SAAM Sponsors
Executive committee
President
Prof. Thanyani Pandelani
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical, Bioresources and Biomedical Engineering, Unisa
My research centers on the characterization of soft biological tissues through a multidisciplinary approach. This includes advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), mechanical testing using biaxial and triaxial systems, and trauma biomechanics. I am particularly interested in understanding the mechanical behaviour and structural properties of soft tissues under various loading conditions. I am committed to advancing tertiary engineering education by integrating real-world biomedical applications into the curriculum, fostering hands-on learning, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
Vice-President
Prof. Muaaz Bhamjee
Associate Professor: Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and IT
Prof. Muaaz Bhamjee is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. He has a background in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics. He is involved in research and published in the fields of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Heat and Mass Transfer, Experimental Fluid Dynamics, Lattice Boltzmann Modelling, Multiphase Flow, Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT), High Performance Computing (HPC), Solar and Renewable Energy, Solar Air Heating, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Modelling, Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI), Fluid Dynamics in Biomedical Applications, Engineering Education and data driven and machine learning approaches to Climate.
Treasurer
Dr. Jan-Hendrik Kruger
Senior Lecturer, Fluid Mechanics at Mechanical Engineering, North-West University (South Africa)
Dr Jan-Hendrik Kruger has a keen interest in the practical use of engineering simulation across a wide range of applications. These include the use of computational fluid dynamics focussed on packed pebble bed thermal-hydraulics in nuclear reactors, centrifugal pump flow analysis, dilute phase gas-particle flow simulation, as well as aerodynamic analysis in the competitive sailplane and solar car racing environments. Simulation in mechanical design also features through his work in a research team focussed on the development of upper and lower limb prosthetic devices, where biotech meets mechatronics and composite materials.
He is a senior lecturer in Fluid Mechanics at Mechanical Engineering at the North-West University (South Africa) where he combines his love of teaching with his passion for research.
Head of Special Interest Groups
Dr. Andie de Villiers
Lecturer, Applied Mathematics, Stellenbosch University
Andie obtained a B.Eng and M.Eng in mechanical engineering at the North-West University and completed a PhD at the University of Cape Town. She enjoys teaching mechanics-related modules to science and engineering students. Her research interests range from peridynamics, to mechanical modelling of biological materials to modelling and simulation of biomedical applications.
Head of Social Media
A Prof. Quinn Reynolds
Technical Specialist: Computational Modelling, Pyrometallurgy Division, Mintek
Associate Professor: Department of Process Engineering, University of Stellenbosch
Quinn holds degrees in Engineering and Applied Mathematics. He has worked in the Pyrometallurgy Division at Mintek for the past two decades, a state-owned research institute serving the extensive mineral and metallurgical processing sector in South Africa. His expertise includes mathematical and computational modelling of complex coupled phenomena in high-temperature processes, and in particular, the application of high-performance computing and open-source software platforms to pyrometallurgy. His current areas of research include magnetohydrodynamic modelling of electric arcs, multiphysics fluid flow problems in furnace tapping and phase separation, combustion modelling for metallurgical processing, and discrete element modelling for particle flow problems.
Head of Website and IT
Dr. Benjamin Alheit
Postdoctoral Researcher, Material Science Engineering & BioMechanical Engineering, TU Delft, The Netherlands
Dr. Alheit’s current research focus is on the use of data- and physics-informed modelling methods in the context of continuum solid mechanics.
Academic Members
Prof. Sebastian Skatulla
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town
Sebastian is a Professor of Structural Engineering and Materials at the University of Cape Town. He graduated with a Masters degree in Civil Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2003 and was awarded his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Adelaide in 2007. His research interest are broadly in multiscale modelling of materials, with current focus on biomechanics and glaciology applications.
A Prof. Philip Loveday
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand
Philip joined the University of the Witwatersrand in May 2020 and is the Head of the Applied Mechanics Stream. Prior to joining Wits, he led a Research Group in the area of Smart Materials and Structures at the CSIR. His current interests include the industrial application of ultrasound, particularly guided wave ultrasound where he researches numerical modelling and measurement techniques which support the development of inspection and monitoring systems.
Special Industrial Members
Dr. Danie de Kock
Director, Qfinsoft
Danie obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pretoria in 2006 and where he was also appointed as senior lecturer. He currently holds the position of managing director of Qfinsoft. Qfinsoft is the leading Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software and services supplier in Southern Africa through best-in-class software, technical excellence and highest-quality technical support.
Mr Paul Naudé
Managing Director, SIMTEQ Engineering
Paul completed his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at UP in 2004 after graduating as a civil engineer in 1998. He has a passion for simulation technology, mentoring and training and joined ESTEQ Engineering in 2008. He became the company’s Managing Director in 2019 after rebranding as SIMTEQ Engineering and leads the company’s educational programs. SIMTEQ Engineering is the sole provider of MSC Software (now Hexagon Design & Engineering) in Sub-Sahara Africa, with products such as MSC Nastran, Adams, Marc and MSC Apex, the international de facto standards for FEA, manufacturing and system dynamics simulations.
International Affiliations
