Professor

Markus Boettcher

BELINDA BANTHAM — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:36:45 +0000

Markus Boettcher BELINDA BANTHAM Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:36

Multiwavelength Astronomy, Multi-Messenger Astrophysics, High-Energy Astrophysics, Active Galactic Nuclei, Blazars, Neutrino Astrophysics, Multi-wavelength Polarisation

Prof

Professor

Markus

Boettcher

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Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Markus Boettcher did his Ph.D. work at the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy Bonn, Germany, and obtained his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Bonn. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at Rice University, Houston, TX, USA, 1997 – 2002 (including a NASA/SAO Chandra fellowship 1999 – 2002), before joining the faculty of Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA, in 2002, first as assistant professor, then (2007) as associate professor, and (2012) full professor. In 2013, he moved to South Africa to join the Centre for Space Research at NWU as SARChI Chair of Astrophysics and Space Physics. He is an internationally renowned expert on the physics of astronomical sources of high-energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) radiation. These include black holes in our Galaxy an in the centres of other galaxies, called active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. His group is very actively involved in the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) near Windhoek, Namibia, which is the world’s most sensitive ground-based gamma-ray observatory. Markus Boettcher is the chairperson of the South African Gamma-Ray Astronomy Programme (SA-GAMMA), which co-ordinates the research activities and funding needs for about 100 members (permanent researchers, postdocs, students) at 6 institutions in South Africa and Namibia. In particular, SA-GAMMA co-ordinates the South African involvement in H.E.S.S. and the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), currently under construction on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, and near Mt. Paranal, Chile.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8434-5692

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Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Physical Address

Potch campus, G5, 216

Telephone Number

018 299 2418

Cellphone Number

076 997 1109

E-mail

Markus.Bottcher@nwu.ac.za

Prof Markus Boettcher

Amare Abebe

BELINDA BANTHAM — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:19:40 +0000

Amare Abebe BELINDA BANTHAM Fri, 12/01/2023 - 14:19

Cosmology, Gravitation, Astrophysics, Astronomy, Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Prof

Professor

Amare

Abebe

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Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

After completing his postgraduate training specialising in gravitation and cosmology at UCT, Amare Abebe joined the NWU as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2014 and has remained here ever since, where he is now a professor of physics and the current director of the Centre for Space Research (CSR). His research focuses on understanding the origin and evolution of the universe - and the formation of large-scale structure, i.e., structures larger than individual galaxies, in it – using alternative theories of gravitational physics and observational constraints from astronomical data. Part of this endeavour is to explain (away) dark matter and dark energy, two components of matter and energy that, together, account for nearly 95% of the total content of the universe despite being invisible - hence simply referred to as dark – but whose existence is inferred through their gravitational and cosmological effects.

https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=uhBv63gAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5475-2919

Physical Address

Potchefstroom Campus, G5-117

Telephone Number

+27-18-389-2848

Cellphone Number

+27-84-974-2255

E-mail

AmareAbebe.Gidelew@nwu.ac.za

Amare Abebe

Elize S van Eeden

BELINDA BANTHAM — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 13:39:12 +0000

