Personeel
Departement Geografie en Omgewingstudies
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Prof Manfred Spocter is a human geographer with experience in the fields of education, geographic information systems, environmental management, crime analysis, tourism, transport and small-town economic planning. He has vast experience as project manager for research projects in the provinces of the Western Cape, Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and the Free State. These projects have served to inform policy and practice at various levels of government. Prof Spocter has been the recipient of various awards at Stellenbosch University in recognition of the empowering and transformative impact of his teaching.
Research interest
- Histories of South African geography
- Small-town geographies
- Urban materialities
- Urban environmental issues
- Geographies of security
- Toponymy
- Geographies of infrastructure
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Ronnie Donaldson (PhD) was appointed as professor in the Department Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Stellenbosch in 2007. He previously worked at the University of the North, Vista University (Mamelodi Campus) and UWC. He served as head of department at Vista, UWC and Stellenbosch in the past. He specialises in urban and tourism studies and has a C1 NRF rating (2018-2023).With over 25 years experience as a researcher, he has published a sole authored book on small town tourism in South Africa (2018), four co-edited books (the most recent focussing on the origin and growth of geography at universities in South Africa), just over 100 academic journal and chapter articles, and numerous consultancy and policy reports for various government institutions. The findings of the consultancy research are contributing to the shaping of spatial (e.g. small town growth potential in the Western Cape study), tourism (business tourism strategy for Stellenbosch) and urban development (assessment of the urban renewal programme of Cape Town, cultural mapping) policies at various levels of government. He serves on a number of national academic and research committees reviewing research proposals, academic profiles and standards, and also served as councillor on the South African Geographical Society in the past. His current research interests are culture-led urban regeneration and island geographies.
Research interest
- Urban social geography and tourism studies
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Gustav Visser is an urban geographer by training. He completed his undergraduate education at Stellenbosch University and received his doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science, focusing on the spatialities of social justice theorisation in post-apartheid cities. These interests have been communicated in six books and over 130 academic articles and book chapters. Gustav holds a NRF B rating and has received generous research funding support from that institution. Currently funded research deals with queer sexualities, as well as the tourism and development nexus. He is past treasurer and president and now fellow of the Society of South African Geographers. He serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals and is a book series editor for Springer.
Research Interest
- Identity-based consumption and urban morphological change
- Tourism and development nexus
- Critical reflections on South African Geographical Research
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
I am a fluvial geomorphologist whose primary research focus is rivers and wetlands. My current research interests include understanding processes that lead to the formation and degradation of wetlands, investigating how climatic variability and climate change impact on geomorphic processes of sediment transport in rivers and wetlands, and also using sedimentology to investigate landscape change. I have worked in a variety of environments including floodplains of the humid sub-tropics in northern KwaZulu-Natal, valleys of South Africa’s semi-arid Karoo, the temperate Welsh coast, and more recently in wetlands around the southern tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas.
My experience is broad, having undertaken post-doctorates at Rhodes University (South Africa) and Swansea University (Wales, UK) and I recently taught at the University of Western Cape. In 2019 I was NRF rated. In collaboration with Rhodes University, I am currently principal investigator on a NRF Global Grand Challenges grant which aims to understand factors that control the rate and volume of sediment trapping in wetlands, which has implications for the ecosystem service provision of wetlands and resulting downstream water quality.
Research Interest
- Processes of sediment transport in rivers and wetlands
- Processes of wetland formation
- Quaternary sedimentology of wetlands
- Impact of climatic variability and climate change on geomorphic processes
- Geomorphology of estuaries and coastal wetlands
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Jan de Waal is a lecturer in physical geography in the department. His master’s research investigated changing extreme rainfall patterns in the Western Cape over the past 110 years and the implications this has on design criteria for bridges, dams and other hydraulic infrastructure. He is currently conducting a PhD assessing the value of ecosystem services and the potential for phytoremediation of polluted waters in Renosterveld.
