Civil Engineering January/February 2021 | Vol 29 No 1

the use of Big Data sets derived from partial origin-destination technologies (ANPR and ticketing systems) in the creation and valida- tion of strategic models. He has also under- taken research and development projects including the forecasting of car ownership in less developed areas, developing business models for bi-modal transport systems and the economic and social impacts of trans- port funding methods. Brandon Samson Brandon Samson Pr Tech Eng is an executive manager with a business administration and civil engineering background working in the railway engineering, maintenance, and construction sectors of southern Africa. He holds a BTech (civil engineering) from the University of Johannesburg and an Executive MBA from Henley Business School. Brandon has over 20 years of experience in the project management, construction management, and contract management of works associated with heavy haul, general freight, high-speed, and passenger rail services networks within the SADC region. His roles over time have included that of asset-owner representative in charge of operational efficiencies and infrastructure improvement, engineering consultant in charge of stakeholder man- agement, engineering design and contract management, as well as contractor in charge of bid preparation, project manage- ment and construction management. Dr Sarah Skorpen Dr Sarah Skorpen Pr Eng, CEng, MIStructE spent nine years working for the Structures Division of SSI before joining the Structures Division of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Pretoria (UP) in 2011. At SSI she designed bridges, dam related structures, and buildings, and worked on the design of the 7 th Avenue Pedestrian bridge, Ingula Pump Storage Scheme and the White Umfolozi vehicular bridge, among others. At UP she lectures under-graduate and post-graduate structural subjects and is involved in structural research. Monitoring and measuring the behaviour of bridge structures is one of Sarah’s key interest areas, and she recently completed her PhD looking at the behaviour of reinforced concrete integral bridges. Part of the study included the extensive instru- mentation and monitoring of a newly built 90 m long integral bridge in the Free State. Marco van Dijk Marco van Dijk Pr Eng is a lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Pretoria, project leader for Water Research Commission projects, and a specialist consultant. He graduated with BEng (Civil), BEng (Hons), and MEng (Water Resources Engineering) degrees from the University of Pretoria and is currently completing his PhD. He has 24 years’ experience and has compiled numerous technical reports and journal publications in the field of pipelines, hydropower generation, and water distribu- tions systems. He has presented numerous courses and workshops, both nationally and internationally, on network analyses, pipeline engineering, and hydropower gen- eration, and has registered several patents. Prof Richard Walls Professor Richard Walls Pr Eng is the founder and head of the Fire Engineering Research Unit at Stellenbosch University (FireSUN), Africa’s first research team with a focus on fire engineering and structural fire design. Various fire-related topics are currently being investigated by his team, such as informal settlement fire behaviour, the design of steel structures in fire, analysis of structures in fire, forensic fire investigations, 3D printed concrete in fire, and materials behaviour. He contributed to the 2017 Knysna fires investigation project, looking at the destruction of almost 1000 homes, as well as the UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. In 2020 he was awarded the prestigious TWKambule- NSTF Emerging Researcher Award. Before joining academia, he worked as a consulting structural engineer, designing heavy industrial, petrochemical, and commercial structures. David Williams David Williams Pr Eng finished his studies at the University of Cape Town in 1980, before spending five years on the Johannesburg southern bypass, gaining experience with drainage works, rock anchoring, road layer works, and concrete pavements. During this time, he completed his master’s degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, and then spent nearly four years as a site engineer on the George-Knysna trunk road widening. Since 1988, David has focussed on tailings and mine waste engineering, initially with SRK in Johannesburg for nine years, and subsequently with Golder in Perth, Australia. He has provided engineering input to over 100 mine waste projects across the globe and is passionate about delivering robust tailings solutions through interactive teamwork. He has written and presented over 20 papers on tailings. David was also appointed an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland in 2008.  42 January/February 2021 Civil Engineering Fana Marutla takes on newrole at PRASA A specialist in railway engineering, 2020 SAICE President Fana Marutla has taken on a new role at PRASA where he now serves as General Manager/ Chief Engineer – Perway Infrastructure. In his new role at PRASA he is accountable as the Chief Asset Manager for all Perway infrastructure. This involves leading and directing the strategic planning of all activities and projects related to Perway engineering, and guiding and ensuring approval of the strategy, budgets, and implementa- tion of effective and efficient structures. Fana is also responsible for overseeing the review and revision of Perway engineering policies and stand- ards, finalisation of maintenance plans, and coordinating communication and stakeholder management engage- ment in accordance with the relevant company policy. Speaking on his new position, Fana noted, “Based on my experience of the built environment and the railway industry, I would like to contribute and add value where it is needed. We trust our collective efforts will turn the organisation around.”