Garikai T. Marangwanda is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, within the Centre of Applied Research and Innovation in the Built Environment (CARINBE). He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2024 and a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from USTO-MB, Algeria, in 2014.He is a dynamic and results-oriented mechanical engineer with over 8 years of academic and industry experience. He is adept at leveraging computational tools and software to solve complex engineering challenges, with a focus on thermo-fluids, combustion technology, and renewable energy systems. As such his research interests range from Computational Fluid Dynamics, combustion systems modelling, pumping and turbine blade systems optimisation and renewable energy system design. His hard work is also evidenced by the research publications which he has coined as first author, project supervision as well as industrial consultancy work.Daniel M. Madyira is a registered Professional Engineer who is currently an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, Faculty of Engineering, and the Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg. He has taught a wide range of core mechanical engineering courses including machine design, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and strength of materials. He is a highly experienced mechanical engineer and academic with more than 26 years of academic and industrial experience. He is passionate about engineering design with special expertise in machine component stress analysis and thermal systems analysis. He has developed several mechanical designs addressing a range of contemporary societal problems such as biomass briquetting and solar crop drying to advanced mechanical systems such as rotating bending fatigue testing machines. His research interests range from high-speed machining of titanium, fatigue of titanium and composites, natural composites, biomass briquetting and biomass combustion modelling, fracture behaviour of materials produced using modern manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing and post weld heat treatment of steels using weld beads. He is also involved in several industry-based activities solving industry-based problems. This makes his academic work relevant to industry and fruitful to his students. He is a very hard-working engineer as evidenced by the range of his research publications. He has edited multiple conference proceedings, published book chapters, journal papers and refereed conference papers, registered one patent, graduated multiple PhD students as supervisor and co-supervisor, graduated multiple MSc., MPhil. and MTech. students and supervised multiple international MSc. interns. As a registered professional engineer, he is active in ECSA activities including assessment and professional review interviews of professional engineer applicants.Innocent Musonda is a registered Civil Engineer and Professional Construction Manager, currently serving as a full Professor in Construction Management and Quantity Surveying in the Department of Construction & Management–Quantity Surveying at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He is also the Director of the Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in the Built Environment (CARINBE). He has taught a broad spectrum of courses in construction project management, engineering management, and digital built-environment technologies. As an experienced academic and practitioner, he combines more than two decades of industrial experience across Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa with deep scholarly engagement. Prof Musonda is particularly passionate about advancing engineering design for sustainable, safe, and digitally enabled infrastructure. His expertise spans building information modelling (BIM), digital twins, digital transformation in the built environment, sustainable infrastructure, and construction health & safety. He has made substantial contributions to both academia and practice, serving as a thought leader in digitalization and transformation in infrastructure. His applied work addresses societal and industry challenges, including infrastructure safety, sustainability, and the integration of 4IR technologies in construction. On the research side, Prof Musonda has published extensively and supervised numerous postgraduate students. At his inauguration, it was noted that he has supervised eight PhD students and over 20 master’s students, and has authored more than 60 journal articles, four book chapters, and over 50 conference papers. He is rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa (C2). His work is strongly aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly around sustainable infrastructure and digital innovation. Beyond research and teaching, Prof Musonda is deeply engaged with professional bodies. He is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB-UK) and the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB). He also contributes to national and international peer review processes, acting as an assessor for bodies like the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the NRF. He has chaired and co-edited influential conferences, most notably the Development and Investments in Infrastructure (DII) series, helping drive discourse on infrastructure development, sustainability, and investment across Africa. Prof Musonda is a very hard-working scholar-practitioner, committed to bridging the gap between academic research and real-world infrastructure transformation. His leadership at CARINBE helps make his academic work industry-relevant, and his mentorship of students drives capacity-building in the built environment in Africa.
