As a learner in Kimberley the young Christiané Heiligers developed a passion for knowledge. “My parents encouraged an outdoor lifestyle, which served to fuel my enthusiasm with what a wonderfully intricate world we live in,” she says.
Heiligers enrolled for a BSc at the then University of Port Elizabeth and received several academic awards. She then completed her honours degree.
Between 2000 and 2003 she did research for a master’s at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her dissertation entitled “Characterisation of Commercial and Experimental Cermets” contains the results of an investigation into the composition and microstructure of three commercial cermet (ceramic-metal cutting tools) grades.
Selected results from the investigation were presented at the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa Conference in 2000 and 2001 and a conference of the Powder Metallurgical Society in 2001.
“During these years I was fortunate to unofficially receive the advice and guidance of Professor Hans-Olof Andren from Chalmers Technical University in Göttenburg, Sweden, whom Professor Neethling and I visited in 2000,” she says.
In addition to the laboratory research, she attended several courses in materials science at Wits during her master’s degree as well as two courses on electron microÂscopy, one of which was presented at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
The collaboration with Wits continued into her PhD research, where Heiligers was able to use the university’s facilities to produce experimental cutting tool materials. Her research, under official promotion of Professor Jan Neethling of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and co-promotion of Professor Iakovos Sigalas from Wits, entailed a detailed investigation into the microstructure and properties of a (possibly novel) ultra-hard material based on hafnium-titanium carbide produced using powder metallurgical techniques.
The results of the investigation were presented both at national and international conferences (MSSA in 2003 and 2005, and the 9th Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society in Portoro, Slovenia, 2005) and published in two international journals (International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, and the Journal of Alloys and Metals).
In 2005, Heiligers received two awards at the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa (MSSA) conference — the Fiona Graham prize for the “first time perfect” student abstract submission and the MSSA prize for the best student presentation in the physical sciences.
Heiligers in currently employed at Element Six, the world’s largest producer of synthetic diamonds. The company investigates industrial applications for natural diamond. Its products are used in a growing list of industries for cutting, grinding and polishing materials, from wood to granite to ferrous and nonferrous metals. Product applications include high-power lasers, fibre-optic computer networks, semiconductors and diamond-tipped blades and scalpels for surgery.
Heiligers says that physics may not seem like an obvious career for a woman. “What attracted me to the field was that the laws of physics are clear-cut and clean,” she explains. “Physics is a diverse field, offering a whole range of opportunities for men and women alike, not just in the pure science world but also in the fields of medicine, technology and engineering.”