Office of the Vice-Chancellor of the NWU

Bismark Tyobeka

Prof Bismark Tyobeka is the principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU

Bismark Tyobeka

Prof Bismark Tyobeka during his inaugural address on 26 August 2022

Prof Bismark Tyobeka paving the way – The NWU Way

Prof Bismark Tyobeka, one of the leading nuclear power experts in the world, started his term as principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU on 1 June 2022.

He has had a long and fruitful association with his alma mater since starting his studies at the former University of North-West in the 1990s.

Prof Tyobeka was elected the fifth chairperson of the NWU Council in 2017 and reappointed for a second term in November 2020. He had been a member of the NWU Council since November 2014.

As chairperson of the NWU Council, he oversaw the successful restructuring of the NWU to a unitary model to accelerate institutional transformation.

He was also honoured with an NWU Alumni Award of Excellence in 2013 for his personal and career achievements, in particular his significant contribution to nuclear science across the world.

Illustrious career in science

Prof Tyobeka has held the position of CEO of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) of South Africa since 2013, and plays a major role in various initiatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

His contribution in the global arena includes serving in the IAEA’s International Advisory Committees on Nuclear Safety (INSAG) and as vice-chairperson of both the International Nuclear Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) and the Forum for Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA).

Despite his international prominence, Prof Tyobeka has not forgotten his roots and retained strong ties with the university and many of its former students who now work in various fields, including the nuclear power industry in South Africa.

An avid student and scientist, he obtained BSc (Ed) (1999) and MSc (2001) degrees at the former University of North West, and in 2004 earned a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering at Penn State University in the USA.
In 2005, he obtained a third master’s degree, this time in project management, at the Colorado Technical University in the USA, and in 2007, his PhD in Nuclear Engineering at Penn State University.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of the NNR, Prof Tyobeka worked as a nuclear engineer at the IEEA in Austria. From 2002 to 2007, he worked at Penn State University as a senior reactor physicist, and from 2000 to 2002 he held the same position at Eskom.

South Africa is proud to have contributed to Prof Tyobeka’s formidable skills and appreciative of his commitment to the NWU.

Qualifications

Graduate School of Business - University of Cape Town: Executive Development Programme 2015
Penn State University - Doctor of Philosophy (Nuclear Engineering) 2007
Colorado Technical University - Master of Science in Management (Project Management) 2005
Penn State University - Master of Science (Nuclear Engineering) 2004
University of North West - M.Sc. Applied Radiation Science and Technology 2000
University of North West - B.Sc. (Ed) 1998

Publications

Dr Tyobeka has been author and co-author of several academic articles and has travelled all over the world to present papers at international conferences.

N Haneklaus, E Schnug, H Tulsidas, B Tyobeka - Using high-temperature gas-cooled reactors for greenhouse gas reduction and energy-neutral production of phosphate fertilizers – Journal -Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2015

Frederik Reitsma, Gerhard Strydom, Bismark M. Tyobeka, Kostadin N. Ivanov, The IAEA Coordinated Research Program on HTGR Reactor Physics, Thermal-hydraulics and Depletion Uncertainty Analysis: Description of the Benchmark Test Cases and Phases, HTR2012-5-024, Proceedings of HTR 2012, Tokyo, Japan, October 28 - November 1, 2012

B. Tyobeka, Improving the Safety and Economics of Nuclear Power through High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors in the Post-Fukushima Era: Proceedings at the International Conference on Advances in Nuclear Science and Engineering, 14 - 18 November 2011, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

B. Tyobeka, A. Pautz, and K. Ivanov, Application of Time-Dependent Neutron Transport Theory to High-Temperature Reactors of Pebble Bed Type, Journal of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Vol 168, pp 93-114, July 2011

B. Tyobeka, F. Reitsma and K. Ivanov- IAEA Proposed Coordinated Research Program on HTGR Reactor Physics, Thermal-hydraulics and Depletion Uncertainty Analysis Proceedings of the International Conference on High-Temperature Reactor Technology, Prague, Czech Republic, 17 22 October 2010

F. Reitsma and B. Tyobeka, Current Status and Results of the Pebble-Box Benchmark within the framework of the IAEA CRP5 Benchmark, Proceedings of the PHYSOR-2010 International Conference, Pittsburgh, USA, May 9 - 14, 2010

B. Tyobeka, Benchmarking construction technologies: drawing experiences from recent nuclear projects to ensure best practice, Proceedings of the 2nd Nuclear Build Construction Challenges Conference, London, UK, March 9 - 10, 2010

B. Tyobeka, A. Pautz, K. Ivanov, Systematic Qualification of the Coupled Neutron Transport and Thermal-Hydarulics Code DORT-TD/THERMIX, Proceedings 4th International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology, Washington DC, USA, September 28 - October 1, 2008.

