Scientific Committee

Research Fellow, Institute for Water Studies, University of the Western Cape

Dr Pietersen has 30+ years of experience in the water, environment, geosciences and energy sectors. He currently holds a Research Fellow position at the University of the Western Cape in the Institute for Water Studies. Previously a Director of SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. Before joining SLR, he was a Partner and Managing Member at Water Geosciences Consulting/Metago Water Geosciences. Before that time, he was employed by the South African Water Research Commission (WRC) as the Director: of Research Coordination and Partnerships/Water Centred Knowledge, and before that, as Director: of Water Resource Management. Before joining the WRC, he was a hydrogeologist with the CSIR focusing on community water supply and sanitation and integrated groundwater management. He has extensive experience in integrated water resource management. Supporting information systems, guidelines, decision support systems, prediction tools, technologies and methodologies for the protection of water resources and equitable allocation of water to meet the needs of the environment, social and economic development. Kevin has extensive experience in the exploration, development and management of groundwater resources

Institute for Groundwater Studies, University of the Free State

Dr Amy Allwright is a hydrogeologist, researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Groundwater Studies (IGS), University of the Free State, South Africa. Amy is a specialist in numerical groundwater modelling, lecturing in this subject and providing consulting services to industry with an emphasis on contaminant transport modelling. She completed her PhD thesis exploring the limitations of the traditional governing equations used in groundwater transport modelling and developed a new approach of applying fractional and fractal derivatives to overcome these limitations.

Lecturer, Department of Geology at the School of Mines, University of Zambia

Kawawa Banda is an academic in the Department of Geology, School of Mines at the University of Zambia. He holds a PhD degree in Environmental Engineering (with a strong focus on Hydrogeology) from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Denmark, an MSc (Integrated Water Resources Management) and a BSc (Geology) from the University of Zambia. His research interests are in Hydrogeology, Remote Sensing, Environmental Geology and Water Resources Management, with over ten years of experience with several publications and consultancy in these fields. Dr Banda is a reviewer of several internationally accredited journals.

Hydrogeology Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Canada

Lamine Boumaiza holds a PhD in geological engineering from the University of Quebec (Canada). Previously, Dr Boumaiza worked in Canada for 6 years for geo-environmental consulting companies, where he conducted several hydrogeological and environmental studies. He is currently a researcher in hydrogeology at the University of Waterloo (Canada). Dr Boumaiza has developed innovative approaches to solving hydrogeological problems based on stable isotopes field-experimental works and numerical/analytical modelling.

Lecturer, Department of Earth Sciences, Stellenbosch University

Reynold Chow is a hydrogeologist with 13+ years of relevant work experience in hydrogeological site investigations, including core logging, packer testing, monitoring well installations, potable water treatment, and hydraulic response testing (i.e., slug tests and pumping tests). He has worked for mining companies with projects in Northern British Columbia, Northern Ontario, the Alberta Oil Sands, Yukon Territory and Alaska. Dr Chow is also a specialist in numerical groundwater modelling and has comprehensive knowledge of MODFLOW (Visual MODFLOW & Groundwater Vistas), Surfer, and Grapher, in addition, to experience using FeFlow, Watflow, and HydroGeoSphere. His research interests include quantifying and reducing hydrogeological model uncertainty to enhance their credibility and usefulness for decisions.

School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban

Molla Demlie obtained his BSc in Geology (1992), MSc in Hydrogeology (2000) from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia and PhD Hydrogeology (2007) from Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany. Prof Demlie is a registered professional natural scientist in South Africa with more than 20 years of practical and academic experience in hydrogeology. Prof Demlie has published more than 60 peer-reviewed research articles and conference proceedings. Prof Demlie has supervised many PhD, MSc and Honours hydrogeology students and lectured senior undergraduate and graduate hydrogeology courses. Prof Demlie's main research interests are hydrogeological system analysis, hydrogeochemistry and isotope hydrology, numerical groundwater flow and contaminant transport modelling.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Western Cape

Sumaya Clarke is a hydrogeologist and hydrochemist with close to 20 years of experience monitoring groundwater quality, water-rock, water-soil interactions, and remediation technologies. She has worked extensively with monitoring equipment and a variety of field monitoring loggers and can interpret and analyse large datasets and model soil-water and rock-water interactions and different chemical processes using technical PHREEQC and Aquachem software. She has presented short courses in PHREEQC at her workplace and has experience working on large integrated multi-disciplinary projects as a team member and project leader. She is also able to manage medium and large-scale projects.

Associate Professor: Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, University of Pretoria

Matthys Dippenaar is presently an associate professor of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology at the University of Pretoria. His work and research focus on the poorly understood cross-disciplinary field of water impacts on land-use change. Unsaturated flow and changes to the water budget in urban areas impact development and influence groundwater and surface hydrology, resulting in damage to infrastructure, change in water quality, and loss of environmental integrity.

Associate Professor (Hydrology), School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal

Seifu Kebede Gurmessa obtained a BSc degree in Geology (1994) and an MSc degree in Hydrogeology (1999) from Addis Ababa University. He obtained PhD degree from the University of Avignon, France, in 2005 in Isotope (tracer) hydrogeology. Between 1994 and 1999, he served as a research assistant and junior lecturer at the School of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University. For about one year (2005-2006), after completion of his PhD work, he served the International Atomic Energy Agency as Junior Professional Officer. On return to Addis Ababa University in 2007, he was appointed as Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology and later, in 2013, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Hydrogeology. He joined the School of Agricultural Earth and Environmental Sciences and Center of Water Resources Research at the University of KwaZulu Natal, in September 2019.

