Prof. Gerhard Venter
Head of the Mechanics Division, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Fields of Research / Interest
- Computational structural mechanics (FEA linear and non-linear)
- Numerical design optimisation: General-purpose, structural and multidisciplinary optimisation
- Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO)
- High performance (parallel) computing
- Piecewise approximations
- Design of Experiments (DoE)
- Metamodelling / Machine learning
- Minimising manufacturing cost
Education
- BEng (Mechanical), University of Pretoria, 1992
- Honors (Mechanical), University of Pretoria, 1993
- MSc (Mechanical), Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1995
- PhD (Engineering Mechanics), University of Florida, 1998
Professional Experience
- January 2008 – Present: Stellenbosch University, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Head: Mechanics Division - June 2011 – Jan 2016: Stellenbosch University, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Chairman: Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering - Oct 2000 – Oct 2006: Vanderplaats Research & Development, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO
VisualDOC Project Manager / Lead Developer, Senior R&D Engineer / Developer - Oct 1998 – Oct 2000: Vanderplaats Research & Development, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO
Senior R&D Engineer / Developer - May 1995 – Aug 1998: University of Florida, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics and Engineering Science
Graduate Research Assistant - May 1996 – Aug 1996: Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, MI
Summer Intern
Contact
Email: gventer@sun.ac.za
Publications: ResearchGate Profile
Department Website: SUN Department Page
Dr. Martin P. Venter
Lecturer and researcher, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Areas of Interest
- Generally: Computational Mechanics
- Specifically:
- Structural analysis (FEA)
- Inflatable structures (inflatable aerofoil, dunnage bags, etc.)
- Soft robotics (materials, design, testing, generative design procedures)
- Material characterisation
- Textile composites
Education
- BEng (Mechatronic), Stellenbosch University
- MScEng (Mechanical), Stellenbosch University
- PhD (Mechanical Engineering), Stellenbosch University, 2015
Contact
Email: mpventer@sun.ac.za
Publications
- Modeling PVC-coated Polyester as a Hypoelastic Non-linear Orthotropic Material
- Simple implementation of plain woven polypropylene fabric
- Obtaining a hyperelastic non-linear orthotropic material model via inverse bubble inflation analysis
- Overview of the Development of a Numerical Model for an Inflatable Paper Dunnage Bag
For the most up-to-date publications, see: Dr. Martin Venter on ResearchGate
Department Website
Dr. Martin Venter – SUN Department Page
Dr. Melody Neaves
Senior Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Fields of Research / Interest
- Materials characterisation: mechanical testing, microscopy, density, powder characterisation
- Additive manufacturing
- High temperature testing (expansion, tensile, creep)
- Digital image correlation
- Electrolyser component design and testing
- Power plant steels, titanium and alloys, nickel-based superalloys
Education
- BEng (Mechanical), University of Stellenbosch, 2013
- PhD (Mechanical Engineering), University of Stellenbosch, 2020
Contact
Email: melzvanrooyen@sun.ac.za
Publications
Please see Dr. Melody Neaves on ORCID