Prof Brian van Soelen, University of the Free State
Prof Brian van Soelen is an astrophysicist with a PhD from the University of the Free State (2012). His primary research focuses on high energy gamma-ray sources, particularly gamma-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei, including how synergy can be formed between optical and gamma-ray observations. He is a member of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) Collaboration, the operating body for the world’s most sensitive high energy telescope. Prof van Soelen’s work is support by NRF Thuthuka funding, as well as the NRF Competitive Support for Unrated Researchers (2019–2020). He currently holds a Y1 NRF rating.