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The Laboratory of Environmental Technology and Management (LEEM) of the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Crete will host Senior Lecturers Yolandi Schoeman and Jacques Maritz from the University of the Free State, South Africa, on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, at 11:00, in Room K2.A7 of the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.

The two academics are visiting the Technical University of Crete within the framerwork of Erasmus+ mobility programme. The collaboration between the two institutions, which has already been ongoing for several years, is expected to be further strengthened in the coming period.

The lecture titles are:

"Engineering Life at the Edge: African Extreme Ecosystems as Living Laboratories for Ecological Engineering"
Senior Lecturer Yolandi Schoeman

"Novel Data-Driven Techniques to Unravel Complex Systems in Ecological Engineering"
Senior Lecturer Jacques Maritz

Yolandi Schoeman

Yolandi is a globally recognized sustainability professional with key experience in the agricultural and agro-processing, tourism, water, textile, green economy, bio-economy, research and development, mining, heavy manufacturing and engineering sectors. She has innovated and contributed to world-class sustainability and planetary health-related innovations and solutions specifically in the USA, Europe, Russia, Australia, and Africa. Affiliated with the Centre for Mineral Biogeochemistry and the Ecological Engineering Institute of Africa, she is a pioneering researcher recognized globally for her work in sustainability, nature-based solutions, and bio-intelligent ecosystems. She heads the Ecological Engineering Innovations Lab (focused on nature-based solutions) and the Yolandi Schoeman Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (focused on micro-enterprise ecosystems). She is a Brightest Young Minds (a University of Stellenbosch initiative) and Austrian Leadership Programme (ALPS 18) alumni and an awardee of the Mail and Guardian's Young South Africans (2015), SEED, Inspiring Fifty, Green City Startup and Eco-Logic initiatives. She was also the Global Cleantech Innovation Program – South Africa (GCIP-SA) winner in 2016 and the GCIP-Global runner-up in 2017, Silicon Valley, San Francisco. In addition, with the Pretoria East Urban Biosphere Reserve project she was awarded as runner up in the World Green Cities Awards, 2024.

Yolandi holds a master's degree in environmental management (University of the Free State) and in integrated water management (Monash University) and completed her PhD at the University of the Free State in mid-2022. She completed a second PhD in Economic and Management Sciences at the North-West University in 2025. Her track record includes developing global solutions, understanding human-nature connections, delivering service excellence, creating entrepreneurial ecosystems and building networks that continue to play a critical role in advancing planetary health. She also specializes in nexus accounting and deciphering coupled human and natural systems and regularly publishes in international journals to advance her fields of impact. In 2025 she was selected as a research scientist on the Spaceward Bound 2025 research expedition. Yolandi is a registered Professional Natural Scientist and Environmental Assessment Practitioner. She also holds an NRF rating.

Key Research & Institutional Roles

• Terrestrial Regeneration: Creating nature-based solutions to rehabilitate severely damaged landscapes, such as post-mining environments.
• Bio-Intelligent Systems: Pioneering urban ecological frameworks, notably leading the bio-intelligent approach for the Tshwane SA Biosphere Reserve project.
• Astro-Ecological Engineering: Collaborating on life-support systems and exploring extreme environments on Earth to design future space habitats. She was selected as the African Expedition Scientist for the NASA-supported Spaceward Bound expedition to Ladakh

Jacques Maritz

Dr. Jacques Maritz is a prominent Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Engineering Sciences within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa. He specializes in applying statistical physics and machine learning to analyze large, complex systems. His academic and research footprint spans energy modeling, astrophysics, and green economy initiatives.

Key Research & Institutional Roles

• UFS Grid Related Research Group (GRRG): He leads this specialized group, which focuses on a data-driven approach to analyzing large, complex infrastructures, specifically utilizing the UFS microgrid as a primary testing model.
• Major International Grant (2025): Dr. Maritz joined a world-class team that secured a prominent £499,258 (approx. R11.5 million) research grant funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) organization. Alongside top international and local scientists, his work under this grant focuses on the groundbreaking statistical analysis and optimization of South Africa's power grid challenges.
• Green Economy & Sustainability Interventions: He serves as an academic advisor for the UFS Interdisciplinary Centre. He has spear-headed green partnership initiatives like the "U-teach" and "Green Index" projects, aiming to bridge the gap between higher education and industry to reduce carbon footprints.
• Research Focus: His core topics listed on his Google Scholar Profile and ResearchGate involve complexity science, energy AI, power systems, phase-angle fluctuations, and ecological engineering.