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Makhubela, Tebogo Vincent (PhD)
Tebogo Vincent Makhubela was born and raised in Tshiawelo, Soweto, where he
also completed his schooling in 2008. He attended Mveledzandivho Primary School
and Vuwani Secondary School. After matric, he went on to complete all his tertiary
studies at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He graduated with a BSc in
Physical Sciences majoring in Geology and Chemistry (2011), BSc Honours in
Geology (2012) and an MSc in Geology (Cum Laude, 2014). In 2015, he enrolled
for a PhD in Geology and was also appointed as an assistant lecturer in the UJ
Department of Geology. He was then appointed as a permanent lecturer as part of
the new Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP) in 2016.
Tebogo Makhubela’s research involved the Rising Star cave near Sterkfontein,
where Homo naledi was discovered in 2013. First he demonstrated, from
mineralogical, geochemical and geochronological studies on cave sediments, the
absence of external material at the discovery site. This underpinned the argument
for H naledi’s deliberate disposal of their dead. Second, he co-developed the
uranium-thorium-helium dating method for calcium carbonate, and applied this new
technique to flowstones to refine their chronology. Finally, he researched the local
erosion rate and landscape history through analyzing the radioactive isotopes
beryllium-10 and aluminium-26, which form at the Earth’s surface due to cosmic
rays. He determined a local erosion rate around 10 m per million years, and found
that the landscape, and the soil that H naledi individuals walked on, have not
changed much since about 250,000 years ago. Mr Makhubela is a lead author of
one, and co-author in three publications in international journals.
Supervisor: Prof JD Kramers
Co-supervisor: Dr D Scherler (German Research Centre for Geosciences,
Germany)
Co-supervisor: Dr GA Belyanin
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