Three of our staff members were recently awarded an improved NRF rating. Prof Abel Ramoelo is a director for the Centre of Environmental Studies and associate professor in the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. He received a C2 rating from the NRF. Dr Natalie Haussmann also received a C2 rating, whereas Dr Philemon Tsele a Y2 rating. A description of ratings can be accessed here.

Prof Ramoelo’s core expertise in remote sensing and environmental sciences focuses on mapping vegetation health assessment, species (including invasive), biochemistry and productivity and water quality and quantity. He uses passive or optical (hyperspectral and multispectral) and active remote sensing data at various scales for informing decisions about natural resource and environmental management (i.e., biodiversity conservation, land degradation, climate change impact, water resources), and food security. Currently, professor Ramoelo is also involved in projects focusing on land cover and land use mapping and change detection in natural, agricultural and urban landscapes. He is an associate editor for three journals: Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformatics, Frontiers in Remote Sensing: Multi- and Hyperspectral Imaging, and Editor-in-Chief for Koedoe: African Protected Area Conservation and Science.

Dr Natalie Haussmann is a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. She is an ecologist with a specific interest in the interactions between ecology and geomorphology, also often referred to as biogeomorphology. She focuses on both anthropogenic and natural ecological disturbance in her research. As such, she supervises student projects focusing on the effect of disturbances (road construction, burrowing, plant invasion) on species richness and the composition of plants and animals. Her research interests have evolved over the years into two main streams of interest within this overarching umbrella of ecological disturbance. Her main research interest is, however, on burrowing mammals and their ecological impact. She has recently expanded her research to include burrowing within an agricultural context. This has broadened the scope and applicability of her research and facilitated projects both within the natural sciences and humanities, and engagement with the farming community in South Africa.

Dr Philemon L Tsele received his PhD degree in geoinformatics from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 2019. He was a research fellow with the remote sensing research unit of the Meraka Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research from 2009 to 2014, and subsequently with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, in Hartbeesthoek, from 2014 to 2018. Currently, Dr Tsele is a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria in the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Meteorology. He presents courses in physical principles of remote sensing, digital image processing, and advanced remote sensing. Furthermore, his research interests include thermal modelling of site-based optical telescopes, modelling vegetation biophysical and biochemical variables in natural environments, and validating remotely-sensed satellite products.