Dr Nastassia Thandiwe Sithole

Solid waste valorization, Solid waste solidification, Wastewater remediation, environmental Engineering and circular economy. Dr Sithole research interest is in the field of investigating possible solutions that will eradicate problems associated with Environmental pollution such as industrial solid waste and wastewater. Her research in the field of industrial solid waste involves valorisation of solid waste materials by developing valued added products using technologies such as alkaline activation and geopolymerization for building and construction or as geo-membranes for wastewater treatment applications. She also conducts research in the field of 3D printing of building and construction material, resource recovery.

Dr Thandiwe Sithole holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering obtained at the age of 28, Post graduate diploma in Higher education and a certificate of a Emerging leader. She is currently registered for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at University of Suffolk (UK). She is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg. She is registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa. Dr Sithole has filed one patent and authored/co-authored over 25 peer reviewed publications. She has supervised over 30 undergraduates and postgraduate students. Her mentorship and research experience is enviable as she guides her both undergraduate and postgraduate level students through the research journey. Dr Sithole is a non Executive director and a technical advisory board chair at The Platinum Incubator (TPI). She was one of the nominees for the NRF award (research excellence award for next generation researchers 2019). She was one of the two South African young scientists selected by DST to represent South Africa in the Africa-China young scientist Inn tour. She served in the Women in Engineering and Built Environment (UJ) and the Transformation committees. She is also a recipient of the National Research Foundation (ZA) grants. Dr Sithole is passionate about research excellence and nurturing of other previously disadvantaged South Africans. She is also actively involved in programs for promoting women in science and engineering and has contributed in nurturing a number of female students in the Faculty of Engineering and the built environment. She has partnered with Dr. Tebogo Mashifana and Partners Foundation, a Non-Profit organization focusing on community upliftment projects and youth empowerment.