Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences
Faculty of Science, Engineering and AgricultureOverview of the Department
Mathematics can be described as a science that studies quantitative relationships and space formations in the world we live in. The basic concepts of mathematics needed for describing natural processes are premised on the concept of a number and that of a function. Over many years mathematics has evolved and split mainly into two identifiable areas of pure mathematics and applied mathematics. However, there are other areas of mathematical sciences that are intrinsically linked to this discipline. Long before the current discipline of computer science some elements of computing existed in various aspects of mathematics or physics. Mechanical and mathematical theories led to the development of the modern field of computer science. It is also noted that as much as statistics might have emerged from the need for demographic studies of populations, its major developments, as a discipline, have depended heavily on mathematics. Essentially, in modern times, it may be understood as a mathematical tool for analysing numbers. Clearly, there is a lot in common between the three disciplines necessitating a new look into how these tools can be used together in the study of complex systems of the world. Data science, as a discipline, seems to be a good example of a field of study that is at the intersection of the three disciplines.
The department specializes in all the three disciplines, and hence the name ‘Mathematical and Computational Sciences’. In the contemporary world, the three disciplines are applied together as useful tools in solving many complex problems concerned with environmental, biological and health systems, engineering, natural sciences, medicine, business and social sciences. The department endeavours to train students in these areas of science and their applications.
Most importantly, the department offers a variety of courses in pure and applied mathematics, statistics and computer science that run concurrently with other courses in either physics or chemistry to form learning programmes.The department also offers postgraduate training in Pure and Applied Mathematics, and Statistics at Honours, Masters, and PhD levels, and in Computer Science at the Honours level. The department also offers service modules to other departments in the faculty as well as in other faculties within the university. The research interests for the staff and postgraduate students in the department are in the areas of algebra, graph theory, fluid mechanics, differential equations, financial mathematics and epidemiological modeling, predictive modelling, survival analysis, data science and machine learning, software development/engineering and cybersecurity.
VISION:
To strive to contribute to the scientific, technological and social upliftment of the communities that the university serves using the power of mathematical, statistical and computer science approaches in solving complex problems of this world.
MISSION:
The Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences endeavours to participate in the university’s learning and teaching, research and community engagement programmes through rendering the following services:
- Relevant mathematical, statistical and computer science programmes that conform with its vision in line with the university’s strategic goals.
- Enabling, and caring learning and teaching environment to students from diverse backgrounds.
- Development of a culture that cultivates and promotes intellectual curiosity and a diversity of ideas.
- Interdisciplinary research and knowledge development guided by quality and vigour in mathematical, statistical and computer science approaches to solving complex problems of this world.
- Community development programmes
The following is a list of staff in the department of Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences
Names: Dr S Moyo
Position: Senior Lecturer and HoD of the department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences.
Qualification(s): Doctor of Philosophy
Research areas of specialization: Differential Equations, Numerical analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Data Science.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): Tel No:0159628940
Description: Computational Fluid Dynamics: Fluid interactions with structures Differential Equations: analytical and numerical methods especially Finite Difference Methods Data science:
Names: Prof S Shateyi
Position: Professor and HOD of Science Foundation
Qualification(s): PhD
Research areas of specialization: Computational fluid dynamics, differential equations, numerical methods, Modelling.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No:015 962 8163
Email:Stanford.shateyi@univen.ac.za
Description: My research areas of interest are Fluid Mechanics, Differential equations and Numerical Analysis. I have been involved in research on topics such as magneto hydrodynamics, steady and unsteady flows, stretching and shrinking surfaces, nanofluid flows, among others. I have analysed the effects of different significant parameters affecting fluid flows in both Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluids, both Darcy and Non-Darcy flows. I am member of a research group in Fluid Mechanics which is involved in developing new analytical and numerical techniques. In this research group we have managed to improve well known analytical techniques such as the well celebrated Homotropy analysis method. This research group has managed to breed methods like Spectral analysis and Homotropy analysis together to produce more accurate results. We are currently developing block hybrid linear multi-step methods with off-step points to solve systems of linear and non-linear differential equations. It has been proved that the additional off-step points significantly improve the accuracy of these methods as well as ensuring consistency, zero-stability and convergence.
