Civil Engineering September 2022 | Vol 30 No 8

Civil Engineering September 2022 57 M arianne is an international leader in her field, and her considerable research outputs and capacity development initiatives have been recognised by her election as a Fellow of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, as a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers UK (one of 63 in Africa) and by the DSI-NRF/CSIR Smart Mobility Research Chair award. She holds a PhD in intelligent trans- port systems and an MSc in systems engineering and policy analysis, both from universities in the Netherlands. She is the only female full professor in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Department of Civil Engineering and is the faculty’s deputy dean for transforma- tion and social responsiveness. RESEARCH South Africa desperately requires a safe, secure, accessible, and sustainable trans- port system. Using modelling, project assessment and tailor-made decision sup- port tools, Marianne’s research focuses on transport improvements for vulnerable road users, resulting in more than 5 000 lives being saved since 2009. “Road fatalities cost South African society more than R142 billion each year, which is 3.8% of the country’s GDP. Up to 60% of those fatalities are among the country’s most vulnerable road users – pedestrians. My research in the Western Cape, and around the country, seeks to understand the causes of road fatalities, and to identify ways to reduce them,” she explains. Marianne uses a unique combination of (big) data collection and analysis, macroscopic and mesoscopic modelling, assessment tool development and applica- tions, as well as policy development and analysis to reduce the transport system externalities. Her research outputs in- clude 28 journal papers, 8 books, 16 book chapters, 68 peer reviewed conference papers, and numerous other reports and publications. She has also done ground-breaking work on personal security for women that use public transport, with other successful projects including research into cyclists and passing behaviour, a strategic model assessment for sustainable rail transport that saved R75 million for the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, and the Walkability app, which gathers information on the state of infrastructure, perceived road safety and personal security. Vanderschuren is part of a consortium exploring sexual harassment in Africa’s public transport systems. The project will deliver a decision support tool that provides implementation pathways for five types of stakeholders (public authorities, policy makers, enforcement agencies, transport authorities, and non-governmental organisa- tions) and is unique in the world. She has also contributed to the man- agement and growth in output of the Civil Engineering Department and Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at UCT, where she directly mentors six academic staff members.  SA I CE and profess i onal news SAICE President wins NSTF Award SAICE President Prof. Marianne Vanderschuren has been awarded the 2022 NSTF Special Annual Theme Award for her role in improving the quality of life of vulnerable road users using smart mobility through research solutions based on the basic sciences. This is in recognition of the international theme for 2022 proclaimed by the United Nations: International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. Prof. Marianne Vanderschuren (middle) receiving the 2022 NSTF Special Annual Theme Award