Research interest
- Physical geography
- Water resources
- Ecosystem services
- Climate
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Kenwinn Wiener is an environmental scientist with a diverse academic background, specialising in the interdisciplinary study of fluvial environments (streams, rivers and wetlands). He served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Nelson Mandela University on the NRF-funded African Origins project before joining the department as a lecturer in physical geography.
His research employs a multi-proxy approach to explore fundamental scientific challenges at the interface of fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, ecology, and biogeochemistry at a systems level. This research focus spans across multiple temporal and spatial scales and specifically seeks to understand 1) patterns and processes of sediment transport and phosphorus biogeochemistry, and 2) fluvial response to environmental change and anthropogenic activities.
Research Interest
- Sediment nutrient dynamics in fluvial ecosystems
- Quaternary geo-eco-hydrological interactions in fluvial landscapes
- Impact of environmental change and disturbance events on fluvial geomorphology and delivery of ecosystem services
Geografiese Inligtingstegnologie (GIT)
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Currently the director of the Centre for Geographical Analysis, Adriaan van Niekerk has been employed at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University since 1997.
Research Interest
- His research focus is the development of geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (earth observation) techniques to support decisions concerned with land use, bio-geographical, environmental and socio-economic problems.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Zahn Münch completed a BSc (Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1983) as well as a MSc (GIS, 2004) at Stellenbosch University. In the twenty years between these degrees, she worked as a computer programmer where programming for a TB research project brought her into contact with GIS. Zahn worked as a GIS consultant in the geohydrology industry until 2009, after which she joined Stellenbosch University as a lecturer in GeoInformation Technology (GIT). Zahn completed her PhD in 2019 at Stellenbosch University, which looks at spatial modelling using remote sensing and GIS. When not working, you will find her on the mountain – running or cycling.
Research Interest
- Spatial information handling
- Mapping and analysis
- Geographic information systems
- Remote sensing in water use determination and neo-geography and
- Volunteered geographic information
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Mashimbye Zama Eric (PhD) joined the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in July 2016. Eric worked as a Researcher at the Agricultural Research (ARC) Council before joining Stellenbosch University. While at the ARC Eric worked on a variety of projects, amongst others soil degradation (erosion and salinity) and land cover mapping.
Eric is registered with the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) as a Professional Natural Scientists, and the South African Geomatics Council as a Professional GISc Practitioner
Research Interest
- Remote sensing of agriculture
- Digital soil mapping
- Soil degradation
- Object-based remote sensing
- Hyperspectral remote sensing
- Land cover & land use dynamics
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Dr Kemp obtained his Master’s degree in GIS at Stellenbosch University in 2005, and his PhD in Earth Observation at the University of La Réunion in 2010. He is currently a Lecturer in Geoinformatics at the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University. He teaches GIS and Earth Observation courses at 2nd, 3rd and Honours level. His research currently focuses on the use of polarimetric and interferometric SAR data for the mapping and characterizing of different crops in the South African continent.
Research Interest
- Applications of satellite earth observation, particularly Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), to agricultural & natural resource monitoring.
- The use of Structure-from-Motion for 3D characterization of vineyards.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
I enjoy working at the intersection of geomorphology and geospatial information systems, with a particular interest in how landscapes degrade over time, especially through gully erosion.
To investigate this, I have used a combination of field surveys, satellite imagery, and local knowledge to measure soil loss and better understand the environmental and human factors that drive erosion. I also explored developing semi-automated mapping tools to monitor gully features more consistently and efficiently across large areas. I have become increasingly focused on the role of climate variability and extreme weather, especially in the context of climate change, in shaping how gullies develop over time. This includes assessing how current erosion mitigation strategies might perform under future climate conditions and exploring new approaches that can adapt to different climate scenarios.
Research interest
- Locating sediment sources through integrating sequential historical imagery, spatial modelling, terrain analysis, and source tracing.
- Investigating how hillslope erosion contributes to downstream sedimentation in water bodies.
- Exploring effective (semi-automated or participatory) mapping and monitoring tools to assess erosion susceptibility and landscape change.
- Investigating the impact of climate change on erosional processes and mitigation measures.
- Identification cost-effective measures to reduce erosion that incorporates local knowledge.
