It’s not that his research work doesn’t “build structures”, as one colleague once asked him, it is that Professor Skatulla sees structural mechanics as a discipline of civil engineering and considers the effect of forces on structures in terms of inducing motion, deformation, damage, and fracture.

Skatulla is a senior lecturer for Structural Engineering and Mechanics in UCT’s Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE).

As such, he titled his talk, “What has structural mechanics to do with rheumatic heart disease and global climate change?”

To unpack this, Skatulla undergirded two themes: prevention and treatment of rheumatic heart disease and [a] prediction of global climate change and sea level rise due to the retreat of Antarctic ice shelves.

Each participating student identified their top five character strengths and learned how these could be developed to achieve their academic achievement goals and success.

Emer Prof Daya Reddy, UCT vice-chancellor interim welcomed attendees to the lecture.

“Rheumatic heart disease focus is critical in the sub-Saharan region because it is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases. It is quite preventable if one has access to sufficient healthcare, which is why if you have a throat infection which lasts a long time, best you don’t take it lightly,” Skatulla said.

This is so because some of the bacteria can inflame the heart, and once that happens, the heart takes permanent damage – in particular, the valve leaflets, which can become permanently crippled.

 

“The heart is not passively filling up when blood is entering.”

“While it’s typically the domain of clinical research, using mechanics, you can provide an additional angle to it. Typically, you take a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the heart, which tells you quite a bit in terms of the shell/shape: whether it has enlarged or how its pumping performance is,” Skatulla explained.

In other words, the force response drives the remodelling [of the heart] that cannot be determined by clinical means but can be determined by means of computational modelling.

“In terms of the internal force response, there is a stress response that can be tested. How much is the heart tissue internally stressed? The only problem is that the heart is a complex model, and it sits inside a person’s chest, so one can’t just cut open a person and test.”

He added: “There are several equations to be considered, including Newton’s law of the balanced force equilibrium … but also the underlying mathematical equations driving, for example, the remodelling. You also must account for the electrophysiology because the heart is not passively filling up when blood is entering, but the heart is also actively contracting.”

Filling pressure

What’s more, one needs to set up a patient-specific model, which means you need to get an anatomical computer model of the heart, which you get from MRI scans.

“You also need to know what the filling pressure is, and what drives the filling of the heart. So, additionally, it is essential to calibrate your heart model,” Skatulla said.

The professor then shifted his focus to the other bespoke side of his study, which included a trip to Antarctica to research whether ice has nutrients or energy. It was a collaborative trip which, upon arrival at the margin of the sea ice, was sufficient for them to collect samples.

They could also observe the breakup of the ice during certain times of the year.

“Overwhelmingly positive”

Evidence shows that individuals have all 24 character strengths in different degrees, giving each person a unique character strengths profile. Character strengths are described as “the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave”.

The pilot project impact was assessed according to a rigorous evaluation and the results were “overwhelmingly positive”, said Abrahams.

The results showed that 90.9% of students strongly agreed that the course had increased their awareness of their character strengths.

“A significant majority of participants reported increased self-awareness of their character strengths, reflecting the programme’s effectiveness in fostering personal growth and positive shifts in mindset.”

“The programme exemplifies our commitment to student empowerment.”

In the qualitative analysis, students spoke about how their character strengths could be applied in various situations. They highlighted examples of using humour and humility to ease tension and build relationships.

“I have been able to put people at ease with my ease and throwing in jokes time and time again to make them relaxed,” said one participant.

Another said, “Some of the strengths that I have, I didn’t know they play a huge role in the way I see life and when it comes to decision making.”

A third noted, “The evening affirmations created a positive and calming atmosphere, allowing me to unwind and reflect on the positive aspects of my day, leading to enhanced mental well-being.”

Campbell said extensive research and insights had gone into the programme’s development as a means of cultivating a growth mindset among students.

Abrahams added: “The programme exemplifies our commitment to student empowerment and empirically informed positive psychology interventions.”

He said that EBE and the DSA would further refine and expand the programme in the future.