DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (HONORIS CAUSA)

Francis George Hill was born at Kroonstad on 29th April 1905. He attended school at Kroonstad and Kingswood College, Grahamstown where he matriculated in 1922. In 1923 he registered as a first-year student at the University of the Witwatersrand for the degree of B.Sc. (Engineering). He obtained this degree in 1926 and from 1927 to 1929 he read for a Master's Degree at Oxford. As a student he received the Hennen Jennings Scholarship, the Chamber of Mines Scholarship and the Rhodes Scholarship.

From 1935 to 1963 he was the Manager of various mines on the Witwatersrand. In 1966 he was appointed Technical Manager of Rand Mines. He is a member of various scientific bodies, where he did and is still doing much to promote science in South Africa. As a member of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, of which he was President in 1948/49, he was twice awarded a gold medal, in 1945 and 1954, for his outstanding services.

He is also a member of the London Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. This body also awarded him a gold medal in 1963 for his excellent services. Mr Hill is also a member of the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineers; the South African Institute of Personnel Management, which he served as President in 1960, the Engineers' Association of South Africa, the South African Association for the Advancement of Science and the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies which he served as President in 1953/54.

As a member of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand, and the Scientific Advisory Council, Francis George Hill made a notable contribution towards the advancement of science in South Africa.

It is therefore a privilege for the University of Port Elizabeth to bestow this high honour upon him.