- Develop catchment-scale erosion management strategies to enhance landscape resilience and support water and food security.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
My research interests are relatively broad. However, they include spatial/statistical modelling of geographic, climatic, ecological and social phenomena. I especially enjoy linking spatial patterns to spatial processes.
Research Interest
- Spatial/statistical modelling of geographic
- Climatic, ecological and social phenomena
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Kyle Loggenberg graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2018, receiving his MSc degree (Cum Laude) in Geoinformatics. He is currently a Lecturer in Geoinformatics at the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University, where he teaches GIS and Earth Observation courses at 2nd and postgraduate level. His PhD research focuses on the application of hyperspectral imagery and machine learning in the field of precision viticulture.
Research interest
- The application of hyperspectral (high-dimensional) data in precision agriculture, crop water stress detection, and proximal remote sensing (i.e. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), and terrestrial platforms).
Administrateurs
Sentrum vir Geografiese Analise (CGA)
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Interested in the environment from a young age, Garth undertook a BSc at UCT in 2000, majoring in Ecology, Environmental and Geographical Science and Zoology. After graduation in 2003 he worked a short stint as an intern for an environmental consulting company, finding GIS the most interesting and rewarding part of the job.
In 2006, he enrolled at the Stellenbosch University, completing his BSc Honours in GIS and Environmental Analysis (2006) and MSc in Environmental Management and GIS (2010). He began as a GIS and EO Specialist at the CGA in 2010, and was appointed as General Manager in 2014. His current responsibilities include the strategic planning and management of the CGA; management and oversight of a number of GIS and remote sensing-related projects; research grant and tender applications; research and development of new GIS and EO products; and research, lecturing and training in GIS and EO. Garth has co-authored a number of GIS and EO peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference proceedings and research/consultancy reports, and has presented research at several national and international GIS and EO conferences.
Research interest
- Mapping irrigated areas from earth observation imagery
- Geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA)
- Automated land cover/use classification
- Expert-system, ruleset classification
- Automated workflow processes in GIS & EO
- Change detection analysis
- Vegetation type and biomass modelling
- Accuracy assessment techniques
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Bradley completed his Bachelor of Science in Geoinformatics in 2022. Following his graduation, he joined the CGA as a Junior Technical Officer and GIS Operator, contributing to various projects, including the classification of water use in indigenous forests for the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the construction detection project for the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). As of 2025, Bradley continues to work at the CGA while pursuing his Honours in Geoinformatics. His studies are focused on leveraging machine learning for the identification and classification of crop diseases, specifically bunch rot in vineyards.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Rebecca Light Raath (MA) began her studies in Geography and Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University in 2016 and completed her Master’s degree in 2023. She has served as an assistant lecturer at Stellenbosch University and the University of Sol Plaatje in 2020, and again at Stellenbosch University in 2021. Since joining the Center for Geographical Analysis (CGA) in 2021, she has managed the Hortgro-funded Data CoOp Project and has taken on additional responsibilities, including lecturing assistance and contributing to the management of a Flood Hazard Mapping Project.
With several years of experience in academic research and project coordination, she has contributed chapters to two edited books by Prof Ronnie Donaldson. These include work based on her Honours research examining changes in hamlet dynamics in Stellenbosch (2020), and her Master’s research focusing on drought management and collaborative governance in Graaff-Reinet (2023).
Research interest
- Human geography, with a particular focus on disaster risk and resilience, and public–private partnerships, with an emphasis on data-driven approaches to climate, pest, and disaster management.
Sentrum vir Streeks- en Stedelike Innovasie en Statistiese Eksplorasie (CRUISE)
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Danie du Plessis is a registered town and regional planner with 30 years’ experience in urban management, policy development, and spatial and statistical analysis of cities and urban systems. Prior to his academic career at Stellenbosch University, Dr Du Plessis spent 17 years as a town and regional planning consultant and completed more than 200 local and international research and contract assignments. These included spatial development plans and frameworks, housing plans and strategies at local, regional and national level, long-term city development strategies, regional growth and development strategies, integrated development plans, and environmental management frameworks. Dr Du Plessis has been a member of the CRUISE team since 2009, and Director of the Centre since November 2019. His teaching and research focusses on innovation in urban planning systems, urban spatial transformation, and spatial statistical analysis and modelling of cities and urban systems.