Pautz, B. Tyobeka, K. Ivanov, Application of Time-Dependent Neutron Transport Theory to High-Temperature Reactors of Pebble Bed Type, Proceedings of the PHYSOR-2008 International Conference, Interlaken, Switzerland, September 14-19, 2008

B. Tyobeka, A. Pautz, K. Ivanov, DORT-TD/THERMIX solutions for the OECD/NEA/NSC PBMR400 MW coupled neutronics thermal hydraulics transient benchmark, Proceedings of PHYSOR-2008 International Conference, Interlaken, Switzerland, September 14-19, 2008

Bismark Tyobeka, Kostadin Ivanov and Andreas Pautz Analysis of PBMR transients using a coupled neutron transport/thermalhydraulics code DORT-TD/THERMIX, Proceedings of the International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants May 13-18, 2007, Nice Acropolis, France

Bismark Tyobeka, Kostadin Ivanov and Andreas Pautz - Evaluation of PBMR control rod worths using full three-dimensional deterministic transport methods, Journal paper - Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2007,

Bismark Tyobeka, Kostadin Ivanov and Andreas Pautz Utilization of Two-Dimensional Deterministic Transport Methods for Analysis of Pebble Bed Reactors, Journal paper - Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol 35, 5, pp.396-405(May 2007)

Bismark Tyobeka, Kostadin Ivanov and Andreas Pautz DORT-TD/THERMIX: A Time- Dependent Neutron Transport Theory Code Coupled with Thermal Hydraulics and its Applications for the PBMR 268 MW Design - Abstract published in the Transactions of American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting, November 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico

F.Reitsma, G. Strydom, J.B.M. de Haas, K. Ivanov, B. Tyobeka, R. Mphahlele, T.J. Downar, V. Seker, H.D. Gougar, D.F. Da Cruz and U.E. Sikik The PBMR steady-state and coupled kinetics core thermal-hydraulics benchmark test problems, Journal Nuclear Science and Engineering Vol 236 pp 657-668 (March 2006)

Bismark Tyobeka, Kostadin Ivanov and Andreas Pautz Utilization of Deterministic Transport Methods for Analysis of High Temperature Reactors Full Paper Proceedings of the PHYSOR2006 Conference, September 2006 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Hans Gougar, Bismark Tyobeka, Frederik Reitsma, and Kostadin Ivanov - Consistent Assessment of PBMR Core and Cycle Analysis Codes through a Set of Multi- Dimensional Numerical Test Problems Full paper Proceedings of the PHYSOR 2006 Conference, September 2006 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Javier Ortensi, Hans Gougar, Peter Mkhabela, James Han, Bismark Tyobeka, Kostadin Ivanov PBMR 400 coupled code benchmark: Challenges and Success with the NEM- THERMIX computer code system – Full Paper published in the Transactions of the American Nuclear Society 2006 Annual Meeting, Reno, Nevada, USA, June 2006

F. Reitsma, J.B.M. de Haas, B. Tyobeka, K. Ivanov and D.F. Da Cruz PBMR Steady State and Coupled Kinetics Core Thermal-Hydraulics Test Problems - Published in the Transactions of American Nuclear Society, 2004 Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, USA

T. Downar, and D. Lee K. Ivanov, B. Tyobeka, and R. Mphahlele - Development of Advanced Multi-Dimensional Coupled-Code Computational Capability for Design and Safety Analysis of NGNP – Published in the Transactions of American Nuclear Society, Annual Meeting 2004, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

B.Tyobeka, K. Ivanov: Coupled neutronics/thermalhydraulic calculations for the safety analysis of the PBMR, Published in the Transactions of American Nuclear Society, 2004 Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, USA

B.Tyobeka, K. Ivanov: Coupled neutronics/thermalhydraulic calculations for the safety analysis of the PBMR, Proceedings of the PHYSOR2004 Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA