Deon’s career started at NECSA (1979), which stimulated his research interest. This led to 35 years in various roles in Higher Education, which developed into a well-balanced mix of Teaching, industrial R&D, Academic Management, Institutional Research Development and Management, innovation and Commercialisation, Local Innovation Systems Development, and Technology Transfer to Industry. Deon is an NRF C-rated researcher and a member of ASSAF.

Deon's sabbatical in 1995, dedicated to Additive Manufacturing research at the Council for Scientific and Industrial research (CSIR), was a turning point in his career. His research project not only laid the foundation for the Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing (CRPM), Product Development Technology Station (PDTS), and FabLab at CUT but also ignited a series of government-funded initiatives to advance AM in South Africa. His work has been instrumental in facilitating knowledge transfer to other local universities and industries, thereby fostering the growth of AM in the country.

Deon participated in the development of the South African Additive Manufacturing Road map and the final South African Additive Manufacturing Strategy for the National Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and its implementation programme - the Collaborative Programme on Additive Manufacturing (CPAM). He initiated a collaboration to establish sub-programmes in AM of Platinum Group metals (PGMs) and AM for Industry within CPAM, which DSI funds. While at VUT, he initiated the development of the Advanced Manufacturing Precinct and the associated Southern Gauteng Science and Technology Park through a Rapid Appraisal of Local Innovation Systems (RALIS) approach, which identified local/regional industry needs and shortcomings that could be supported by existing or future university research development. At NWU, he also started AM activities, focusing on applications in engineering, biomaterials, occupational health & safety, and platinum-group metals (PGMs) as part of a provincial economic/scientific development strategy. Deon led the NWU team that initiated the Innovation Highway™ - a regional development initiative, which, amongst others, led to the establishment of PLATFORUM™, an innovation and incubation initiative that promotes value addition to the PGM-group metals through additive manufacturing, and the 3D Printing Institute (3DPI), currently funded by an EUREKA grant for a Ceramics and Metal Multi-Material medical implant (CMMMed) development within CRPM.

Deon's commitment to Additive Manufacturing extends beyond his professional achievements. He is driven by a personal objective to continuously promote and educate about AM in South Africa and beyond. His aim is to stimulate industry growth and competitiveness, a testament to his unwavering passion and dedication to the field. 

He firmly believes that excellence is not because of one’s initiatives only but also through “Standing on the shoulders of Giants” – an expression that he learned from his late DTech supervisor, Dr Neville Comins, who opened the door to AM for him at the CSIR when he was desperately looking for a Doctorate research project. He learned later that the expression originated from Sir Isaac Newton, who mentioned, "If I have seen further, it was through standing on the shoulders of giants”. As a research professor, Deon believes that achievement is through a team approach, and his most important task is to offer his shoulders to support new generations and see further and think beyond…

Soli Deo Glora

Uploaded: 15 May 2024