Research Interest
- Innovation in urban planning systems
- Urban spatial transformation
- Spatial statistical analysis and modelling of cities and urban systems
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Herman Geyer worked in diverse planning disciplines in South Africa and the UK including Environmental Planning, Development Economics, Regional Statistics, and Urban Planning. He has been a lecturer at CRUISE since 2011 lecturing on subjects as diverse as Socio-Environmental Systems, Urban Sociology, Spatial Economics, Regional Science, Urban Design, and Public Infrastructure. Dr Geyer has published more than 38 academic papers and successfully supervised 37 Masters and Doctoral dissertations. His research interests include Urban Planning, Economic Development, Informality, Transportation Geography, Medical Geography, Environmental Geography, Urbanism, Regional Science, Urban Design, Demographics, and Public Infrastructure. He is a Steering Committee Member at the International Geography Union Urban Commission.
Research Interest
- Economic geography, particularly the morphological development of urban regions over time.
- The economic and spatial effects of policy in terms of it’s effect on population settlement patterns and firm location in a dual-sector economy.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Samukele Ngema is a lecturer and practitioner in the field of Urban and Regional Planning. He received his PhD at Stellenbosch University in 2024, focusing on the use of the built environment characteristics as a crime deterrent in government-subsidised housing in the city of Cape Town. He has also completed his MPhil in Urban and Regional Planning at Stellenbosch University in 2015.
His previous experience in consultancy was at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as an Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) on major government projects related to gas pipeline and electric grid infrastructure planning. He has also worked on projects helping mayors across Africa implement legacy infrastructure projects.
Research interest
- Samukele's research interests focus on using modern techniques and technology to improve planning for Sustainable Integrated Human Settlements, emphasising their application to government-subsidised housing and crime prevention. He views this work as being critical in addressing urban challenges and promoting safer, more inclusive communities.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
As a post-graduate, Lodene Willemse researched the extent and impact of land cover changes in Franschhoek and taking a class-differentiated approach to community/neighbourhood park use in Cape Town. The recommendations made in her Master’s degree have been utilised by the City Parks Department to improve their service delivery. She worked as a student assistant for the Geography and African Languages (IsiXhosa) Departments, which involved teaching students, assisting students with GIS practical demonstrations and marking assignments of various Geography subjects. She worked as a GIS and urban/human geography (research) intern at the CSIR in 2009. She joined CRUISE in 2010.
Research interest
- Urban form and function
- Sustainable urban development
- Urban liveability and quality of life
- Open space systems in urban areas
- the application of statistics in the field of Urban and Regional Science
Emeritius Professors, Buitengewone Professors & Navorsingsgenote
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Research interest
- Integrated catchment management: The Veldwachters River Project (1996-2014)
- Sustainable development of highland drainage basins as special environments (1997- )
- Application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with special reference to tourism resource analysis and development (2001-2014)
- Spatial interaction between dynamic natural and human systems: river catchments, estuaries and coastal development along part of the Southern Cape coast (2001-)
- Archaeology as tourism resource (2002-2014)
- GIS data base design and mapping of existing tourism related products and experiences in the Western Cape Province. (2006-2007) (Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU))
- Growth dynamics and poverty alleviation in intermediate towns of a regional space economy overshadowed by a major metropolis: The case of the Western Cape Province, South Africa (2007-2009) (SANPAD project)
- Mesoscale atmospheric modelling in the South African wine regions (2006-2007) (CNRS / NRF Research Cooperation Programme)
- GIS-based GAP Analysis to match domestic and international tourism market opportunity in the Western Cape (2007-2008) (for Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU))
- A sectoral development framework for the Strandveld Agricultural Special Management Area (SMA) initiative: Ecotourism potential (2008) (With ARC-Infruitec-Nietvoorbij for Overstrand District Municipality).
