Professor David Lokhat Begins Five-Year Term as uMngeni-uThukela Water Chair

Professor David Lokhat of the discipline of Chemical Engineering has been seconded to the uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) Chair in Water Resources Research and Innovation for a five-year term, during which he will direct the Chair’s high-impact, innovative and application-driven research.

This new portfolio will complement Lokhat’s work in process intensification and sustainable engineering. He also holds the African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) Chair in Sustainable Engineering and Process Intensification, launched in 2024 as the culmination of work he has led in his Reactor Technology Research Group since 2013.

Over the next five years, Lokhat aims to steer the UUW Chair’s focus towards tangible technological innovations that will strengthen the regional water sector, building on its considerable success in capacity development since its establishment at UKZN in 2011 and its renewal in 2021.

Lokhat looks forward to driving projects that prioritise sustainable treatment systems, improved treatment technologies, circular infrastructure development, data-informed water resource management, and monitoring of water sources. These technological and engineering innovations are expected to be deployed within the existing water value chain for high socio-economic impact.

“Industry and academic partnerships such as the one between UUW and UKZN are very important for developing a sustainable innovation ecosystem, as they allow for developing solutions to authentic problems, cross-pollination of ideas and capacity building amongst stakeholders,” said Lokhat.

“We hope that the Chair will be able to fulfil its mandate in this regard,” he said.

“This prestigious appointment recognises Professor Lokhat’s significant expertise and leadership in the field of water resources research and innovation, and reflects the College’s continued commitment to advancing impactful research partnerships that address critical water security and sustainability challenges,” said Professor Fhatuwani Mudau, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science.

Lokhat has achieved significant recognition in his field and was recently appointed the Vice-Chair of the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Awards adjudication panel and named a finalist in the 2025 Institution of Chemical Engineers Global Awards.

In 2024, Lokhat received the Federation of African Engineering Organisation’s Research Award and was elected a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers. He is also an affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences. In addition, he was named one of the 20 most influential chemical and engineering researchers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, and received UKZN’s 2023 Vice-Chancellor’s Research Award.

A UKZN alumnus, Lokhat completed his master’s degree cum laude, and won awards for work conducted and patented during his PhD. He has ranked among UKZN’s top 10 young published researchers and top 30 published researchers, and received the University’s Distinguished Teachers’ Award in 2021.

Lokhat previously received the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE) Innovation Award and is a Royal Academy of Engineering Leaders in Innovation Fellow.

He is a former President and Fellow of SAIChE and is a rated scientist with the National Research Foundation of South Africa.

Lokhat serves as an editor for the South African Journal of Chemical Engineering and as a member of the advisory board of the South African Journal of Science.

He has supervised seven postdoctoral fellows, 14 PhD students, and 30 master’s students, published 75 journal papers, 40 conference papers, and 13 book chapters, and edited one book.

Words: Christine Cuénod

Photograph: Supplied