Dirk de Villiers is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and was the SARChI Research Chair in Antenna Systems for the SKA until 2025. He completed his undergraduate and PhD studies at Stellenbosch University, and also worked as Post-Doctoral fellow there when he was awarded a South African SKA project post-doctoral fellowship in 2009.

He is an NRF-rated internationally acclaimed researcher, working on antenna systems for radio astronomy as well as high-power passive microwave devices for industrial applications. His specific focus over the last several years has been on reflector antenna and feed design for high-precision radio astronomy, and he has contributed in the reflector and feed designs of the MeerKAT, SKA, ngVLA, and HIRAX telescopes. His distinctions include the Stellenbosch University Chancellor’s Medal (2007), multiple Dean’s and Vice-Rector’s awards for research excellence, and in 2022 was awarded the Harold A. Wheeler Applications Paper Prize for the best applications paper published in the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and URSI, and served as chair and vice-chair of the South African IEEE AP/MTT/EMC Chapter (2016–2023). In 2024, he was appointed inaugural chair of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Technical Committee 12: Space. He serves on international advisory and organizing committees for several IEEE and other conferences, and is General Chair of the 2027 edition of the IEEE International Microwave and Antennas Symposium (IMAS2027).