and Applied Physics 18, 182446 (2024)
https://dx.doi.org/10.57647/j.jtap.2024.1805.66
5. Computational study of γ-ray and fast neutron shielding efficacy of (70–x)B2O3 – 5TeO2 – 20SrO – 5ZnO – (x)Bi2O3 glass systems using Phy-X/PSD, XCOM and GEANT-4
Bonginkosi Vincent Kheswa, Lucky Makhathini, S.N.T. Majola
Radiochimica Acta, 2024
https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2024-0316
6. Chirality and octupole correlations in 74As
Xiao, S.Y. Wang, C. Liu, R.A. Bark, J. Meng, …S.N.T. Majola… et al.,
Phys. Rev. C 106 (2022) 6, 064302
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.106.064302
7. Collective rotational bands at low excitation energy in 186Os: Vibrational and rotational degrees of freedom
Mdletshe, X.Q. Yang, E.A. Lawrie, M.A. Sithole, S.N.T. Majola et al.
Phys. Rev. C 106 (2022) 4, 044325
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.106.044325
8. First evidence of an octupole rotational band in Ge isotopes
C.G. Wang, R. Han, C. Xu, H. Hua, R.A. Bark, …S.N.T. Majola… et al.,
Phys. Rev. C 106 (2022) 1, L011303
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.106.L011303
9. Reorientation-effect measurement of the 〈21+∥Ê2∥21+〉 matrix element in 36Ar
J.N. Orce, E.J. Martín Montes, K.J. Abrahams, C. Ngwetsheni, B.A. Brown, …S.N.T. Majola… et al.,
Phys.Rev.C 104 (2021) 6, L061305
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.104.L061305
10. Structure of collective states built on the 11/2+ isomer in 187Os: Quasiparticle-plus-triaxial-rotor model and interpretation as tilted-precession bands nucleus
A. Sithole, E. A. Lawrie, L. Mdletshe, S. N. T. Majola, A. Kardan… et al.
Phys. Rev. C 103 (2021) 2, 024325
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.103.024325
11. Low- and medium-spin negative-parity bands in the 187Os nucleus
M.A. Sithole, J.F. Sharpey-Schafer, E.A. Lawrie, S.N.T. Majola… et al.
Phys. Rev. C 103 (2021) 2, 024325
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.103.024325
12. First candidates for γ vibrational bands built on the [505]11/2 neutron orbital in odd-A Dy isotopes
S.N.T. Majola, M.A. Sithole, L. Mdletshe, D. Hartley… et al.
Phys. Rev. C 101 (2020) 4, 044312
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.101.044312
13. β and γ bands in N=88, 90, and 92 isotones investigated with a five-dimensional collective Hamiltonian based on covariant density functional theory: Vibrations, shape coexistence, and superdeformation
S.N.T. Majola, Z. Shi, B.Y. Song, Z.P. Li, S.Q. Zhang… et al.
Phys. Rev. C 100 (2019) 4, 044324
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.044324
14. Spectroscopy of low-spin states in 157Dy: Search for evidence of enhanced octupole correlations
S.N.T. Majola, R.A. Bark, L. Bianco, T.D. Bucher, S.P. Bvumbi … et al.
Phys. Rev. C 100 (2019) 3, 034322
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.034322
15. Competition of rotation around the intermediate and long axes in Tl193
Ndayishimye, E.A. Lawrie, O. Shirinda, ,…S.N.T. Majola,… et al.
Phys.Rev.C 100 (2019) 1, 014313
https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.034322
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