Names: Dr VT Makhoshi
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s):
PhD in Applied Mathematics (Unisa), M.Sc in Mathematics (Univen), B.Sc (Hons)(Univen), UED (Univen), B.Sc (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Iterated function systems, Fixed Point Theory, Integral Equations.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No:0159628916
Email:vuledzani.makhoshi@univen.ac.za
Office no:G03
Description: I am currently working on iterated functions system in a more generalized framework like partial metric spaces, semi metric spaces and G-metric metric spaces.
Names: Mr A Manthada
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): Msc(univen), Bsc hons(univen), Bsc(univen), PGDE (univen)
Research areas of specialization: Mathematics Education
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: 0159638410
Email: avhatakali.manthada@univen.ac.za
Office number: G9
Description: In mathematics education, my focus is on the transition from high school to university in mathematics, as well as meaningful teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics.
Names: Dr R Mukhodobwane
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s):
PhD in Mathematics (Univen), MSc (Univen), BA (Hons) (Univen), HED(Postgraduate), BEd (Educational Management)(Unisa)
Research areas of specialization: Financial Mathematics
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: 015 962 8225
Email: rosinah.mukhodobwane@univen.ac.za
Office No: G5
Description: Financial Mathematics particularly in the application of extreme value theory in financial time series data
Names: Dr AD Maphiri
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): PhD (Univen), Msc (Univen), BSc Hons in Applied Mathematics (Univen),BA (Univen), PGCE (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Mathematical Modelling
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel No: 015 962 8914
Email:Azwindini.maphiri@univen.ac.za
Description: My research interest is in Biomathematics, focusing in modelling of infectious diseases. I am also a member of Modelling Health and Environmental Linkages Research Group (MHELRG). This research group is engaged in multiscale modelling of Biological Systems with emphasis on multiscale modelling of infectious disease systems.
Names: Prof JC Ndogmo
Position: Associate Professor
Qualification(s): PhD in Mathematics (Univ of Montreal), DEA (Strasbourg), BSc (Univ of Ydé)
Research areas of specialization: Lie algebras, Lie group analysis of Differential equations. Also, Financial Maths and a little bit of Data Science.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: 015 962 8904
Email:Jean-claude.ndogmo @univen.ac.za
Description: Part of my current research interests is focused on the study of symmetry integrable systems, and more specifically on the identification, classification and generation of such systems. A by-product of this study is an attempt to characterize the very powerful recursion operators which can indeed generate integrable systems but remain largely unexplored and challenging to find. Recently, in order to formally extend to PDEs the notion of iterative equations known only for ODEs, we introduced a new method of group classification termed the method of indeterminates, as another alternative to the intricate problem of group classification.
The initial aim of our extension of the notion of iterative equations to PDEs was to generalize to this much broader type of equations the wealth of results we achieved for systems of ODEs, of any type most often, and in particular of any order and dimension. We also discovered that the symmetry group approach offers a unique way to generate the sought after soliton solutions of nonlinear wave equations, under certain symmetry operators and this topic now also forms part of our research interests. We are however also interested in the study of these
solitons through the Hirota and the Darboux transformation methods, and in particular through an in-depth leveraging of the properties of Lax pairs.
In our study of Lie algebras the focus is generally on invariant functions of the adjoint or the co-adjoint representations, and in particular on Casimir operators, due to the role they play in physics, in representation theory, and in other mathematically based fields. We’ve thus exhibited several types of Lie algebras admitting a fundamental set of invariants consisting of Casimir Operators, including for instance Lie algebras with a nilpotent radical, and given amongst several other simple results a characterization of solvable Lie algebras that do not
possess any nontrivial invariant function. Naturally some of our results usually apply to abstract Lie algebras themselves. This includes some structure theorems we formulated based of Kravchuk signature, and which are widely applied to the classification of Lie algebras, as well as a determination of the maximal dimension of the center of solvable Lie algebras, amongst several other results.
Names: Mrs N Mukwevho
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): Msc in Applied Mathematics (Univen), BSc Hons in Applied Mathematics (Univen), PGCE (Unisa), Bsc in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Numerical Analysis, Fluid Dynamics
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: 015 962 8263
Email: nancy.mukwevho@univen.ac.za
Office No.: G10
Description: I am currently working on pseudo-spectral methods for fractional differential equations.