Elize S van Eeden BELINDA BANTHAM Mon, 10/31/2022 - 15:39

Historical linguistics

Prof

Professor

Elize

Deputy Director

van Eeden

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School of Social Sciences

In my personal career development I became a regional history expert.mAfter my postgraduate work, my research in regional history gradually matured towards four central foci. Initially, I focused on (i) Gold mining as the region’s economic driver and (ii) Local economic developments and related environmental distortions. Once I had a more comprehensive multidisciplinary understanding of the FWR and regional histories as field, I (iii) advanced the methodological paradigm for doing regional and micro (local) histories, as well as the historiography of regional history in South Africa (SA). As last central focus to contribute to regional histories I continued to develop my methodology, always keeping region/space central, to be more theme and sometimes phenomenon-specific. This culminated into research on (iv) ecohealth and wellbeing matters in communities living in mining areas. In this regard I successfully led a National Research Foundation (NRF) project, complementing an integrative multidisciplinary model in mining related community engagement research (2013 to 2017). As a result of collaboration with Finnish regional and rural studies historians at the Ruralia Institute of Helsinki, I also imported an ethnographic research model in which some affective emotional history features were included. In this model the ecohealth and wellbeing of the FWR region were explored through a form of homeliness research. This project was the first of its kind in SA. Though my major regional/spatial emphasis of research remains the FWR, I have in the past years (prior to 2013 and beyond) engaged in regional history specific research projects related to

places in the Eastern Cape, Southern Cape, Free State, North West Province, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng.

Since 1986 I held leadership positions in several scholarly societies: the presidency of the American Studies Association of SA (1994-1998); secretariat (1994-2008) and chairperson (2009-2017) of the SA Society for History Teaching; Executive Board member of the International Society for History Didactics (2014-2021); member of the South African Historical Society; South African Historical Association (SAHA), and the South African Society for Cultural History (a Board member). I co-edited the H-Safrica International-Internet network (1997-2002); I was Editor-in-Chief of the “Yesterday&Today” journal (2005-2014) which achieved DHET accreditation under my editorship in 2012; I also launched its website in 2005. I served on the executive of the SAHA as well as the editorial board of the accredited journal, “Historia” (1997-2007). Currently, I am editor-in chief of the DHET-approved journal: “New Contree” (2008-2022). This journals serves regional history research.

I have received career acknowledgement, including awards for excellence in higher education teaching and learning (1995, 1998, 2019); the award for Researcher of the Year at the Vaal Triangle Campus (2009) where I was ranked among the top researchers of the NWU. I acted as Editor/co-editor/chapter author of 30 books and more than 85 scholarly articles. I am annually recognised by my peers and academic management as a top performer. I was the chairperson of History at the Vanderbijlpark Campus (2012-2018) at the NWU, and is currently Deputy Director for the School of Social Science (serving on many school and faculty related committees). I am also project leader of the Northwest (NW) Regional and Local History Studies research group in the NWU Focus Area Social Transformation. In this regard I serve on a Committee for Advance Degrees (CAD) and an Ethics Committee (2013-2021). Personally I have delivered more than a dozen post graduates (PhD’s and MA’s).

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Faculty of Humanities

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http://elizevaneeden.co.za/

http://library.nwu.ac.za/node/43604

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elize-van-eeden-5968a88

ORCID no: 0000-0002-4852-5522

/pub/dir/Elize/Van%2BEeden

Physical Address

NWU Vanderbijlpark Campus, Vanderbijlpark, Building 16, Room 29.

Telephone Number

016 910 3469

Cellphone Number

0927528839

E-mail

Elize.vanEeden@nwu.ac.za

Elize S van Eeden

Prof Phil van Schalkwyk

BELINDA BANTHAM — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 12:36:42 +0000

Prof Phil van Schalkwyk BELINDA BANTHAM Mon, 10/31/2022 - 14:36

Afrikaans

Literature

Prof

Professor

Phil

Research Director

van Schalkwyk

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School of Languages

Phil van Schalkwyk completed an MA in Afrikaans and Dutch Literature, Cum Laude, at the PU for CHE. In 2004 he obtained a PhD in General Theory of Literature at the North-West University.

Mainly active in the field of Comparative Literature, his research focuses on rhetorical constructions and relationality in Afrikaans, South African and Dutch prose and poetry, with emphasis on the writings of Eben Venter.

He delivered papers at conferences in South Africa, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and the USA, and published articles in accredited journals, including Dutch Crossing, Critical Arts, Journal of Humanities, Stilet, Literator, Tydskrif vir Nederlands en Afrikaans, South African Journal of Linguistics. He contributed chapters to books such as: Perspektief en profiel; Verbintenis en venster: die Nederlandstalige letterkunde van aanvang tot hede; Crossing Borders, Dissolving Boundaries (2013); Beyond the Threshold: Explorations of Liminality in Literature (2007); and Shifting the Compass: Pluricontinental Connections in Dutch Colonial and Postcolonial Literature (2013).

