This award of high stature is presented to an individual who has surpassed several levels of excellence and who is regarded as a role model of exemplary leadership - an individual who is building his institution through leadership, innovation, academic and industrial interface with the supreme objective of forming future leaders. The award was presented at the end of 2013 in Mauritius at the Africa Leadership Awards as part of the World Education Congress, Stars of Industry Group, and the World Corporate Social Responsibility Day.

Prof Meyer is known for being well balanced in both his teaching and research. He has received many awards for his excellent teaching and his ability to explain difficult concepts in easily understandable terms.  He is also highly regarded for his ability to explain the solution of difficult and complex problems from first principles.

While he was professor at North-West University he received special teaching awards in 1990 and 1993 (the awards are only awarded every three years). As professor at the University of Johannesburg since 1994, he received the award as lecturer of the year in 2000. Since he has been appointed at the University of Pretoria (in 2002), he has received two nominations for teaching innovation in 2006 and 2008. All his lectures are available on YouTube and are regularly consulted all over the world by students, staff and engineers in industry.

In terms of research, Professor Meyer has already received four Exceptional Achiever awards from the University of Pretoria. Every award is valid for a three year period and his awards were for the periods 2004 to 2006, 2007 to 2009, 2010 to 2012, and 2013 to 2015. These awards were introduced for academics who had already achieved professional status and who have maintained continuous exceptional achievement in the fields of under- and postgraduate teaching and learning, research, community service and administration, and who are highly esteemed amongst their peers.

Prof Meyer has already published more than 450 papers and his research focuses on heat transfer with specific reference to heat exchangers used in industry with applications from air conditioning to the chemical industry and to the generation and power using solar, nuclear or fossil fuels. For the quality of his research, he has been rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) as an internationally acclaimed researcher.

According to the latest Essential Science Indicators of the ISI Web of Knowledge, Prof Meyer’s research is ranked based on citations amongst the top 1% of the world in the field of engineering.