Meet The Team
SAPRI ADMIN HUB
SAPRI Manager
Prof Juliet Hermes
Juliet leads a team focusing on observations, modelling and research of the marine environment around southern Africa as part of the National Research Foundation’s South African Environmental Observation Network. In addition, Juliet manages the South African Polar Research Infrastructure and is a Professor at the University of Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela University. She has significant experience with developing and managing national, regional and international multidisciplinary, ocean observations. Her passion is in fostering regional and international collaborations as well as capacity development. Juliet focuses attention on development through ensuring knowledge generation and sharing, as well as growing a diverse cohort of marine scientists.
Juliet is currently part of the African Task Force for implementing the Ocean Decade and chairs the CLIVAR Indian Ocean Regional Panel, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association Academic Group, she is also part of the All Atlantic OKEANO project. Her work through these and her involvement in GEO Blue Planet, GCOS and the African Group Negotiators Experts Support has enabled her to gain experience in working with policy. She supports global ocean observing systems through the GOOS Observation Coordination Group, as well as their standards and best practices through the IOC/GOOS Ocean Best Practices Group.
Senior Electronics Technician
Vacant
Ocean and Polar Coordinator
Dr Tammy Morris
Tammy is a physical oceanographer with extensive in-field experience in the South West Indian and South Atlantic Oceans using a variety of ocean observing instruments and platforms. Her PhD thesis made use of Argo floats on high-resolution profiling to study mesoscale dynamics in the southern Mozambique Channel and the Agulhas Current. As such, Tammy’s academic interests lie in boundary currents, mesoscale eddies and the use of autonomous ocean observing platforms to study these dynamics.
Tammy collaborates with researchers at the national, regional and international panel. She is a member of the Argo Steering Team (AST) as the South African focal point, is a co-chair on the Ships of Opportunity Implementation Panel (SOOPIP) as part of the Ship Observations Team (SOT) group. She also contributes to task teams for the Data Buoy Coordination Panel (DBCP) to ensure deployment of instruments into the Indian Ocean and the Observation Coordination Group (OCG) task team for capacity development. She is also the co-lead of the GOOS Co-Design Boundary Current Exemplar Project – a UN Ocean Decade endorsed programme.
Tammy is the Ocean and Polar Coordinator at the SAEON Egagasini Node, and oversees a team of seven people to implement marine and polar ocean observing objectives of the South African marine science community.
Office Administrator
Ababalwe Diza
Ababalwe was born and bred in the heart of Eastern Cape, Cofimvaba. She holds a Bachelors’ Degree and National Diploma in Office Management and Technology from Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Her administrative experience includes helping senior managers and supervisors – always striving to maintain good relationships with people.
SAPRI Coordinator
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DATA, PRODUCTS & SOCIETY (DPS) INTEGRATED FACILITY
DPS Coordinating Manager
Dr Anne Treasure
Anne’s deep fascination and passion for the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic region developed during school days. She has a background in the life
sciences, predominantly in academic polar research spanning both the terrestrial and oceanographic sciences as well as the links between them. She has participated in many oceanographic voyages to both the Prince Edward Island’s and Antarctica, has overwintered on Marion Island, and has participated in a Prince Edward Island survey as well as many Marion Island takeovers. Anne left academia to pursue her strong interests in data, open science, open data and reproducible research. Her career path has also included a number of years where she gained experience in consultancy, corporate, business and the finance industry. She has a diversity of expertise in data and information management, open science, reproducible research, data analytics and visualisation, data pipeline and workflow development, and project management, and a strong dedication to capacity development through training and mentorship.
She represents South Africa on the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management (SCADM), for which she is also a Joint Deputy Chief Officer. She serves on the South African National Committee (SANC) for SCAR as the SCADM representative. Anne was a member of a working group formed to align the data policies of international scientific bodies coordinating research in the polar regions on which the SCAR data policy was based. She is a committee member on the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) Data Management Sub Committee, a member of the Research Data Alliance (RDA), and a member of SCAR’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) committee as part of the Code of Conduct action group. She is also serving her second term on SANAP’s Prince Edward Island Advisory Committee (PEIAC) and is a collaborator on the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa project (ALSA).
