Maarten de Wit is one of Africa’s most distinguished earth scientists whose research interests span geodynamics, tectonics and stratigraphy, early earth processes and the evolution of the Gondwana supercontinent.
Despite his European birth, he has become an ambassador for the entire continent. His promotion of the ‘Africa Alive Corridors’ programme is inspirational, as it embraces science, culture, landscape in a positive, educational, pan-African context and is a genuine attempt to embrace all African society.
He is Philipson Stow Professor of Mineralogy and Geology, University of Cape Town, 1989-present and was Founder and first Director, Centre for Interactive Graphical Computing of Earth Systems (CIGCES), University of Cape Town. He is also Director, Africa Earth Observatory Network (AEON).