World-renowned nuclear physicist to take over Wits’ reins from Habib

The University of the Witwatersrand has announced that the leadership of the university will be taken over by Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, who will become the institution’s fifteenth Vice-Chancellor on 1 January 2021, taking over from Professor Adam Habib.

Habib is leaving Wits at the end of the year to lead the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

In a statement released yesterday, Isaac Shongwe, chairperson of the Wits Council, said: “Professor Zeblon Vilakazi is the epitome of a world-class researcher who is globally recognised for his scientific work, and for his contribution towards developing higher education in Africa. He is a truly talented individual who is an inspiring exemplar for all Africans.”

Vilakazi is the current vice-principal and deputy vice-chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies at Wits. Under his leadership, Wits’ research output has more than doubled, with the university increasingly producing more research with impact. He is widely published (325 papers) and highly cited with an h-index of 70.

He was instrumental in establishing South Africa’s first experimental high-energy physics research group at CERN, focusing on the development of the high-level trigger for the CERN-ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). He also served as a visiting scientist at the Atomic Energy Commission and Alternative Energy in Saclay, France.

He also chairs South Africa’s National Quantum Computing Working Committee which seeks to develop a framework for quantum computing and quantum technology-driven research and innovation in South Africa. He is also instrumental in ensuring that Wits and other African universities have access to quantum computing networks.

“It is an honour for me to have been appointed to this prestigious position,” Vilakazi is quoted as saying in the statement.

“I am committed to working with my esteemed colleagues, fellow academics and smart, savvy students to create new knowledge, and to develop the high level skills required to move South Africa, and our economy forward. We also need to continue to develop the originators, innovators and critical thinkers who can help us solve the problems of the 21^st Century.”

Brief biography of Professor Zeblon Vilakazi 

• Professor Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi joined Wits in January 2014 as the deputy vice-chancellor: Research and Postgraduate Affairs and was promoted to the position of vice-principal in April 2020.
• He has served as the group executive for Research and Development at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa) and as the director of iThemba LABS.
• Born in Katlehong, a township located on the East Rand, Professor Vilakazi obtained his PhD from Wits 1998.
• He was one of the first students from Africa to conduct PhD research at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. This was followed by a National Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at CERN.
• Upon his return to South Africa he lectured at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he was instrumental in establishing South Africa’s first experimental high-energy physics research group focusing on the development of the high-level trigger for the CERN-ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.
• Vilakazi has been instrumental in developing key local and global partnerships that have cemented the university’s position as a leader in innovation. This includes ensuring that Wits and other African universities can access to quantum computing facilities.
• Under his leadership, Vilakazi enabled the university to achieve its strategic objective of creating an enabling environment for a research-intensive and postgraduate-oriented university. This includes achieving one of the fastest growth rates in subsidy research outputs and the doubling of research income. He increased the number of postgraduate students to realise the university’s vision of becoming a research-intensive African university.
• His international profile opened opportunities to serve as a visiting scientist at the Atomic Energy Commission and Alternative Energy in Saclay, France. Professor Vilakazi served as chairperson of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Standing Advisory Committee on Nuclear Applications from 2009 to 2011.
• He also served as a member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics’ Working Group for Nuclear Physics.
• In 2010, Professor Vilakazi was nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.
• He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.
• Professor Vilakazi is currently a member of the Programme Advisory Committee for Nuclear Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia.

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