Professor Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi, a distinguished nuclear physicist, currently holds the position of Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University. Before assuming this role, he served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies, significantly contributing to the doubling of Wits’ research outputs. Additionally, he is a trustee on the board of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
His academic journey includes obtaining a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Wits in 1998 under the supervision of the late Professor J Sellschop. Following this, he was awarded a prestigious National Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. Returning to South Africa in 1999, Professor Vilakazi joined the University of Cape Town, where he played a crucial role 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.
Professor Vilakazi’s leadership extends to his role as the Director of iThemba Labs in 2007 and as the Group Executive for Research and Development at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa in 2011, before joining Wits in 2014. He has also served as a visiting scientist in France and held notable positions in international committees, including chairing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Standing Advisory Committee on Nuclear Applications.
A member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, Professor Vilakazi continues to contribute to the field of nuclear physics. Recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010, he boasts an extensive list of refereed articles in Nuclear and High Energy Physics, making him a sought after speaker at conferences and seminars.