- Application of Geographical Information Technology in rural development (agriculture and tourism). (Ongoing research)
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
I’m an interdisciplinary researcher interested in the “bigger picture” of things. I have a background in geobotany, nature conservation and soil science through my MSc at the University of Bonn (1999), which I then complemented with geospatial and remote sensing skills during my PhD at the University of Würzburg, Germany (2005). In my PhD project in collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), I assessed the vegetation dynamics and bush encroachment of thornbush savannas in Namibia as a result of land use practises, recent rainfall history and long-term climate change using Landsat TM timeseries. My interest in savanna dynamics brought me to South Africa, and I joined the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2007. Here, I continued remote sensing work on arid land degradation, until I felt the topic became “too dry” and I realised there is an urgent need for geospatial and remote sensing assessments of coastal dynamics and for risk assessments, especially in the light of climate change and the massive development pressure on South Africa’s coast.
Between 2011 and May 2025, I have been developing the coastal vulnerability assessment field in South Africa at the CSIR in Stellenbosch, aiming for trans-disciplinary approaches including the interdisciplinary generation of coastal flood and erosion risk lines from national to local scale, the identification of adaptation options (including green infrastructure solutions) and training of and decision support for decision makers on climate change risks and adaptation options. In 2014, I also joined the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies as Extraordinary Senior Lecturer, where I have been lecturing on coastal specific and general remote sensing topics and supervised several post-grad students (BSc to PhD) on my journey towards a climate resilient coast. In August 2025, I joined the University of Gibraltar’s School of Marine and Environmental Sciences as a Senior Lecturer to continue work in the above fields.
Research interest
- Geospatial and remote sensing assessment and monitoring of coastal dynamics
- Impact of land use, seasonality, tidal conditions and climate change on remote sensing assessment of coastal dynamics and degradation
- Development of geospatial and interdisciplinary climate change adaptation decision support tools for the coastal zone
- Technical research interests: multispectral remote sensing cloud processing and topographic LiDAR applications
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Javier Martínez Falcó is a Research Assistant in the Management Department at the University of Alicante (UA). He has a PhD with international mention in the area of Business, Economics and Society, obtaining this distinction through his predoctoral stay at Sonoma State University (USA). His research is framed in the field of strategic management, specifically in the analysis of Green Intellectual Capital and Corporate Social Responsibility in the wine industry. Likewise, as a result of collaborations with other researchers, he has expanded his field of research to different areas of knowledge, such as business agglomeration, organizational survival and wine tourism, always from a strategic perspective of the company. In fact, at present, his lines of research are divided into the following four blocks: (1) the study of wine tourism and its benefits for improving sustainable performance, (2) the effect of green intellectual capital and corporate social responsibility on business competitiveness, (3) the role played by knowledge management in catalyzing organizational innovation processes, and (4) the analysis of the link between organizational ambidexterity and business performance. In this sense, his high specialization in the wine industry stands out, given that all of his scientific production is contextualized in this industry. After his pre-doctoral stay at Sonoma State University, his research has also focused on the analysis of sustainability in the global wine industry.
In terms of post-doctoral stays, he has been at the Burgundy School of Business (France, 2 months) and at Stellenbosch University (South Africa, 3 months). In his career as a researcher, on the one hand, he has published articles in relevant journals such as British Food Journal, Complexity, Agriculture, Journal of Wine Research, among others, indexed, most of them, in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and/or SCOPUS. On the other hand, he has published several book chapters, most of them in prestigious publishers in the field of Social Sciences, such as Síntesis, Dykinson, Octaedro and IGI-GLOBAL (Q1 in the Scholarly Publishers Indicators-CSIC). His research has been reflected in numerous participations as a speaker at national and international conferences (among which we can highlight AEDEM, ACEDE, EBES, AWBR among others), being also a member of the scientific committee and organizer in several congresses. Among them, it is worth mentioning his role as co-founder of the Wine Business Economics and Management Conference, a scientific dissemination project that aims to bring together the experience and know-how of renowned professionals and researchers from different areas of interest related to the wine industry. It is also a member of the American Association of Wine Economists.
