

D r Natasha Sacks has been employed as a lecturer at Wits University since June 2004. Dr Sacks is the Focus Area Coordinator of the Carbides and Cermets research group within the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials and serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials. She is an adjudicator for the UNESCO/L'Oreal Women in Science fellowships and serves on the Technical Program Committee for the International Conference on Tungsten, Refractory and Hardmaterials hosted in the USA every 3 years. Dr Sacks has established a Wear laboratory at Wits and plans are under way to expand the research facilities.
Tribology research focusing on the friction and wear of cemented carbide alloys and coatings, ceramics and various other metals. Powder metallurgy research focusing predominantly on cemented carbide alloys and coatings from the production processes to failure of components.
Tribology, Powder metallurgy, Physical metallurgy
Corrosion and Wear Solidification, heat treatment and microstructure Physical properties of materials Mechanical design for Metallurgy Tribology: friction, wear and lubrication