Names: Dr K Muzhinji
Position: Senior Lecturer
Qualification(s): PhD in Mathematics (Univen), MSc Applied Mathematics (Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz), BScED(Hons)(BUSE), MSc Industrial Mathematics (TU Kaiserslautern), MSc Applied Mathematics (Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz), BScED(Hons)(BUSE), Dip.ED(UZ)
Research areas of specialization: Numerical Analysis Fluid Mechanics PDE constrained Optimisation, BioMaths.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: 015 962 8233 Email: kizito.muzhinji@univen.ac.za
Office No: G18
Description: I am currently interested amongst others in constructing numerical schemes of problems emanating from Fluid Mechanics, PDE constrained optimisation (particularly developing preconditioning strategies to enhance a fast and efficient numerical solution process), BioMaths(ODE models)
Names: Dr TB Mulaudzi
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): PhD Statistics (UL), C Statistics (UNIVEN), Sc Hons in Statistics (UL), BSc (UL)
Research areas of specialization: Survival Analysis
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel : 015 962 8302
Email: tshilidzi.mulaudzi@univen.ac.za
Office No: F12
Description:My primary research interest lies in developing and applying Survival analysis methods. My work also extends to advanced applications of frailty models, competing risks analysis, and comparing statistical and machine learning models in survival models.
Names: Dr A Bere
Position: Senior Lecturer
Qualification(s): PhD Statistics (UWC), MSc Statistics (UZ), BSc Hons Applied Maths (NUST, Zim),
Research areas of specialization: Survival Analysis Copulas
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: 0159628268
Email: Alphonce.bere@univen.ac.za
Office No. F11
Description: My primary research interest in discrete survival analysis, with a particular emphasis on discrete survival models. I conduct extensive simulation studies to evaluate key aspects of these models, including flexible link functions, baseline hazard modeling methods, and variable selection techniques. My work also extends to advanced applications, such as geo-additive modeling. I employ both frequentist and Bayesian estimation approaches. Currently, my research focuses on comparing statistical and machine learning methods in standard discrete survival models, as well as in more complex settings like competing risks analysis.
Names: Prof C Sigauke
Position: Associate Professor
Qualification(s): PhD (UFS), MSc (NUST)
Research areas of specialization: Predictive Modelling, Statistics of Extremes.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): Tel: 0159628135 Emails: caston.sigauke@univen.ac.za and csigauke@gmail.com Office No. F16
Some important links:
- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OKgPPJAAAAAJ&hl=en
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7406-5291
Description: I hold the position of Associate Professor of Statistics within the Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at the University of Venda. Currently, I serve as the leader of the predictive modelling group (PMG) within the department. The primary objective of PMG is to capitalise on the existing research expertise of the members within the Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at the University of Venda, specifically in predictive modelling. PMG is dedicated to the advancement of comprehensive statistical and probabilistic forecasting methodologies that hold relevance across various fields. The central focus of PMG lies in fostering collaborative and interdisciplinary research. Our research efforts within the probabilistic forecasting domain are particularly concentrated on two key areas, Energy and Environmental systems. Through these research initiatives, we aim to contribute to the development of innovative forecasting techniques that have wide-ranging applications and implications
Names: Mr FS Netshapala
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s):BSc (Ed), BSc (Hons) (Univen), MSc (UP)
Research areas of specialization: Graph Theory
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No:015 962 8083
Email: thina.tshisikhawe@univen.ac.za
Office no: G01
Description: Graph Theory focusing on its application in real life situations.
Names: Ms TH Tshisikhawe
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): Msc in Statistics (Univen), BSc Hons in Statistics (Univen), Bsc (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Time Series, Forecasting, Spatial statistics
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No: 015 962 8399
Email: thina.tshisikhawe@univen.ac.za
Office no: F10
Description: My interests are also in Bayesian statistics, time series and Biostatistics.
Names:Mrs N Nengovhela
Position: Part-time Lecturer
Qualification(s): Msc in Statistics (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Time series
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): N/A
Description: I am a statistical modeller with research interests in Time series and forecasting with applications in finance.
Names: Dr T Ravele
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): PhD in Statistics (Univen), Msc in Statistics (Univen), BSc Hons in Statistics (Univen), Bsc in Maths & Stats (Univen), PGCE (Unisa)
Research areas of specialization: Time Series, Forecasting, Statistics of Extremes
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No: 015 962 8098
Email: thakhani.ravele@univen.ac.za
Office no: F09
Description: I am a statistical modeller with research interests in probabilistic forecasting with applications in energy and environmental systems. My research is on probabilistic load and renewable energy forecasting, including the optimization of grid integration of renewable energies and statistics of extremes.
