Prof Lerothodi Leeuw, a professor in Physics and Astronomy at the University of the Western Cape, has been appointed as the new Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Pretoria (UP) from 1 September 2025.

“I feel most humbled, privileged and excited about my appointment at UP. Doing physics and science– exploring the nature of the universe and its constituents– is a huge privilege; joining a leading institution with deep history to pursue this is exciting and humbling. I am grateful to the University for making the appointment, to my family and friends for supporting me to get to this point, and everybody who has taught, shaped and helped me in any way to get here, both directly and through books we read or discoveries that have formed the basis of our study and development. I want to return that favour with meaningful work, service and impact,” he said.

Prof Leeuw explained that his vision for the Department, “has to be informed by why we do science and physics, with whom, where, how and to what end, or with what goals in mind. The answer is therefore not simple and certainly not about me, at least not me on my own. It involves all the stakeholders of the Department -- that is, my colleagues, the students we serve, the University at large, the country that we live in and its people, and our continent and planet Earth.”

He added, “This is to say, what is envisioned will be consultative, collaborative, in service, inclusive, with the goals of being highly competitive and impactful. I envision being an enabler, connecting the dots, opening opportunities, and helping us excel in world-leading physics, and seeing its impact on the work of my colleagues, our students, and society at large. That is the aspiration, with many role models locally and globally, so very ambitious and yet real,” Prof Leeuw concluded.

Prof Leeuw holds a BSc in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in New York City, an MSc in Astronomy from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom.

He has held astrophysics research positions at the University of Toledo in Ohio, the University of Chicago in Illinois, NASA Ames Research Centre in California, USA, and Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Prof Leeuw is no stranger to awards. His academic awards and recognition include the National Research Foundation (NRF) Special Recognition Award, Hamilton Naki Award, NRF Rating C2, various NRF Research Grants, NASA, SKA, and NRF Research Fellowships, and the English Academy Thomas Pringle Prize awarded for a Short Story publication.

Beyond supervising and mentoring postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students, and now Head of Department, “I am passionate about teaching and communicating complex ideas to students, learners and members of the public, in accessible ways using multiple platforms, he said.”

With his collaborators, Prof Leeuw has published over 300 international journal articles. His research interests include astrophysical studies of galaxy evolution using multi-wavelength observational data and high-energy physics searches for particles responsible for dark matter. To top it all, Prof Leeuw also writes and publishes fiction, essays, poetry and enjoys art.