The School of Electrical and Information Engineering conducts research in a variety of fields, broadly defined by the research groups below. We are committed to research excellence and we strive to contribute to new technologies that will shape the fourth industrial revolution in Africa.



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Biomedical Engineering Research Group
Biomedical Engineering is a discipline in which the techniques of engineering and quantitative sciences are applied to the solution of problems in medicine and biology. The applications include research and design of instrumentation and technologies to enhance health care. In addition, the discipline deals with the development of a quantitative understanding of the human body and other living systems, in engineering terms.
The Biomedical Engineering Research Group within the School of Electrical and Information Engineering offers a range of research options at postgraduate level. The field of Biomedical Engineering is inherently multidisciplinary, and hence the research is usually undertaken in collaboration with other research groups and in some cases with other departments and institutions.
The group has been active in the fields of medical imaging, artificial intelligence and bioreactors. Some of the work has been done in collaboration with the School of Pathology and the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, as well as other research groups within the School of Electrical & Information Engineering.
Staff Research Interests Prof David Rubin (Head)
Medical Instrumentation
Prof Vered Aharonson
Speech Analytics for Medical Diagnosis and Biometrics
Signal processing for rehabilitation robots
Physiological signal processingDr Steven Dinger
Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics
Cancer Therapy using MRI
Machine visionDr Xriz Richards
Biomedical Engineering
Mr Craig Carlson
Ultrasound
Mr Abdul Khaaliq Mohamed
Brain Computer Interfaces
ProstheticsMr Adam Pantanowitz
Artificial Intelligence / Neuroscience
Human Computer Interfaces
Brain Computer Interfaces -
Systems and Control Research Group
The Centre for Systems and Control is a research group that resides within the School of Electrical and Information Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. The activities of the group range from classical control to modern linear and non-linear control. All aspects of systems and signals namely, modelling, synthesis, control analysis and design pertaining to linear and non-linear, time-invariant as well as time varying systems and signals form part of the focus.
Staff Research Interests Prof. Brian Wigdorowitz Control theory, Systems theory, Optimisation
Dr Otis Nyandoro Real-time scheduling systems, Control scheduling co-design, Anti-lock braking systems
Prof. Anton Van Wyk -
Electric Power Research Group
The Electric Power Research Group (EPRG) is an on-going and well-established programme in the School of Electrical & Information whose mission is to contribute expert knowledge and skills in the fields of high voltage, lightning/EMC, computational electromagnetics and power system engineering. It aims to establish a sound base in research and teaching in the various associated disciplines and is committed to being a world key player in contributing expert knowledge. It views research and teaching in these disciplines as a critical ingredient to economic growth as well social well-being of the region.
Staff Research Interests Prof Ken Nixon (Head) Lightning safety; High Voltage engineering; Programming and Data Sciences
Prof Ian Jandrell High voltage, Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), Lightning, Earthing and Lightning Protection, Software Engineering
Prof John Van Coller High voltage, Power electronics, Power systems, Renewable energy, Power system economics, Lightning, EMC
Prof Cuthbert Nyamupangedengu Partial discharges, HV insulation diagnosis, Power cables, Engineering design, Engineering education
Prof Alan Clark Electromagnetic analysis, Computer codes, Antenna design for the professional market
Prof Estelle Trengove Software for electrical distribution, Lightning, Electrical engineering education
Dr Nicholas West High Voltage Engineering, Gas breakdown, Laser-induced breakdown, Lightning, Engineering Education
Dr Hugh Hunt
Hugh Hunt
Lightning Detection and Measurement; Lightning Protection and safety; High Voltage Engineering Dr Carina Schumann
Lightning Physics and Characterisation; High speed imaging; Lightning Safety and Awareness -
FEET (Future Electrical Energy Technology) Research Group
This group researches systems and technologies that ensure adequate secure supply of clean electrical energy into the future. Access to energy, in conjunction with access to water is one of the biggest drivers of quality of life. Given the current environmental impact issues of traditional fossil fuel based energy, expanding access to energy in this direction is not an option.
Staff Research Interests Prof Willie Cronje (Head) Pico-grids, solar energy Prof Cuthbert Nyamupangedengu Partial discharges, HV insulation diagnosis, power cables, engineering design, engineering education
Prof Dave Dorrell Electrical machines, renewable energy, power systems
Dr Mercy Shuma-Iwisi Demand side management, renewable energy, load characterisation, smart homes Mr James Braid Machine design, wind energy research
Prof Ivan Hofsajer Power electronics, electromagnetic compatibility, engineering electromagnetics, signal integrity, integrated electronics
Dr Lesedi Masisi Electrification of transportation, electric motor drives, electric machine modeling (control and testing), energy storage, energy efficiency and renewable energy
Ms Yu-Chieh (Jessie) Yen Demand-side management, load modelling, energy efficiency, thermal storage, sustainability and renewables
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Software Engineering and Data Intensive Computing (SEDIC)
The Software Engineering and Data Intensive Computing (SEDIC) Research Group has a number of current research interests including: software development methodologies, smart grids, big data and bioinformatics. The members also work closely with the Wits Institute of Data Science
Staff Research Interests Dr Stephen Levitt (Head) Software Engineering, Domain Modelling, Software Testing
Prof Barry Dwolatzky Software integration for large systems
Prof Scott Hazelhurst Bioinformatics, High Performance Computing, Data Structures and Algorithms Prof Turgay Celik Visual and Cognitive Computing, Machine Learning, Data Science, Software Engineering, Remote Sensing -
Centre for Telecommunications Access and Services (CeTAS)
The Center for Telecommunications Access and Services (CeTAS) has a long legacy of research. We perform research in a variety of interesting fields - please see our staff member interests below and contact them if you are interested in joing us.
History
In 1997 Telkom set up its Centre of Excellence (COE) programme which had two objectives: to promote postgraduate research at South African Universities in areas that support the Telecommunications Sector and to develop some of the high-level skills needed in this sector.
The Wits University Center of Excellence, established in 1997 under the leadership of Prof Hu Hanrahan, defined its focus as "Telecommunications Access and Services". It was initially supported financially by Telkom, Vodacom, Nokia-Siemens, Telsaf Data and the DTI (via the THRIP programme).
Over the last two and a half decades, the Wits CoE (now called CeTAS), has achieved an excellent research publication record, and has educated a significant number of students who have gone on to fill key positions in the South African and African telecommunications industry.
Staff Research Interests Prof Fambirai Takawira (Head) Adaptive signal processing, Digital communications, Data networks
Prof Ling Cheng Internet of Things for Smart Cities, Visible light communications, Power-line communications, Network information theory,Heuristic algorithm in Artificial Intelligence, Pattern recognition, Insertion/deletion error correction, Single machine scheduling
Prof Olutayo Oyerinde Signal processing in 5G and beyond 5G wireless communications networks, Massive MIMO, NOMA, mm Wave Massive MIMO, channel estimation techniques, multiuser detection techniques, beamforming, pre-coding; applications of compressive sensing algorithms
Dr Jules Moualeu Dr Mitchell Cox Optical Communications, Free Space Optics, Mode Division Multiplexing, Bridging the Digital Divide using Optical Communications
Dr Chabalala Chabalala Next-generation wireless networks, Massive machine-type communications, Cognitive radio networks, NOMA, Radio resource management in 5G, Performance modeling and analysis of wireless communication systems.
Mr Shamin Achari Visible Light Communications, Coding