WHAT WE DO
We are a Stellenbosch University based research group in operations research that:
RESEARCH
to find and promote ways of doing the right things the right way through mathematical modelling, optimisation and simulation techniques
TEACH AND MENTOR
to train, develop and empower scientific young minds to become innovative and creative problem solvers
REACH OUT
to give back with purpose to society through tutoring, applied research and consulting
WHY WE DO
what we do
Surgor was born in 2013, with the aim to create a supportive, collaborative and community focussed approach to research that will empower young minds to reach their potential, become creative problem solvers, strive for excellence and give back with purpose to society.
The word 'surgor' is a derived form of the latin word surgo, which means rise, get up, arise, raise, lift up and grow. We are rising, we are gotten up, we are arisen, we are lifting up, we are growing. We rise by lifting others. We are passionate about making a difference in society with our skills.
We do operations research, the science of better, to find and promote efficient and sustainable ways of improvement by using mathematical, optimisation and simulation techniques.
- Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. - 1 Thess 5:11
TEAM
LINKE POTGIETER
Senior Lecturer
Founder and member of Surgor since 2013.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust
DIRK HUMAN
Research collaborator
Member of Surgor since 2014.
"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction." - Bill Gates
ANNELIE WESSELS
Masters (2nd year)
Member of Surgor since 2018.
"Think big, and your deeds will grow; Think small, and you'll fall behind; Think that you can, and you will— It's all in the state of mind." - Walter D. Wintle
PHILIP PRINSLOO
Masters (2nd year)
Member of Surgor since 2020.
SAMANTHA DOWNING
Honours
Member of Surgor since 2021.
"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of not succeeding at things in life that really matter." "Let us be eager to leave what is familiar for what is true." - Francis Chan
ALUMNI
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BRIAN VAN VUUREN
PhD (Industrial Engineering), 2016
“It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.” – Ray Bradbury
NOÉ MANFOUO
PhD (Operations Research), 2020
"Research is to see what everyone else has seen and to think what nobody else has thought." - Albert Szent.
HELÉNE DELPORT
MCom (Operations Research), 2016
"Everything you accept as the norm, you will never change." - Suzette Hatting
BRYCE SENEKAL
MCom (Quantitative Management), 2017
"If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - JK Rowling
THLONI MASIPA
MSc (Operations Research), 2018
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us." - Marriane Williamson
KYLE VAN HEERDEN
MSc (Operations Research), 2019
“I started my life with a single absolute: that the world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values and never to be given up to a lesser standard, no matter how long or hard the struggle.” - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
PIETER DE WET
MCom (Operations Research), 2020
"Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability." - Roy L Smith
CHANWYN WILLIAMS
BCom Hons (Operations Research)
Member of Surgor in 2013
KIMBERLEY BAILEY
BCom Hons (Operations Research), 2014
"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style." - Maya Angelo
CANDICE MULLER
BCom Hons (Operations Research)
Member of Surgor in 2015.
GILLIAN TOPLIS
BCom Hons (Quantitative Management), 2015
"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." - Denis Waitley
MASHOTO MASELELA
BSc Hons (Operations Research), 2018
"If you FAIL, never give up because FAIL means 'First Attempt In Learning". END is not the end; in fact it means 'Effort Never Dies'. If you get NO for an answer, remember that no means 'Next Opportunity'." - Abdul Kalam
DEAN MATTER
BCom Hons (Operations Research), 2019
"Those who leave everything in God's hands eventually see God's hands in everything."
MICHELLE DE BEER
BCom Hons (Operations Research), 2020
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt