Professor Lerothodi Leeuw joined the University of Pretoria on the 1st September 2025, as Professor and Head of the Physics Department. Before that, he was a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of the Western Cape, until the 31st August 2025. He 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, a MSc in Astronomy from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom.

Beyond supervising and mentoring postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students, and now Head of Department, Prof Leeuw is passionate about teaching and communicating complex ideas to students, learners and members of the public, in accessible ways using multiple platforms. 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 in high energy physics searches of particles responsible for dark matter. In his spare time, he also writes and publishes fiction, essays, poetry and enjoys art.