Associate Professor · University of Pretoria
Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering
About
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Pretoria, leading research that spans the full spectrum of computational and theoretical physics — from the macroscale dynamics of granular and multiphase flows to the subatomic world of high-energy particle collisions at CERN.
My research lab — the CERG-FLUX Lab (Fluids, Learning, and Uncertainty in compleX systems) — is a subgroup within the Clean Energy Research Group (CERG) at UP. We develop and apply the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) and Euler–Euler CFD frameworks on HPC infrastructure, resolving multiphase flow in industrial process equipment including hydrocyclones, fluidised beds, and biomedical devices. This computational mechanics foundation connects naturally to my work on scientific machine learning — physics-informed neural networks for Navier–Stokes problems — and to AI-based climate intelligence, where I co-developed the open-source Granite Geospatial Land Surface Temperature Earth Observation Foundation Model at IBM Research Africa.
At the frontier of fundamental physics, I am a contributing author on the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN, with publications spanning Higgs boson characterisation, top quark physics, and the landmark 2024 Nature observation of quantum entanglement with top quarks. New programmes in quantum computing, quantum machine learning, and quantum sensing — pursued through the University of Pretoria Quantum Science and Technology group (UPQuST) — extend this quantum thread into engineering applications.
I am Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the South African Association for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (SAAM) and Vice-President of the South African National IUTAM Committee.
Research
Principal Investigator of the CERG-FLUX Lab, coordinating six interlocking research programmes spanning four orders of magnitude in physical scale.
A research subgroup within the Clean Energy Research Group (CERG) at the University of Pretoria. CERG-FLUX develops physics-informed computational methods to understand transport phenomena — spanning computational fluid dynamics and multiphase flow, lattice Boltzmann methods, scientific machine learning, high-energy particle physics at CERN, and quantum technologies.
Multiphase and granular flow modelling in process equipment — hydrocyclones, fluidised beds, pneumatic conveyors — using Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) and Euler–Euler frameworks. Flow regimes span laminar, turbulent, and dense granular packing. Industrial partner: Multotec Pty. Ltd.
Contributing author on the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN. Research includes detector environmental monitoring for the ITk upgrade, Higgs boson characterisation, top quark physics, and the landmark Nature 2024 observation of quantum entanglement with top quarks.
Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) and neural operators for forward and inverse problems in fluid dynamics — embedding conservation laws as inductive bias. Active work on Navier–Stokes PINNs with explicit boundary-condition enforcement and Reynolds-number generalisability. Extends to foundation model development for geospatial Earth observation, including the open-source Granite Geospatial Land Surface Temperature model co-developed at IBM Research Africa, and urban heat island characterisation using vision transformers.
Quantum computing, quantum machine learning, and quantum sensing for engineering applications, pursued through the University of Pretoria Quantum Science and Technology group (UPQuST) — UP's node in the South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI). Builds on connections between ML pipelines in particle physics and emerging quantum architectures, with dedicated funding and industry partnerships.
CFD modelling of respiratory droplet transmission and UV germicidal irradiation for infection control, ventriculoperitoneal shunt dynamics, and lung acoustics. Collaboration with the Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) at Wits.
Scholarship of teaching and learning with a focus on design literacy, academic voice, blended and online learning, and decolonisation of engineering curricula in post-Apartheid South Africa.
Publications
A selection of recent and high-impact publications. Full list on Google Scholar and Scopus.
Experience
Contact
Open to research collaborations, postgraduate enquiries, and speaking invitations.