Johan Ferreira

Hello! 

I'm Johan Ferreira, a statistician and academic based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I'm a professor in the School of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), and I genuinely enjoy what I do—thinking about things, reading about things, writing about things, and teaching about things.

I completed my undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, where I completed my PhD in 2018. My thesis focused on random matrix theory in the complex space and its applications in wireless communication systems. Since then, my research has evolved to other branches of statistics but remains grounded in the world of statistical theory, methodology, and methods.

In March 2025, I joined Wits as a professor of mathematical statistics. From 2018 until 2025, I was the assistant focus area coordinator for Statistics and Applied Statistics at the Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (CoE-MaSS), and since 2023, I’ve been an Associate of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS).

Over the years, I’ve taught across the university spectrum—from introductory undergraduate courses to postgraduate modules—covering both core mathematical statistics and interdisciplinary service courses.

You can find more about my research, papers, and collaborators on the Research page, and details about my teaching on the Teaching page. I also share occasional curiosities—academic or otherwise—on the Interesting Things tab.

Feel free to get in touch via email: johan.ferreira@wits.ac.za.

Recent and Upcoming Events

Seminar: "From mode to model: some (re)developments in clustering and classification in the Dirichlet family", Multivariate Analysis Data Group (a special interest group of the South African Statistical Association), Tuesday 18 March 2025 @ 12h30

Seminar: University of the Free State, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Friday 23 May 2025 @ 09h00

Seminar: University of Cape Town, Department of Statistical Sciences, Tuesday 27 May 2025 @ 13h00

Seminar: Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Annual Research Meeting, Johannesburg, Friday 4 July @ 08h30

Seminar: University of the Witwatersrand, Centre for Learning, Teaching, and Development, Thursday 24 July 2025 @ 13h00 (online, contact me for the link)

Seminar: University of the Witwatersrand, School of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Thursday 18 September 2025 @ 12h30 (in person, contact me for details)

Conference: Wits Teaching and Learning Conference, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein, Wednesday 10 September 2025 @ 15h40 (online)

Conference: ISI International Conference, 5-9 October 2025, The Hague, The Netherlands (in person, contact me if you're also going to be there!)