Prof Jan Reynders, president of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineering (SAIEE), passed away on 16 April 2025 at the age of 84.
Reynders was the former dean of engineering and head of the school of electrical, electronic & computer engineering at Wits University.
“He made a huge contribution to South Africa, to the electrical engineering profession, and to the many students and colleagues who passed through his department and faculty at Wits University,” Chris Yelland, an energy analyst and MD of EE Business Intelligence, wrote in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.
“I have nothing but the very finest memories of Prof Jan Reynders as a professional, a scholar, a teacher and a friend,” Yelland said.
Beyond his work as an educator, Reynders contributed to the field of electrical engineering by publishing more than 120 papers on various topics, including current waveforms, dielectric surfaces and capacitive reactance, and more.
Reynders earned his PhD in electrical engineering from Wits in 1986 and later went on to serve as dean in the 1990s. He pioneered the establishment of the Wits high-voltage laboratory in the 1980s and advanced research in gas-insulated switchgear in South Africa.
‘Respected’
As part of the Johannesburg Lightning Research Laboratory, which was founded in 1992, Reynders made significant contributions to addressing problems caused by lightning on power and telecommunications systems.
He will be remembered by those he taught as a towering but humble intellect who showed a keen interest in helping students understand the fundamentals of their academic work.
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“A distinguished academic, teacher and leader, Prof Reynders left an indelible mark on the field of high-voltage engineering and the Wits community. He was deeply respected by all those he encountered, and was particularly loved and respected by his students,” Wits said in a statement. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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