Society Manager
DPS Research Coordinator
Rabia Mathakutha
Rabia is the research coordinator of the SAPRI DPS Integrated Facility. She is a registered Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) in the field of Environmental Sciences. Rabia completed her Masters degree (MSc) in Plant Science at the University of Pretoria. Her MSc research project was focused on understanding plant invasion potential and climate change responses in the sub-Antarctic region. It was then when Rabia’s passion for understanding and being involved in the conservation of South Africa’s polar environment was ignited. She is excited about communicating and coordinating the research undertaken in these remote ecosystems as part of her current role, and is passionate about promoting awareness, inclusivity, and public engagement in this space.
Rabia also has experience in the environmental consulting industry, having worked as a freshwater ecologist, and considers her current role as completing a full circle – from the freshwater environment on land to now the ocean and polar region. As such, Rabia’s academic and professional experience have given her a range of capabilities that suit her role in her capacity as a research coordinator. She is an excellent communicator, effectively translating complex scientific concepts into accessible information for diverse audiences, and brings a fresh outlook to how science (and research infrastructure) is accessed, communicated and how data is managed, which are integral parts of the DPS Integrated Facility.
EDI Coordinator
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Data Curator
Belinda Nhesvure
Belinda brings her expertise to support the data management component of SAPRI and SAEON, focusing on establishing and maintaining a robust data infrastructure adhering to the ISO 14721: Open Archival Information System standard. Her passion for scientific research drives her dedication to data curation, analysis, and field research.
Senior Systems Administrator
Persephone Leigh Singh
Persephone is a Linux Specialist at the SAEON uLwazi Node and forms a crucial part of the SAPRI Data Centre team.
LONG-TERM OBSERVATIONS ON LAND (LTO-LAND) INTEGRATED FACILITY
LTO-Land Research Coordinator
Abuyiselwe A. Nguna
Abuyiselwe, friendly known as Abu, hails from the small town of Komani in the Eastern Cape. His passion in science led him to pursue postgraduate studies. Abu has been focused on periglacial aeolian process research for almost a decade now as he pursues his Ph.D. in Geography. Abu has been part of two overwintering teams on the sub-Antarctic Marion Island, which has given him a vast experience in sub-Antarctic and polar research. Abu is excited to take on his new role within SAPRI and SAEON, where he can continue to build his career and play a part in South African polar research reaching its potential and expanding to the rest of Africa. His work within the Sub-Antarctic Landscape and Climate interactions (SALCi) group has equipped Abu with skills in leadership, data management, proposal writing and efficiency, and of course the love for the sub- Antarctic and the Southern Ocean.
Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator
Yinhla Shihlomule
Yinhla Shihlomule has a background in marine biology with a focus on the genetics of apex predators. Having participated in four overwintering expeditions on Sub-Antarctic Marion Island, Yinhla gained invaluable field experience crucial for monitoring top predator populations. This hands-on involvement equipped him with the skills and knowledge necessary to assume the role of a top predator monitoring coordinator.
Yinhla is currently pursuing a PhD on the genetics of southern elephant seals, and this aligns with the role and duties of the top predator monitoring coordinator.
With a dedication to advancing our understanding of marine biodiversity and conservation, Yinhla Shihlomule is poised to make significant contributions to the role of top predator coordinator.
LONG-TERM OBSERVATIONS OF THE OCEAN (LTO-OCEAN) INTEGRATED FACILITY
LTO-Ocean Research Coordinator
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POLAR LAB INTEGRATED FACILITY
Polar Lab Research Coordinator
Riesna R. Audh
Riesna is the research coordinator of the SAPRI Polar Lab. She has a background in polar oceanography and a passion for all things Antarctica. She has helped to develop the field protocols employed by South African researchers on sea ice research and contributed to the knowledge and available data of the polar regions through her PhD research on the biogeochemistry of sea ice in the Antarctic marginal ice zone. Riesna believes that science should be accessible and inclusive and intends to use her position to showcase polar research amongst researchers and non-researchers alike. She is a firm believer that collaboration across institutions and disciplines is crucial for the future of polar research and that accessibility, inclusivity and visibility are vital in order to grow this field and encourage the next generation of polar researchers.