He first obtained an NRF rating in 2014, and in 2019 his rating was successfully renewed (C2). In the same year he was awarded the South African Academy’s Esther Greeff prize for a Journal of Humanities article (2017) in which he re-evaluates the novel Wolf, wolf in the context of Eben Venter’s oeuvre.

Prof Van Schalkwyk has been promoter and supervisor at NWU for several successfully completed postgraduate studies. One of his students, Dr Janien Linde, was awarded the Marius Jooste medal for her MA dissertation (Cum Laude, 2014).

From 2017 till present he has been co-editor-in-chief of Literator.

In 2018 and 2019 he was acting director of the Research Unit Languages and Literature in the South African Context, and in June 2021 he was appointed for a term of five years as director of this entity.

He presented his inaugural lecture in October 2021.

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Language

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Faculty of Humanities

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ORCID 0000-0002-4259-7074

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&inst=121720724888…

Physical Address

Potchefstroom Campus, E9, first floor, 108A

Telephone Number

018 299 1555

Cellphone Number

078 179 5671

E-mail

Phil.VanSchalkwyk@nwu.ac.za

Phil van Schalkwyk

Nkengafac Villyen Motze

BELINDA BANTHAM — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 11:56:15 +0000

Nkengafac Villyen Motze BELINDA BANTHAM Mon, 10/31/2022 - 13:56

Epidemiology

Prof

Professor

Nkengafac Villyen

Associate Professor of Epidemiology

Motze

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Faculty of Health Sciences

Prof Nkengafac Villyen Motaze (M.D, M.Sc., PhD) is a Cameroonian medical epidemiologist currently based at Medicine Usage in South Africa (MUSA). In 2007, Villyen completed his medical studies in Yaoundé, Cameroon and worked for four years in the North West province of Cameroon before moving to Cape Town in 2012 where he completed his masters in Clinical Epidemiology at Stellenbosch University. He Joined the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in 2014 where he carried out several surveillance and research projects on vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, poliomyelitis, rubella, and viral hepatitis. Villyen enrolled for his PhD in Epidemiology with Stellenbosch University in 2016 and focused on rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in South Africa.

Villyen currently supervises postgraduate (masers and doctoral) students, conducts systematic reviews of healthcare interventions and facilitates training on systematic reviews and Evidence-Based Practice in partnership with the Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care/Stellenbosch University and Cochrane South Africa/ South African Medical Research Council. Villyen was deployed twice as a Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) consultant with the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Villyen’s areas of interest include pharmacoepidemiology, public health, infectious diseases, vaccine preventable diseases, child health and reproductive health. He has a passion for training of post-graduate students and is supervising masters students at Stellenbosch University, University of Pretoria and the University of the Witwatersrand. He has twenty peer-reviewed publications in accredited scientific journals and is a member of the Scientific advisory committee of the South African Field Epidemiology Training Program.

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Pharmacology

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Faculty of Health Sciences

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ORCHID ID: 0000-0003-0227-6425

ResearchGate index: 24.36

Physical Address

Building G23, G07, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, Potchefstroom

Telephone Number

018 285 2227

Cellphone Number

0733798411

E-mail

44802889@nwu.ac.za

Nkengafac Villyen Motze

Chris van Heerden

BELINDA BANTHAM — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 11:39:48 +0000

Chris van Heerden BELINDA BANTHAM Mon, 10/31/2022 - 13:39

Economics

Prof

Professor

Chris

Coordinating Programme Leader for Risk Manage

van Heerden

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Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences

Chris van Heerden is a professor in the School of Economics at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). He lectures undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Risk Management (Finance).