Names: Dr R Netshikweta
Position:Lecturer
Qualification(s): MSc in Applied Mathematics (Univen), BSc(Hons) in Applied Mathematics (SU), Bsc in Maths & Stats (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Mathematical Modelling
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No: 015 962 8280
Email: rendani.netshikweta@univen.ac.za
Office no: G06
Description: My research interest is in mathematical biology, focusing on multiscale modelling of an infectious disease system as a typical example of a complex system. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rendani-Netshikweta-2.
Names: Dr N Ndou
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): Bsc in Maths & Physics (Univen), Hons in Applied Mathematics (Univen), Msc in Applied Mathematics (Univen), PhD in Applied Mathematics (UJ)
Research areas of specialization: Numerical Analysis, Fluid Dynamics and Data Science
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel.No: 015 962 8926
Email: ndivhuwo.ndou@univen.ac.za
Office no: G04
Description: My research focuses on the numerical solution of the partial differential equations (PDEs), particularly the advection-diffusion-reaction equation, with applications in modelling temperature and pollutant concentration. I specialize in developing and analysing numerical methods, including finite difference techniques such as Crank-Nicolson Finite Difference (CNFD), Non-Standard Finite Difference (NSFD), Unconditionally Positive Finite Difference (UPFD), and their high-order extensions. Additionally, I explore the integration of machine learning techniques to enhance numerical accuracy, optimize computational efficiency, and improve predictive modelling of complex physical phenomena. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ndivhuwo-Ndou.
Names: Mr L Tshindane
Position: Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): MSc in mathematical science (UWC), BSc Hons in Applied (Univen), BSc in Maths and Applied Maths (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Financial Mathematics
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel. No: 015 962 9332
Email: londani.tshindane@univen.ac.za
Office No: G02
Description: Option pricing with PDE and Machine Learning.
Names: Mr G Mathivha
Position: Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): BSc Hons in Applied Mathematics (Univen), PGCE(Unisa)
Research areas of specialization: Machine Learning and Financial Mathematics
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel. No: 015 962 8917
Email: thilivhali.mathivha@univen.ac.za
Office No: G12
Description: Current research interests are in forecasting financial time series with higher-order neural networks; and applications of nature-inspired algorithms to optimization problems.
Names: Mr A Mahada
Position: Part-time Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): BSc Honours in Pure Mathematics (Univen), Bachelor of Education(Maths and Physics)
Research areas of specialization: Multi-scale Modelling of Infectious diseases
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Email: Awelani.mahada@univen.ac.za
Office: G14A
Description: Understanding the role of Antibodies and Immune Systems in humans to improve disease preventative measures.
Names: Ms TB Mashamba
Position: Part-time Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): MSc Data Science
Research areas of specialization: Date science, Machine Learning, Data engineering, Automation.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Email: thanganedzo.mashamba@univen.ac.za
Description: I am interested in leveraging advanced machine learning to tackle complex financial challenges, with a focus on risk assessment, fraud mitigation, and intelligent decision-making.
Names: Ms NS Mathivha
Position: Part-time Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): Msc in Business Information Systems (Univen), BSc Hons in Computer Science (Univen), BSc in Computer Science (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Internet Of Things (IoT), oftware Development
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Email: nduvho.mathivha@univen.ac.za
Description: My research interests are in Software Development, Internet of Things, Usability and user experience.
Names: Mr R Sitholimela
Position: Part-time Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): BSc Honours in Computer Science (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Software Engineering,
Machine Learning
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): Email: rendani.sitholimela@univen.ac.za
Description: Interested in exploring the transformation of Software Engineering through Artificial Intelligence to develop intelligent software systems, as well as the development of machine learning systems that perform effectively in resource-constrained environments.
Names: Mr P Rasila
Position: Part-time Junior Lecturer
Qualification(s): MSc Data science (UFS)
Research areas of specialization: Data science, AI, Face recognition
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Email: Phumudzo.rasila@univen.ac.za
Office No: G11A Natural Science Building
Description: I am an MSc Data Science student with a strong passion for artificial intelligence and machine learning. My research focuses on face recognition using deep learning, exploring advanced techniques in computer vision and biometric security. I am eager to apply AI-driven solutions to real-world challenges and contribute to the evolving field of deep learning .
