Two senior academics in the Department of Mining Engineering have received international recognition for their contribution to the mining industry and the professional community.

Prof Francois Malan, the Department’s Research Lead, has been recognised as a Fellow of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). This highest and most senior grade of membership of the ISRM is conferred on individuals who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in the field of rock engineering, and who have contributed to the professional community.

Apart from coordinating the Department’s research activities, Prof Malan is also Director of the Department’s Mining Resilience Research Centre and Acting Chairholder of the Harmony Gold Chair of Rock Engineering and Numerical Modelling. He is currently supervising five PhD and five master’s students. His key research interests include numerical modelling techniques for the mining industry and the strength of hard rock pillars in the Bushveld Complex. He was recently instrumental in the publication of a special edition of the Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, which focused on hard rock pillar research in South Africa. He was co-author of seven papers in this issue of the journal.

Jannie Maritz, the Department’s Teaching and Learning Lead, has been elected Vice-President for Africa of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineers (ISRM) for the term 2023-2027. He will be representing the three countries in Africa that are associated to the ISRM: South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Maritz has been a Council member of the South African National Institute of Rock Engineering since 2011, and is the institute’s past president. He spearheads the Future Education portfolio, providing guidance in converting the industry certificate of competence into a formal qualification with international relevance.

Apart from coordinating the Department’s teaching and learning activities, Maritz oversees the activities of the Department’s Virtual Reality Centre for Mine Design, where his expertise expands into data visualisation and immersive learning. He teaches Strata Control and Rock Engineering modules to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, while maintaining a keen interest in research within the support and mine design domain.