The North West University (NWU) is a multi-campus university with a footprint across two provinces in South Africa.
The NWU officially came into being on 1 January 2004 as part of the South African government’s plan to transform higher education
In our case, this saw a historically white university and a historically black university merging to create a new university where South Africans from all walks of life have come together. There are 67,000 students enrolled for 2012 of which 26% are at postgraduate level. The Water Research Group (WRG) forms part of the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management and resides in the School for Biological Sciences. Together with the Centre for Water Sciences and Management it forms the hub of water research at NWU.
The WRG was founded in 2011 in recognition of the research outputs in the field of aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology. The Group currently focusses on ecotoxicology and ecological consequences of physical and chemical alterations in aquatic (freshwater, estuarine and marine) environments.
Research in nano-ecotoxicology was initiated in 2010 and researchers form the nucleus of all current nano-related the aquatic toxicology research projects in South Africa. Members furthermore serve on the South African Department of Science and Technology’s Advisory group on Nanotechnology and Risk Assessment.