Sustainable Geopolymers

Jabulani Jolly Matsimbe holds a PhD in Civil Engineering (University of Johannesburg, South Africa), an MSc in Mining Engineering (University of Exeter, UK), and a BSc in Civil Engineering (University of Malawi - The Polytechnic). He has over ten years of experience as an academic, researcher, and engineer. He is currently a lecturer in geomaterials and geotechnical engineering at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), where he leads the Sustainable Geomaterials and Geoengineering (SG3) Research Group and serves as the coordinator for the Computer Applications for Engineers course. He has served as coordinator for engineering diploma programmes and student industrial attachments at MUBAS. His research spans mining waste valorisation, geopolymers and low-carbon cementitious materials, multi-scale geomaterials characterisation, soil stabilisation and ground improvement, geotechnical design, durability and performance-based materials engineering, machine learning and statistical modelling, computational and AI-driven geotechnics, remote sensing, digital geotechnics, circular economy, and sustainable mining systems. He has published over 16 peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 international conference papers, and 1 book chapter; supported the ESKOM-UJ ash beneficiation project; contributed to SAICE technical reports and the ethics handbook; and serves as a peer reviewer for several international journals. His academic excellence has been recognised through several awards, including the Best Paper Award at the ASOCSA 17th Built Environment Conference, the EU-ASIM Scholarship, the Dr. David Livingstone Academic Award (University of Strathclyde-UNIMA), and the World Bank Skills Development Scholarship.

Megersa Olumana Dinka graduated with a PhD from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Science (Vienna) in 2010. He also did postdoctoral research at Tshwane University of Technology (2012 - 2014). He has an MSc in Irrigation Engineering from ArbaMinch University (Ethiopia). He has more than 20 years of experience as an academician and about 24 years of experience as a researcher. Currently, he is a Full Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg. He has taught various courses and modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels successfully. Currently, he is teaching Hydrology, Hydraulics, and Water Treatment Technology Modules at the University of Johannesburg. Moreover, he successfully supervised several postgraduate students (35 MSc and 10 PhD). He has published more than 80 Journal articles, 2 Books, 15 Book Chapters, and 25 Conference Proceedings in accredited publications.

David Olatunde Olukanni is a Professor of Civil Engineering with a special interest in Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on Waste Management, Material and Resource Recovery, and its Sustainable Application, Lifecycle Assessment, Environmental Sustainability, Circular Economy, Waste to Energy, and Wastewater Treatment Systems. He is the pioneer Chair of Waste to Wealth Initiative and Centre for Research in Waste Management at Covenant University. He is a Fulbright Fellow to the United States and has won several awards and grants for research and travel Scholarships. He is a member of learned and professional associations; COREN, NSE, ASCE, IAEH, ICCWtE, Chair, country-specific working group of IconSWM-CE. He is a member of the Council of COREN and Chairs the committee that oversees two (2) departments: Planning, Research & Statistics and Quality Assurance & Compliance. He served as Head, Civil Engineering Department; Director, Quality Assurance and Academic Standards; Pioneer Director, Covenant University Central Instrumentation Research Facility (CUCIRF); Dean, College of Engineering; and Chair, Senate Business Committee of Covenant University. He is a Visiting Scholar and Researcher to the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at NCSU, USA, and MUBAS, Malawi. He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed articles, proceedings and invited papers, and has done several consultancy projects. He has supervised many Masters' and Doctoral Degree students. He serves as assessor and external examiner for postgraduate dissertations and theses in many Universities. He is the cluster head: Urban Environmental Issues and National Development at Covenant. He has international collaborations in several countries: USA, UK, Canada, China, Germany, Spain, France, India, South Africa, Egypt, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Congo, to name a few. He is an Ordained Pastor in the Living Faith Church.