The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) warmly welcomes the announcement of the appointment of Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, a nuclear physicist, as the next Vice-Chancellor and principal of Wits University from 1 January, 2021. Professor Vilakazi’s illustrious career includes serving as the Group Executive for Research and Development at Necsa. He also contributed to the development of nuclear technology applications whilst employed at iThemba LABS in South Africa.
“Let me congratulate Professor Vilakazi on behalf of Necsa and the nuclear industry. It is not often that we receive such newspaper headlines announcing a nuclear physicist appointed to head an institution like Wits University, which is amongst the leading institutions in South Africa and globally, said Mr David Nicholls, Chairperson of the Necsa Board of Directors.
The appointment of Professor Vilakazi comes immediately after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy released the Request for Information for 2500MW new nuclear power on 14 June, 2020. This is good news for the nuclear industry as any future nuclear new build program also depends on cooperation with institutions of higher learning in research and development.
Necsa wishes Professor Vilakazi all the best in this new endeavor and commits its support in making it a fruitful tenure for him and the university community at large.
