Freeman Ntuli is a professor in the Department of Chemical, Materials, and Metallurgical Engineering at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) and a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town and has about 20 years of experience working in academia, industry, and government regulatory agencies. His main areas of research are in environmental process engineering and hydrometallurgy. He has published extensively in the areas of waste valorization, industrial wastewater treatment, and circular and sustainable chemical engineering. Professor Ntuli is rated as an established researcher by the National Research Foundation (South Africa) and is a chartered member of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and a chartered scientist (CSci). Tebogo Mashifana is an educator and researcher specializing in circular economy research. With a wealth of experience in the field, Mashifana holds a DPhil in engineering and has made significant contributions to sustainable resource management. Her expertise lies in waste reduction strategies, green economy, resource efficiency and recovery, and the implementation of circular economy models across various sectors. As an accomplished author, Mashifana has published numerous journal articles, offering valuable insights into the intersection of environmental engineering and circular economy principles. Mashifana's dedication to mentoring students and driving interdisciplinary collaboration underscores her commitment to advancing sustainable development practices. Through her work, Mashifana continues to inspire positive change and promote a more sustainable future. Thandiwe Sithole is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. Her main area of interest is environmental engineering, especially the circular economy and how to use secondary resources to treat wastewater and turn industrial solid waste into useful building and constructon materials, including recycling materials and finding new uses for old ones. The main goal of her research is to develop zero-waste discharge models and value-added products from waste material for use in different buidling and construction applications. Her research areas are driven by the need to attain or achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Dr Sithole is an active member of technical committees, contributing to the advancement of engineering, the circular economy, societal impact, and SDGs. Thabo Falayi holds a BSc (Hons) in applied chemistry (first class) from the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe, an MTech in chemical engineering technology, and a DPhil in civil engineering from the University of Johannesburg. Thabo has over 10 years of industrial experience as a product development chemist and sampling and water treatment chemist, where he oversaw analytical method development and validation together with sampling method validation. He is a fellow of the African Science Leadership Programme. He has published 42 peer-reviewed research articles in environmental engineering with a Google Scholar H index of 10 and an i10 index of 11 with over 397 citations. He has lectured on chemical engineering at the University of Johannesburg, Malawi University of Science and Technology, and UNISA. He is currently a lecturer in chemical engineering in the mining, civil and process engineering department at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. He is also a trained mentor in innovation, with a particular emphasis on human-centered design, agile project management, and systems design approach.
