It is with great sorrow that the Faculty of Engineering inform you of the recent passing of one of our colleagues, Prof Albert A Groenwold. Prof Groenwold, born on 10 October 1962, in Arnhem, the Netherlands, passed away on 3 August 2022, Cape Town.
Prof Groenwold was appointed in the Mechanics Division of the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic (M&M) Engineering in January 2007. His fields of research interest included high performance computing, green or energy efficient computing, sequential approximate optimisation, structural optimisation (including topology optimisation), metaheuristics, finite element technology, composite materials, and environmental and sustainability modeling.
He will be remembered as an outstanding researcher with international recognition, a dedicated supervisor to his post-graduate students and a respected and well-loved colleague. Much of his research has been published in international journals and he has contributed to three chapters in books.
Students at M&M will remember him as a dedicated lecturer of the following courses: Optimization (postgraduate level), Finite Elements, Fracture Mechanics, Composite Materials and Structural Mechanics.
The Faculty wishes to convey heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
Photograph: Prof Albert A Groenwold
