Em. Prof. Andreas ROODT holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry: 1987: UFS (Joe Leipoldt+) and completed a Post-Doc on Radiopharmaceuticals in Cincinnati, USA (1988-89: Edward Deutsch). He was Full Professor at the UFS (1995-2002) but moved to the Univ. of Johannesburg (then RAU) for 2002-2004 (HOD in 2004). He returned to the UFS as Distinguished Professor in 2005 (HOD Chemistry: 2007-2015) until 2021, when he retired. He was appointed Dean for the Summer School of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Vienna, Austria) at the UFS (2012-2014: 3 consecutive terms). He was also visiting professor at European institutions: 1995-2000: Univ. of Lausanne (Swiss; André Merbach); 1996-2005: Univ. of Lund (Sweden; Lars Ivar Elding); 2004-2018: Univ. of Zürich (Swiss; Roger Alberto). His research focuses on Reaction Mechanisms and X-ray Crystallography related to Radiopharmaceutical Models, Homogeneous Catalysis, Metal Beneficiation and Environmental Chemistry. Selected Honours include: 2012-2015: President: European Crystallographic Association; 2021: X-ray Crystallography Facility at UFS Chemistry named 'ROODT XRD-LAB'; 2023: MT Steyn Prize: SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns.

Dr. Prinessa Chellan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She completed her PhD in 2013 at the University of Cape Town, after which, she completed a 2 year postdoctoral position at the University of Warwick, UK. Since joining Stellenbosch University in 2016, she has established her research group where her projects focus on new metallo-drug candidates for infectious diseases and cancer using one of two design approaches, target-specific or derivatisation of ‘repurposed’ drugs. She uses different methods to understand the stability and chemical reactivity of new metal complexes and link this data to their in vitro activity. In 2020, she was awarded a Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellowship which is jointly administered by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and Royal Society (RS) of London. She is also an AAS Affiliate fellow (2021-2026) and in 2024 was elected as one of the first cohort of SUNRISE (Stellenbosch University Research & Innovation Strategic Excellence) fellows. In 2025, she was elected in the DHET Future Professors Programme (Phase 2 Cohort 3). She also is a member of the editorial advisory board for the journal ChemBioChem and regularly sits on review panels for NRF and SA-MRC grant applications.

Dr. Francis Muya is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the University of the Western Cape, specializing in electro-analytical chemistry with a focus on electrochemistry, analytical chemistry, nanomaterials, and the development of point-of-care sensor systems for biomedical and environmental applications. His research primarily centers on designing advanced smart sensors, including biosensor, immunosensor, and chemical sensors, as well as synthesizing polymeric derivative materials such as polysulfone, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polyHIPEs, PEDOT-PSS, and polythiophene. These polymers serve a dual purpose: as membrane materials for remediating emerging pollutants and as transducers in sensor systems construction. A key aspect of Dr. Muyas work involves integrating electrochemical techniques with spectroscopy (FTIR and Raman) and microscopy (AFM and SEM) for a comprehensive assessment of emerging pollutants in wastewater and biomarkers for health diagnostics. His research findings have been published in prestigious electrochemical diagnostic journals, including Water Science and Technology, Electrochimica Acta, Membrane Technology, and the Journal of Nanoscience. Biosensors and bioelectronic.

Dr. Dumisani Kama is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS). He holds a PhD in Chemistry from UFS (2018). His research expertise lies in inorganic and organometallic chemistry, particularly in the synthesis of phosphine based rhenium, technetium, platinum, palladium and rhodium complexes for catalysis and radiopharmaceutical applications. Dr. Kama has extensive experience in X-ray crystallography, serving as a senior crystallographer and managing the Roodt XRD lab at UFS. He has authored 14 research papers, holds a US patent and is a recipient of the NRF Competitive Support for Unrated Researchers (CSUR) grant. He is currently one of the candidates enrolled on the department of higher education and training’s future professor program which supports promising academics on their path to becoming leading scholars.

Dr. Masixole Makhaba is an emerging researcher and Organic Chemistry lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). He completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry, specializing in Natural Products, from the University of the Western Cape in 2022. During his postgraduate studies, he worked as a teaching assistant before joining CPUT as a permanent lecturer. He is a recipient of the 2024 NRF Post-PhD Track grant and has published in peer-review journals and co-authored one book chapter. His research focuses on NMR spectroscopy to identify secondary metabolites from the Cape Floral Region for antidiabetic and cosmeceutical applications. Dr M Makhaba is also committed to STEM education, mentoring disadvantaged learners through AmaQawe Ngemfundo since 2018. 

Prof. Bernard (Owaga) Omondi studied chemistry and mathematics at Egerton University, Kenya, and earned a BSc (Hons) in Applied Chemistry from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He completed his MSc research on Li-azaallyls and β-diketiminates and his PhD on hydrogen bonding and weak intermolecular interactions in polymorphism and phase transformations of N-phenyl formamides and thioamides under the supervision of Dr. Marcus Layh, Prof. Demetrius Levendis, and Prof. Manuel Fernandes at Wits University. Following two postdoctoral fellowships in coordination chemistry at the University of Johannesburg with Prof. J. Darkwa and Prof. R. Meijboom, he joined the School of Chemistry and Physics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) as a lecturer in Physical Chemistry, where he later became a Full Professor. He currently leads the Structural Chemistry Research Group at UKZN.

Prof. Omondi previously served as Chair of the South African Chemical Institute (SACI) KZN section and is the current Vice President of the South African Crystallographic Society (SACrS).