Scientific Advisory Committee

Bruce Watson, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Bruce completed his PhD in multiparameter inverse spectral problems in 1996. Following that he was a Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary. He worked in the spectral theory of differential operators and their inverse problems for many years, but recently shifted to stochastic, mixing, and ergodic processes in vector lattices.  He was appointed as the Director of CoE-MaSS in January 2024.

David Holgate, University of the Western Cape

David Holgate is a Senior Professor at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) where he is currently serving as Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, as well as holding a Research Chair in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. He is passionate about sharing his love for mathematics in the context of South Africa, where he believes that mathematics has a truly powerful role to play in nation building and addressing social injustice.

Nombuso Zondo, North-West University

Nombuso Zondo is a lecturer of Statistics at North-West University. She has a passion for teaching statistics and its overall application. She is involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in the statistics and data science streams. Her research interests have been in applied statistics, covering a range of multidisciplinary applications. Some of the projects she has been involved in include working with data from the education sector, car tracking devices, and dam levels.

 Tshikhudo Lukoto, University of Limpopo

Tshikhudo Lukoto is a prominent academic affiliated with the University of Limpopo in South Africa, where he has contributed significantly to the field of mathematics, particularly in the study of Banach algebras. His research focuses on intricate characterizations of mathematical structures and their applications, showcasing a deep understanding of both theoretical and applied aspects of the discipline. Lukoto's work continues to inspire both students and fellow researchers in mathematics.

Marcel de Jeu, Universiteit Leiden

Marcel de Jeu is a functional analyst specialising in the theory of ordered functional analytic structures and their applications. He is a professor at Universiteit Leiden and has a special appointment as an extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria. He serves as an editor for the journal "Positivity" and chair of the steering committee for the Positivity conferences. His research focuses on functional analysis, in ordered functional analytic structures and their applications.

Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan, McMaster University

Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan is the Distinguished University Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of McMaster University. His research interest deals with the development of probabilistic and statistical models and their applications to diverse problems that arise from Science and Engineering, such as developing models for the analysis of data that emerge from medical studies, reliability and life-testing experiments, and industrial statistical problems. 

Sophie Dabo-Niang, University of Lille

Sophie Dabo-Niang is a full professor of applied mathematics at the University of Lille (North of France), Vice-president of Executive Committee of PASRC (Pan-African Scientific Research Council), scientific officer of CIMPA (International Center of Pure and Applied Mathematics), and member of the Committee of Diversity of IMU (International Mathematical Union). She completed her PhD in statistics at Sorbonne University (Paris, Pierre and Marie Curie) in 2002.

Mama Foupouagnigni, AIMS Cameroon

Mama Foupouagnigni is the Chief Academic Officer of the AIMS Global Network and President of AIMS Cameroon, previously serving as the pioneer Academic Director of the same Institute from August 2013 to August 2016. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, President of the Cameroon Mathematical Union and the Africa Representative at the 2015-2018 and 2018-2022 Commissions for Developing Countries of the International Mathematical Union.