2014 Faculty Researcher of the Year, Applied Social Sciences Cluster

Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

De Wet Swanepoel is Professor in Audiology in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria and a senior research fellow at the Ear Science Institute Australia, with adjunct positions at the University of Texas in Dallas and the University of Western Australia. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, as well as books and chapters in books. In recognition of his work, he has received numerous awards, including a President’s rating from the National Research Foundation and the 2013/14 NSTF-BHP Billiton award. He is an associate editor for the International Journal of Audiology and serves on a number of international boards. He is currently an executive board member and president-elect of the International Society of Audiology, and co-chairs the telehealth task force for the American Academy of Audiology.

Professor Swanepoel’s research interests span the field of early identification and diagnosis of hearing loss, objective measures of auditory functioning and ear and hearing telehealth. The improvement of ear and hearing health care through translational research is consistently emphasised, in particular the improvement of access to, and the quality of ear and hearing health care. Through his research, Professor Swanepoel develops and evaluates contextually suitable hearing screening programmes, primarily for paediatric populations in underserved areas. His work capitalises on the growth in information and communication technologies that explore, develop and implement innovative solutions. These initiatives pursue novel ways for increasing access to primary ear and hearing health care through decentralisation, especially for the underserved, with the goal of securing optimal education, vocation and socio-emotional outcomes. Efforts are aimed primarily at the 3.1 million South Africans who suffer from disabling hearing loss, but also extend to sub-Saharan Africa and to developing and developed contexts globally.

Professor Swanepoel's Researcher of the Year Award

was sponsored by Bliss on Stage.