Lecturer, Geology, University of Namibia

Dr Hamutoko is currently a lecturer at the Department of Geosciences of the University for Namibia. She holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Namibia, focusing on Hydrogeology, MSc in Environmental Resource Management from Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Seftenberg in Germany. Her research interests are in Water Resources Management, Hydrogeology and Remote Sensing, with over five years of experience in several publications. So far, her work has focused on understanding perched aquifers using geochemistry and isotopes. She is also an associate editor for the Journal of African Earth Sciences.

South African Department of Water and Sanitation

Oudi Kgomongwe is a professional earth scientist committed to advancing the governance and management of groundwater resources in Africa. She holds a Master's degree in Hydrogeology from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has been involved in research for development, contributing to solving groundwater problems in transboundary aquifers in Southern Africa. Oudi's experience includes consulting for the mining industry as a hydrogeologist and numerical groundwater modeller.
She serves as Chairperson of the Gauteng branch of the Groundwater Division, a professional body for hydrogeologists in South Africa. Oudi is a public service fellow of apolitical academy and served on the Young Scientific Programme Committee for SIWI's World Water Week 2022.
Oudi's heart for South Africa's people and water has led her to public service at the national office of the Department of Water and Sanitation, where she is involved in integrated water resource management - conducting coordinated development and management of water in South Africa.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Western Cape

Thokozani Kanyerere is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Cape, where he has taught and conducted groundwater management research since 2013. He has 20 years of experience in university academic and research work. He received his MSc from the University of Malawi (2001) and MPhil from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway (2004). He obtained his PhD (2012) from the University of Western Cape in South Africa, where he assessed groundwater management practices for domestic use using the IWRM approach. He is involved in direct and developmental applied research work from a capacity-building perspective. His research interests are in groundwater/surface-water interaction, aquifer characterisation, groundwater recharge, and groundwater management with a focus on quality which enabled him to coordinate academic and groundwater projects. His passion is for water education for capacity development. Dr Kanyerere is a reviewer of several peer-reviewed journals and institutes.

Department of Environmental Science, University of Botswana

Prof Piet Kenabatho has over 20 years of professional experience in hydrology, hydrogeology and environmental sectors. Apart from his academic role at the University of Botswana, he has led and participated in numerous studies on hydrology and groundwater projects at national and international levels. In the last 10 years, his focus was mainly on the assessment and management of transboundary aquifers in the region, including the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System (STAS) in collaboration with UNESCO (IHP), the Ramotswa Transboundary Aquifer Project, the Tuli-Karoo Aquifer, the Eastern Kalahari Transboundary Aquifer (EKKTBA) project, among others. Nationally, he has contributed significantly to the water sector through many studies. Recently he has been leading the development of 'Botswana's long-term Water Security Strategy (2022-2050). He has also participated in developing the National Water Conservation and Demand Management Strategy, The Review of Water Related Legislation and the Full Assessment of Water Regulatory Authority. He serves on the national Water Apportionment Board, is a Board Member of the Global Water Partnership-Southern Africa, and has been part of the Technical Committee for the SADC-GMI Groundwater conferences since the inception of SADC-GMI.

University of Free State South Africa

Eelco Lukas grew up in the Netherlands and is a trained civil engineer. After obtaining his Civil Engineering degree, Eelco emigrated to South Africa and started working for the University of the Free State (UFS), where he qualified as a hydrogeologist. He is the developer of the Windows Interpretation System for Hydrogeologists (WISH). He is currently the Director of the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Venda

Rachel Makungo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Venda, South Africa. Her PhD research innovatively focused on developing risk-based operating rules for groundwater supply. She has 17 years of teaching and research experience in surface water and groundwater hydrology, water resource systems analysis, water quality, hydrological modelling, climate change and adaptation. She was awarded an NRF-Y2 rating in the year 2020. She is also involved in community-engaged research for the benefit of society and the sustainable management of water resources, and her interest in patentable research has resulted in the registration of a provisional patent. She is currently part of the Department of Higher Education and Training's Future Professor Programme.

Senior Groundwater Specialist, SADC Groundwater Management Institute

Gerald is a civil engineer with over 10 years of experience in water resources management. He obtained his BSc. Honours Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe and holds an MSc. in Hydrology and Water Resources from IHE Delf in the Netherlands. Before joining SADC-GMI, Gerald worked in the public sector, where he was involved in the planning, developing and implementing projects, programmes and initiatives that have significantly contributed towards addressing water-related challenges across Southern Africa. Gerald is interested in hydroinformatics, hydrogeology, hydrology and transboundary water resources management.

 Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Jing Sun obtained her B.Eng. at the University of Science and Technology of China, M.Sc. at Dartmouth College and PhD at Columbia University in Earth and Environmental Sciences. She joined the University of Western Australia as a Research Fellow in 2016 and became a professor at the Institute of Geochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, through the 100-Talent Programme in 2019. She received the "Hou Defeng Young Scientist Award" from the Chinese Society of Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry in 2020 and the "Chinese Academy of Sciences Youth May Fourth Medal" in 2022. Her speciality is the field of elemental geochemistry and hydrogeochemistry, with research interests that centre on redox chemistry in subsurface systems and the role of mineral transformation on the environmental fate of toxic elements. She integrates laboratory experiments, field experiments, advanced analytical techniques, and reactive transport models to examine the type and rates of redox reactions that occur at the interfaces between mineral surfaces, water, and microorganisms and to design remediation strategies. She has published >50 peer-reviewed papers and is currently an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Water and Solid Earth Sciences.

Postdoctoral Researcher, BIOGRIP, Water and Soil Node, Stellenbosch University

Jared van Rooyen research interests include environmental isotopes in the field of hydrology, with specific interests in radio-isotopes in groundwater systems, residence time and groundwater sustainability. I am the standing chair of the Early Careers Hydrogeologists Network (ECHN), a division of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH). I also sit on the National IAH-SA groundwater committee.