Working primarily in the field of finance, he specialises in portfolio management. His research focuses on the different factors influencing portfolio performance, portfolio compositions, individual asset selection, performance measurement and management. As a researcher he has addressed some of the fundamental flaws of performance measurement, which has practical relevance to practitioners, including investors, portfolio managers, bankers, and even the South African Government.

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UARM - Centre for Applied Risk Management

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Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8074-0719 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chris_Van_Heerden

https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=-i74VR8AAAAJ&hl=en

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/8796527 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?

authorId=24823456100 https://publons.com/researcher/2345786/chris-van-heerden/

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Economic and Management Sciences

Physical Address

11 Hoffman Street, Internal Box 593, Building E3, Office 134, Potchefstroom, 2531

Telephone Number

018 299 1476

E-mail

chris.vanheerden@nwu.ac.za

Prof Chris van Heerden

Rupert Gouws

BELINDA BANTHAM — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 13:03:01 +0000

Rupert Gouws BELINDA BANTHAM Wed, 10/26/2022 - 15:03

Electric, Electronic & Computer Engineering

Energy Systems

Prof

Professor

Rupert

Gouws

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Faculty of Engineering

Prof Rupert Gouws is presently a full professor in the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at the North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. After completion of his studies, he joined a company Energy Cybernetics where he was involved with energy audits, measurement and verification activities and energy related research activities. He received an Institutional Teaching Excellence Award from the NWU and was involved in various undergraduate modules for all year groups. Apart from lecturing, he also mentors students that are busy with their Master’s studies, PhD studies and Postdoctoral fellowships. He specialises in the fields of electrical energy management, electrical energy efficiency, electrical machines - energy optimization, and power electronics - energy optimization. He currently has a National Research Foundation (NRF) rating status of Established Researcher. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and peer-reviewed international conference proceedings. He received awards for the most productive junior and senior researcher within the NWU Faculty of Engineering. He is active on research evaluation panels for various international journals and serve as external examiner for various institutions. He has an established network of partners within the university, local industries, and international collaborators. He acted as a member of the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Engineering at the NWU as well as a member of the Research Entities Evaluation Committee of the NWU. The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) registered him as a Professional Engineer (Pr.Eng) and the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) certified him as a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP). Furthermore, he holds membership with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE).

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Engineering

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Faculty of Engineering

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5474-9592

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QojWmuwAAAAJ&hl=en

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rupert-Gouws

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Engineering

Physical Address

Building N1A, Room 201, Engineering Campus, Potchefstroom

Telephone Number

018 299 1902

E-mail

rupert.gouws@nwu.ac.za

Rupert Gouws

Liesl van der Merwe

BELINDA BANTHAM — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 12:32:32 +0000

Liesl van der Merwe BELINDA BANTHAM Tue, 02/01/2022 - 14:32

bassoon

Dalcroze studies

Music

Music and spirituality

Music and wellbeing

Prof

Professor

Liesl

van der Merwe

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Faculty of Humanities

Liesl van der Merwe is a professor in the School of Music and MASARA at the North-West University, South Africa. Her research interests lie in the fields of music and well-being, positive psychology, music and spirituality, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and lived musical experiences. Liesl supervises qualitative postgraduate music studies in the field of music education and also teaches research methodology, music education and bassoon. She has published articles in high-impact journals. Currently, Liesl is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher. She completed the research project: Social Cohesion Through Community Music Engagement in South African Higher Music Education. She was one of the volume editors of the Peter Lang book: Ritualised Belonging: Musicing and Spirituality in the South African Context. Liesl is on the steering and scientific committees of the Music, Spirituality and Wellbeing International Network (MSW) and vice-chair of the scientific committee of The International Conference of Dalcroze Studies (ICDS). Liesl was one of the keynote speakers at the ICDS5 conference. She has also recently been invited, by the series editor, Prof Liora Bresler, to be on Springer's Editorial Board of the Landscapes: The Arts, Aesthetics, and Education book series, and she is the guest editor of a special edition on positive psychology and music education in the International Journal of Education and the Arts.