In the area of knowledge transfer, he has participated in several competitive projects, being also Principal Investigator (PI) in two non-competitive knowledge transfer projects with private entities. He is currently part of the research group Strategic Management, Knowledge and Innovation in a Global Economy (DECI-GLOBAL, by its acronym in Spanish). As a teacher, his experience is focused on the field of business management, having taught subjects related to the strategic management of the company in the degree in Business Administration and Management, and the double degrees in Law and Business, Tourism and Business and Engineering and Business, as well as in the degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts. In this line, he has directed several Final Degree and Master's Degree Projects, and has served as a member of the tribunal in TFG and TFM defenses on several occasions. He is currently coordinator of the subjects 28030 Social and Labor Auditing and 25545 Organization of Advertising and Public Relations Companies, in the Labor Relations and Advertising degrees, respectively. He is tutor of the Tutorial Action Program (PAT, by its acronym in Spanish) and mobility tutor of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. The diversity in teaching, both in terms of the variety of subjects and levels of training, has allowed him to adopt a broader vision in the development of practices with students.
Given his desire to improve his teaching skills in English and, at the same time, to strengthen ties with European educational institutions, he has completed five mobilities within the KA103-KA131 program: University of Fernando Pessoa (Portugal, 2021), Goce Delcev University (North Macedonia, 2022), Hogeschool van Amsterdam (Netherlands, 2022), Arcada University of Applied Sciences (Finland, 2022) and University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès (France, 2022). He has also been Guest Lecturer at the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University, a pioneering institution in the scientific study of the Californian wine industry.
Research interest
- Wine Tourism
- Wine Business
- Green Intellectual Capital
- Knowledge Management
- Green Innovation
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Ferreira was appointed as senior lecturer in the Geography and Environmental Studies Department in 1999, promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and currently serves as acting Chair of the Department. Her research has focused on, amongst others, national tourism developmental issues, the symbioses between local communities and national parks, the destination image of South Africa in the context of high crime statistics and how the World Cup has managed to help South Africa ride out the recessionary storm. In 2004, she was part of a team commissioned by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning to focus on the Growth potential of towns in the Western Cape. She is a member of the steering committee of the International Geographical Union's study group on Tourism, Leisure and Global Change, a council member of the Society of South African Geographers and serves on the evaluation panel for the National Research Foundation's focus area on Sustainable Livelihoods. She is an ad hoc reviewer for the South African Geographical Journal, Africa Insight, Urban Forum, and Acta Academica, Current Issues in Tourism, Tourism Geographies and represents Stellenbosch University on the Economic Growth Committee of the Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
Research interest
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Zolti is a Land Applications Scientist at the European Space Agency and an Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Geography & Environmental Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Geomatics from the University of Florida. His current research focuses on global-scale crop detection and yield estimation, early detection of crop diseases, and monitoring of key agricultural systems using Earth observation and AI. He applies advanced machine learning and time-series analysis to improve agricultural monitoring, particularly in support of food security and climate resilience. Zolti also leads ESA’s EO AFRICA Initiative, fostering African-European R&D partnerships in agriculture and water resource management.
Research interest
- Global-scale agricultural monitoring using Earth observation data and machine learning to assess crop types, yields, and phenology.
- Early detection of crop diseases through satellite imagery and AI-driven analysis to enhance food security.
- Integration of multi-source satellite data to enhance the accuracy of agricultural and environmental models.
