Prof Gerard Germs
Gerard JB Germs obtained his BSc (cum laude) and MSc (with honours) in Geology in the Netherlands, and his PhD in Geology at the University of Cape Town (1972). Germs was employed as Postgraduate Researcher at the University of California Santa Barbara, USA, Senior Geologist at the SA Geological Survey in Windhoek, Namibia, and as Specialist Sedimentologist at JCI Mining Co Research and Development in Johannesburg. After his retirement from the mining industry, he worked as a private consultant, partly for an offshore company in the Amazon forest. Presently Germs’ main interest is the Neoproterozoic to early Proterozoic geology of SW Gondwana, and he has published widely on this subject. The fossil, Swartpuntia germsi, is named after him in recognition of his work.

Prof Duncan Miller
Affiliate Professor Duncan Miller has PhDs in Engineering and Science, both from the University of Cape Town. His academic career has included research into Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change, rock drilling with impregnated diamond bits, tribology of high-temperature ceramics, the archaeometallurgy of African mining and metal production, and the mineralogy of obscure rocks like the Barberton Bon Accord body (in collaboration with Prof Marian Tredoux). He is also a practising gemmologist and a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.

Prof Robert Schouwstra
Prof Robert Schouwstra is an internationally-recognised expert and leader in the field of process mineralogy and geometallurgy. He has over 30 years of experience within the field, which covers academia, parastatal research, and industry, culminating in his appointment as the Head of Minerals and Process Research at the Anglo American Research facility in Johannesburg. He currently consults in a private capacity to international companies and organisations. He has more than 50 publications and conference abstracts, and has delivered several keynote presentations at international conferences. His main research interests are process mineralogy, forensic mineralogy, and geometallurgy.