She also performs as a bassoonist in chamber music ensembles and is the conductor of the North-West Youth Orchestra.

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Music

https://scholar-google-com.nwulib.nwu.ac.za/citations?user=WKeaRjYAAAAJ&hl=en&o…

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Musical Arts in SA : Reseources & Applications (MASARA)

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8698-7218

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School of Music

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Humanities

Physical Address

Potchefstroom Campus
Conservatory (K1) – 211

Telephone Number

018 299-1689

Cellphone Number

083 467-9469

E-mail

liesl.vandermerwe@nwu.ac.za

Liesl van der Merwe

Mirna Nel

BELINDA BANTHAM — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 11:03:58 +0000

Mirna Nel BELINDA BANTHAM Fri, 06/18/2021 - 13:03

Inclusive Education

Prof

Professor

Mirna

Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation

Nel

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Faculty of Humanities

Prof Mirna Nel is deputy dean for research in the Faculty of Humanities, North-West University (NWU), South Africa and a researcher in the Optentia Research Focus Area. Her research interest was primarily focused on the role teachers play in teaching and supporting all learners in inclusive classrooms, but recently it broadened to inclusivity and diversity in different environments. She was the South African project leader for an international collaborative research project between South Africa, England, Finland, China, Lithuania and Slovenia with the topic: A Comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Roles in Inclusive Education. Several publications resulted from this project. In 2016 she and other NWU colleagues were rewarded European Union funding to conduct research on teacher education for inclusion in collaboration with De Vlaamse Vereniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en Technische Bijstand (VVOB), the Universities of the Witwatersrand, Free State, Fort Hare and Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA). She was also involved with NWU colleagues in a research project aiming at developing High Performance Learning in an inclusive Full-Service School. Furthermore, in collaboration with Austrian and German colleagues, she was also part of a project focusing on the social participation of learners in inclusive Full Service Schools in South Africa. She has published several articles in national and in international journals, written numerous chapters, co-edited and sole edited textbooks, and supervised and delivered Masters and PhD students. Conference papers were presented at national and international conferences. She has also been invited to do workshops and presentations in several European countries, as well as keynote presentations at various national and international conferences on a variety of topics relevant to inclusive education.

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Optentia Research Focus Area

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0170-3296

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mirna-Nel

https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?hl=en&user=OI4TAeMAAAAJ

https://repository.nwu.ac.za/discover

https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/31520

Physical Address

Vanderbijlpark, Building A 13, Room 107

Telephone Number

016 910 3441

E-mail

Mirna.Nel@nwu.ac.za

Prof Mirna Nel

Johan Potgieter

BELINDA BANTHAM — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 10:38:25 +0000

Johan Potgieter BELINDA BANTHAM Fri, 06/18/2021 - 12:38

Positive Psychology

Prof

Professor

Johan

Professor of Psychology

Potgieter

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School of Psychosocial Health

I have specialized in the field of strengths-based psychology for a number of years. My research interest is in the facilitation of resilience, and in successful adaptation to / optimal performance within any context that poses challenges in terms of the maintenance of one’s psychological well-being. I am especially interested in the utilization of so-called nature-assisted, or adventure interventions in bringing about these positive changes through experiential learning. Nature is both utilized as a rich therapeutic context, and acknowledged as a co-therapist in bringing about positive change in the lives of participants / clients. Although this is effective in both individual and group settings, I am especially interested in the latter. I teach group therapy and –dynamics at the Master’s level, and have acquired some experience in using this therapeutic modality in my research and clinical work.

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Health

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Faculty of Health Sciences

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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Johan-Potgieter-5

Physical Address

Potchefstroom Campus, Building E8, Office # 123

Telephone Number

018 299 1731

E-mail

johan.potgieter@nwu.ac.za

Prof J Potgieter