Names: Mr U Anokwuru
Position: Part-time Lecturer
Qualification(s): Msc Computer Science (NWU), Bsc (Hon) in Computer Information Systems
Research areas of specialization: Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain security, Edge Computing and Cyber security
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Email: uchechukwu.anokwuru@univen.ac.za
Office: 12A
Description: N/A
Names: Mr R Netshiomvani
Position: Part-Time Lecturer
Qualification(s): N/A
Research areas of specialization: N/A
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): N/A
Description: N/A
Names: Mr K Madzima
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): K Madzima, BSc (Cuba), MSc (NUST, Zimbabwe), PG Dip (CHE) (RU)
Research areas of specialization: Computer Vision, Cybersecurity, ICT4D
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): Email:
kudakwashe.madzima@univen.ac.za
Description: N/A
Names: Mr N Netshamutshedzi
Position: Part-Time Lecturer
Qualification(s): BSc honours in Applied Mathematics
Research areas of specialization: BioMath
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): N/A
Description: Researching about the elimination infectious disease through vaccination and quarantine.
Position:Part-Time Lecturer
Qualification(s): MSc in e-science(Specializationing in Data Science), BSc Honours in Applied Mathematics, BSc in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
Research areas of specialization: Medical Imaging,Financial Engineering, Machine learning and Data Science.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no): N/A
Description:
Medical imaging and AI: Transformers in 3D medical image analysis,
interpretability of deep learning models in medical imaging and multimodal medical data
analysis.
strong>Financial Engineering and Quantitative Finance: Hybrid modelling of stock
volatility, machine learning applications in finance and risk modelling.
Names:Mr G Dzawo
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s): MSc (NUST, Zimbabwe), PG Dip (CHE) (RU)
Research areas of specialization: Cybersecurity, Machine Learning and Data Science, Computer Science Education.
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: +27 15 962 8179
Email:gilbert.dzawo@univen.ac.za
Office no: G13
Description: I am a researcher with a strong interest in cybersecurity, machine learning, and data science. My work explores the intersection of these fields to create innovative solutions that strengthen digital security. I am also deeply committed to advancing computer science education by developing effective pedagogical strategies.
Names:Mr L Marevhula
Position:Lecturer
Qualification(s):Msc Statistics, Bsc (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Time Series, Forecasting and Official Statistics
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: +27 15 962 8939
Email: Leonard.marevhula@univen.ac.za
Office no: F13
Description:My area of research interest is Time series and Machine learning techniques.
Names :Mr N Soganile
Position:Lecturer
Qualification(s):N Soganile, BSc (Cuba), MSc (NUST, Zimbabwe), PG Dip (CHE) (RU)
Research areas of specialization:Software engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: +27 15 962 8899
Email: ndabezinhle.soganile@univen.ac.za
Office No.: G15
Description: My areas of research are software engineering, with an inclination towards software quality assurance and the development of Ethical Al systems.
Names:Dr B Moyo
Position:Lecturer
Qualification(s): PhD in Computer Science (NWU, ZA), MSc in Computer Science (NUST, ZW)
Research areas of specialization: Systems reliability modelling
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Tel: +27 15 962 8955
Email:benson.moyo@univen.ac.za
Office No.: G16
Description: My area of research interest is systems reliability and machine learning. In today’s ever-evolving technological landscape, ensuring the dependability and robustness of systems is paramount. My research focuses on leveraging machine learning techniques to enhance the reliability and performance of complex systems.
Names: Mr V Tshipuke
Position: Lecturer
Qualification(s):Msc Computer Science (NWU), Bsc Hons in Computer Science (UNIVEN), Bsc Computer Science (Univen)
Research areas of specialization: Internet of Things, ICT4D, Blockchain for security development, Software Development,
Contact details (Tel.No, Email(s), and Office no):
Email: Vahangwele.tshipuke@univen.ac.za
Tel No: 015 962 9434
Office No: G14 Natural Science Building
Description: I am passionate about exploring innovative solutions at the intersection of technology and societal impact. My primary focus lies in the realm of software development, where I delve into cutting-edge methodologies and practices to create robust and efficient software systems.
In addition, I am deeply committed to the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). My research in this area aims to harness the power of technology to address societal challenges, particularly in underserved communities. I am driven by the belief that technology can be a catalyst for positive change and inclusive development.
A significant aspect of my research involves the exploration of Blockchain technology for security applications. Investigating the potential of decentralized and tamper-proof systems, I aim to contribute to the enhancement of cybersecurity measures, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of digital transactions and data.
Furthermore, my interests extend to the dynamic domain of the Internet of Things (IoT). I am intrigued by the possibilities that arise from interconnected devices and systems, seeking to understand how IoT can be leveraged to create smart and efficient solutions in various contexts.