It is with gratitude and excitement we announce that Dr Johan Heyns will be joining the Ex Mente Technologies team from the 1st of August 2020. We are grateful because our team can keep on growing and becoming stronger, despite the impact of COVID-19 in our industry and the worldwide economy. We are excited because Johan has been a colleague and friend for several years, and we share many of the same values and dreams for the future. Johan’s main focus will be to head up, strengthen, and grow our multiphysics modelling team.

After completing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stellenbosch University, Johan started his career at the CSIR. He built up extensive experience in fluid flow problems and numerical algorithm implementation. His knowledge and expertise with OpenFOAM is an excellent fit at Ex Mente since we use this open-source toolkit extensively to describe and study high-temperature processes and equipment.

More recently, Johan has been working on portfolio optimisation in the financial sector, which confirms the versatility of a strong, fundamental engineering background, and keen analytical and problem-solving skills. We are happy to welcome him back to engineering, though, this time in pyrometallurgy. High-temperature processes are certain to present fresh challenges to Johan, and he is sure to bring different perspectives to our team and our methods.

We are looking forward to advancing through insight with your contributions, Johan. Welcome to the team.