UKZN Academic Elected Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers

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UKZN’s Professor Saneshan Govender has been elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

The high achieving Professor, who is extremely passionate about engineering, has received many accolades during his career but is especially proud of his ASME achievement.

‘This recognition leaves me with a warm feeling and a true sense of achievement,’ said Govender.

Prior to joining UKZN in 2000, Govender worked at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for five years during which time he focused predominantly on Aircraft Gas Turbines and Computational Fluid Dynamics.  The need to share his expert knowledge in the field led him to UKZN in 2000, where he felt he would be able to make a meaningful contribution to the development of aspiring engineering students.

Govender is also proud of the recognition he received in 2001 when he was the recipient of the Conference Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.  This award was an outstanding achievement for Govender and thereafter he was appointed as associate professor at UKZN and full professor in 2005.

The choice to leave the University in 2007 was a difficult one, however, he felt a pressing need to make a contribution to industry and he joined Eskom as Chief Engineer Gas, getting involved in the design of gas, coal, solar and wind plants.

In 2008 he obtained his Doctor of Engineering from the University of Pretoria.  Between 2012 to 2014 he published three books aimed at practising engineers and scientists with topics covered including coal, gas, wind and solar CSP plants. In addition he has published 44 articles in leading international journals as well as 18 conference papers and has presented lectures at institutes all over the world.

Govender, who is still employed by Eskom as Corporate Specialist Gas Turbines and Thermo-flow Systems, holds the position of Honorary Professor at UKZN.

 Prashina Kallideen