Prof comes home to receive honorary doctorate
Professor Alred Msezane’s love for discovery led him to the other side of the world.
Professor Alfred Msezane received an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg on March 17. Now based in Atlanta, US, Msezane was born in Springs on December 31, 1938. His father, Albert Msezane, was from Piet Retief, while his mother was from Eswatini.
Msezane lived on a farm with his grandmother and worked as a shepherd. In search of better opportunities, his parents moved to Johannesburg, where they raised him and his brother, Richard, and managed a livestock trading business.
From a young age, he showed great interest in mathematics.
“I was at Inkamana High School, where the nuns and fathers would say they could not see a black person doing physics and maths. But we read the Bible, and none of the scriptures said that, so I decided to pursue physics,” explains Msezane.
He also had a stint at Tlakula Secondary School. Msezane said his experiences on the farm taught him independence, but it was in academics that he discovered endless possibilities.
“I am constantly looking for something, but don’t know what it is. I want to discover new possibilities,” he added.
Among his many awards, Msezane received an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Fort Hare, his alma mater.
“I defied my mom because she only wanted to send me to school until I was 10. But I am still a student to this day.
“In our culture, we don’t answer back; you do what you are told. They took me to school, and I kept returning with more questions. I love to question and discover,” he joked.
Msezane is the founding director of the Centre for Theoretical Studies of Physical Systems at Clark Atlanta University, established in 1991.
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He began his long career as a college professor at the University of New Brunswick in 1973 and became a physics instructor in 1976.
Msezane immigrated to the US from Canada to complete his postdoctoral research at Georgia State University in 1974. From 1978 to 1980, he served as a visiting professor at Louisiana State University.
In 1980, Msezane joined the faculty of Morehouse College as an assistant professor of physics. His research on electron interaction with matter and electron configuration within the atom has resulted in over 260 research papers published in scholarly journals.
The vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg, Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, and the executive dean of the Faculty of Science conferred an honorary doctoral degree on Msezane on Monday.
The graduation ceremony was at the Sanlam Auditorium, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus.
