Rueben Pfukwa is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science at Stellenbosch University. He did his training at Stellenbosch University and at Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands, before being appointed at Stellenbosch University. He has received several awards, including Harry Crossley, Marie Curie, Erasmus+ and US-Africa Frontiers Fellowships, as well as a NRF-Y2 Rating, and several NRF Research grants. He is also part of Stellenbosch University’s SUNRISE program (cohort 1), as well as the DHET FPP (cohort 4). He leads the Polymer Materials Lab, a dynamic research group working at the intersection of polymer chemistry and materials engineering.