- Capacity building and knowledge transfer in Earth observation technologies, particularly within the EO AFRICA Initiative.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Trish has lectured in Disaster Risk Studies at post-graduate level since 2009, placing a strong emphasis on experiential learning through community-based field projects. More recently she has taught hazard geography to undergraduate students. While her research focuses on the inherent links between risk and development, she also undertakes disaster risk assessments and conducts post-event analyses. This enables the incorporation of topical risk and development issues into her teaching material encouraging lively classroom discussion.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Dr Michael Pretes is a Professor of Geography at the University of North Alabama in the United States. A native of San Francisco, California, he holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. and Graduate Certificate in African Studies from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. from the Australian National University. He has previously taught at universities in Canada, Finland, Australia, Hawai‘i, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, and California, and served from 2019-21 as the President of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. His research and teaching focus on the economic development of remote regions, tourism, and national parks, with regional foci in Western North America, Australia and the Pacific, Southern Africa, and Polar Regions. He has various research and teaching interests, but his main concern is his knowledge of tourism geographies.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Anele Horn is a registered town and regional planner with the South African Council for Town and Regional Planners. Following 10 years of working in metropolitan local government (involved in Spatial Planning policy and urban growth management), she started lecturing at CRUISE in 2011. Dr Horn obtained her doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch in 2019 and is committed to industry capacitation through collaboration initiatives with institutions such as the Municipal Infrastructure Services Agent, the Council for Scientific and Industry Research, and the South African Local Government Association. With more than 20 academic publications, her main research interests include spatial planning policy and governance, network governance and its inter-relationship with community participation, as well as contemporary approaches and methodologies practiced in planning industry
Research interest
- Spatial planning and governance
- Network governance and public participation
- Contemporary planning processes and methodologies
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Ladislav Mucina received his education in Slovakia and was awarded scientific degrees and teaching qualifications in botany, vegetation science, plant ecology and plant taxonomy at the Comenius University and Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava in Slovakia, the University of Vienna in Austria and Technische Universität Berlin in Germany. He completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and later served as visiting fellow and professor in Trieste, Camerino, Perugia, and Rome, all in Italy, Uppsala in Sweden, Kuwait, Perth, Western Australia in Australia as well as Pretoria, University of the North, later University of Free State and Stellenbosch, all in South Africa. In Slovakia, Professor Mucina was associated with the Slovak Academy of Sciences and later, after immigrating to Austria, he served at the University of Vienna.
Research interest
- His research includes vegetation surveys, theoretical vegetation science, numerical methods and data-banking in plant ecology, biogeography, population ecology, evolutionary biology and plant taxonomy.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Dr Michael Pretes is a Professor of Geography at the University of North Alabama in the United States. A native of San Francisco, California, he holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. and Graduate Certificate in African Studies from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. from the Australian National University. He has previously taught at universities in Canada, Finland, Australia, Hawai‘i, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, and California, and served from 2019-21 as the President of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. His research and teaching focus on the economic development of remote regions, tourism, and national parks, with regional foci in Western North America, Australia and the Pacific, Southern Africa, and Polar Regions. He has various research and teaching interests, but his main concern is his knowledge of tourism geographies.
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Anele Horn is a registered town and regional planner with the South African Council for Town and Regional Planners. Following 10 years of working in metropolitan local government (involved in Spatial Planning policy and urban growth management), she started lecturing at CRUISE in 2011. Dr Horn obtained her doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch in 2019 and is committed to industry capacitation through collaboration initiatives with institutions such as the Municipal Infrastructure Services Agent, the Council for Scientific and Industry Research, and the South African Local Government Association. With more than 20 academic publications, her main research interests include spatial planning policy and governance, network governance and its inter-relationship with community participation, as well as contemporary approaches and methodologies practiced in planning industry
Research interest
- Spatial planning and governance
- Network governance and public participation
- Contemporary planning processes and methodologies
▶ Biography & Research Interests
Biography
Ladislav Mucina received his education in Slovakia and was awarded scientific degrees and teaching qualifications in botany, vegetation science, plant ecology and plant taxonomy at the Comenius University and Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava in Slovakia, the University of Vienna in Austria and Technische Universität Berlin in Germany. He completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and later served as visiting fellow and professor in Trieste, Camerino, Perugia, and Rome, all in Italy, Uppsala in Sweden, Kuwait, Perth, Western Australia in Australia as well as Pretoria, University of the North, later University of Free State and Stellenbosch, all in South Africa. In Slovakia, Professor Mucina was associated with the Slovak Academy of Sciences and later, after immigrating to Austria, he served at the University of Vienna.
Research interest
- His research includes vegetation surveys, theoretical vegetation science, numerical methods and data-banking in plant ecology, biogeography, population ecology, evolutionary biology and plant taxonomy.