Professor Amare Abebe is a theoretical cosmologist and the current Director of the Centre for Space Research (CSR) at North-West University (NWU), South Africa, where he also holds the position of Professor of Cosmology. His research interests span cosmological perturbation theory, large-scale structure formation, modified theories of gravity, interacting dark energy and dark matter models, and observational tensions in cosmology, such as discrepancies in the Hubble constant and structure growth rates.

After obtaining his BSc in Physics and Mathematics at Addis Ababa University, he completed his MSc and PhD at the University of Cape Town, specialising in the cosmology of modified gravity theories. He joined NWU in 2014 as a postdoctoral research fellow and has since progressed to become a professor, contributing extensively to the university’s teaching, research, and leadership activities. He has taught general physics, astrophysics, and cosmology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and has supervised to completion numerous undergraduate projects, over a dozen honours students, 12 MSc dissertations, and 3 PhD theses, with several ongoing postgraduate projects under his supervision.

Prof. Abebe has a strong track record of scholarly output, having published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and conference papers since 2011. He is a regular peer reviewer for over a dozen international journals, has guest-edited two special journal issues, and actively participates in advancing research ethics, academic integrity, and quality enhancement through workshops and training, including in higher education leadership management programmes.

Beyond his work at NWU, Prof. Abebe currently serves as the President of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS), where he leads initiatives to strengthen astronomy research, education, outreach, and continental collaboration. He views astronomy as a unifying science and a powerful tool for innovation and development in Africa, driven by a vision of an inclusive, connected, and scientifically empowered continent.

He is also an associate of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS), and a member of professional organisations including the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the South African Gravity Society (SAGS), the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP), and the South African Mathematical Society (SAMS). Through international collaborations and mentorship of emerging African scientists, Prof. Abebe remains deeply committed to empowering the next generation of researchers and advancing frontier science across Africa.