S.E.T. for socio-economic growth
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Role Models – Professionals
2026
Dr Edith Phalane
The data she collects could change the course of an epidemic – using big data and machine learning to identify gaps in the HIV response and train the next generation of scientists
Dr Edith Phalane won a prestigious TW Kambule-NSTF Emerging Researcher Award (one of only two awards in this category) at the 2026 NSTF-South32 Awards. She received it for her role in generating public health evidence to understand local epidemics and inform future pandemics, improving health outcomes across populations. Dr Phalane is the Manager of the Pan African Centre for Epidemics Research (PACER) in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
2026
Prof Topside Mathonsi
The guardian of invisible systems – transforming South African geophysics – using AI and smart sensing systems to support the resilience of critical infrastructure, while training the next generation of researchers
Prof Topside Mathonsi won a prestigious TW Kambule-NSTF Emerging Researcher Award (one of only two awards) at the 2026 NSTF-South32 Awards. He received it for his contribution to the development of intelligent technologies that use artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to protect critical resources such as water, agriculture, and essential infrastructure. Prof Mathonsi is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Information Technology at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
2026
Prof Tjaart Krüger
Nature’s quantum blueprint – decoding how plants harvest sunlight and translating those mechanisms into new approaches for cleaner energy
Prof Tjaart Krüger won the TW Kambule-NSTF Researcher Award at the 2026 NSTF-South32 Awards. He received this prestigious award for his contribution to the development of ultra-sensitive single-molecule instruments that reveal nature’s quantum blueprint for converting sunlight into cleaner, smarter energy. Prof Krüger is a Full Professor in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria (UP).
2026
Prof Musa Manzi
Reading the earth from the inside out – transforming South African geophysics – one innovation, one student and one community at a time
Prof Musa Manzi won the TW Kambule-NSTF Researcher Award at the 2026 NSTF-South32 Awards. He received this prestigious award for his contribution to developing novel, cost-saving surface and in-mine seismic techniques to explore resources, mitigate geohazards, and improve infrastructure development. Prof Manzi is an Associate Professor and Director of the Seismic Research Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).
2026
Prof Rachel Jewkes
Thirty years of changing the conversation on violence against women – transforming gender-based violence from a hidden crisis into a global public health priority
Prof Rachel Jewkes won the Lifetime Award at the 2026 NSTF-South32 Awards. She received this prestigious award for her leadership in research on gender-based violence (GBV) and health over the past three decades. Prof Jewkes is an Executive Scientist at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Honorary Professor in the School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).
2026
Professors Kathleen Kahn and Stephen Tollman
Thirty years in one village and what it taught the world about healthy ageing – building South Africa’s most powerful rural population health study from the ground up
Professors Kahn and Tollman won the Special Annual Theme Award: Healthy Ageing at the 2026 NSTF-South32 Awards. They co-lead the SAMRC/Wits-Agincourt Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), a 30-year rural population platform covering 120,000 people whose longitudinal evidence on ageing, multimorbidity and cognitive decline is shaping health policy from Bushbuckridge to the World Health Organization (WHO).
S.E.T. for socio-economic growth
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