The University of Pretoria annually honours senior academics who have already achieved the prestigious status of Professor and are highly regarded by their peers. These esteemed individuals have consistently excelled in the key areas of teaching and learning, research, community service, and administration over an extended period.

Recipients of the Execeptional Academic Achievers award are recognised for their significant contributions and impact within their respective fields. The following candidates have been awarded the Exceptional Academic Achievers Award.

Professor Jacek Banasiak

Professor Jacek Banasiak holds the DSI/NRF SARChI Chair in Mathematical Models and Methods in Biosciences and Bioengineering at the University of Pretoria. He is also a visiting professor at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland, and holds a research position at the Łódź University of Technology in Poland.

Professor Banasiak has taught numerous postgraduate courses at the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIMPA schools, and universities globally. He has been a B1-rated scientist since 2008 and has received several prestigious awards, including the South African Mathematical Society Award for Research Distinction (2012), the Cross of Merit (Silver) of the Republic of Poland (2013), the first prize for the best paper in applied mathematics from the Centre for Applications of Mathematics (Gdańsk) in 2014, and the Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Poland Award for Scientific Achievements in 2022.

Professor Armanda Bastos

Professor Armanda Bastos is a professor of One Health in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases at the University of Pretoria. She manages the One Health platform at the Hans Hoheisen Wildlife Research Station (HHWRS) in the Kruger National Park and coordinates the MSc in Global One Health, a joint offering of the University of Pretoria and the Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

Professor Bastos' research focuses on transboundary animal diseases, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases at the wildlife-domestic interface. During her academic career, she has published 126 scientific papers and seven book chapters, demonstrating her significant contributions to the field.

Professor Namrita Lall

Professor Namrita Lall is a research chair at the University of Pretoria. Her research focuses on developing natural antituberculosis product leads from medicinal plants, investigating the cytotoxicity of plant extracts and compounds, the anticancer activity of medicinal plants, and isolating and purifying bioactive principles from plants.

Professor Lall has gained international recognition for her research into the potential of medicinal plants. She has been placed in the Essential Science Indicators List of the top 1% of publication outputs (citations) in pharmacology and toxicology. Additionally, she was recently listed as part of Stanford University's list of the World's Top 2% of Scientists.

Professor Nelishia Pillay

Professor Nelishia Pillay is currently the chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Computational Intelligence Society (CIS) Subcommittee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the IEEE CIS Mentoring Subcommittee, and the IEEE CIS Outstanding Dissertation Subcommittee. She also serves as an elected member of the IEEE CIS Adcom.

Professor Pillay's area of research involves improving current and developing new artificial intelligence algorithms to solve complex real-world problems related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She has been awarded a B2 rating by the NRF, recognizing her significant contributions to the field.

Professor Frans Viljoen

Professor Frans Viljoen is a member of the Council of the Global Campus of Human Rights. He is also the program coordinator of the LLM/MPhil in Multidisciplinary Human Rights and teaches modules on these programs and the LLM/MPhil in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa. Additionally, he is the director of the LLM/MPhil (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa), a program instituted in 2000 in partnership with law schools across Africa.

Professor Viljoen co-founded and leads the editorial teams of two leading African journals on human rights. He has been awarded a B2 rating from the NRF, acknowledging his outstanding contributions to the field of human rights.

The academic achievers, recognised by the University of Pretoria, have demonstrated exceptional dedication, expertise, and impact in their respective fields. Their contributions to teaching, research, community service, and administration have significantly advanced the frontiers of knowledge and made a lasting impact on their disciplines and communities.