Sebastian Skatulla

Sebastian Skatulla serves as Professor and Director of the Polar Engineering Research Group (PERG) and Computational Continuum Mechanics Research Group (CCM) within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town. He additionally holds the position of Director of Social Responsiveness for the department, bridging academic work with community engagement initiatives.

His academic credentials include a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Adelaide (2007) and a Diplom Bau-Ingenieur (TH) from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (2003). These qualifications underpin his interdisciplinary approach spanning civil engineering, polar science, and biomedical applications.

Research focuses on Antarctic ice dynamics (shelf and sea ice), where he leads National Research Foundation (NRF) South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) field campaigns including data collection on the Fimbul Ice Shelf. Complementary work explores cardiac mechanics specifically targeting rheumatic heart disease applications, alongside fundamental multiscale computational methods. This integration of polar environmental systems and biomedical engineering demonstrates unique cross-disciplinary innovation.

Professor Skatulla serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (ISCCBE), the Scientific Council of the International Centre for Mechanical Sciences (CISM), and editorial boards for Archive of Applied Mechanics and Mathematical and Computational Applications. Previously, he served as President of the South African Association for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (SAAM) from 2016 to 2021.

He actively supervises research through PERG, CCM, and the Structural Engineering and Mechanics Research Group (SEM), while teaching undergraduate courses in engineering mechanics and postgraduate courses in advanced materials mechanics and finite element modeling. His NRF SANAP project represents significant grant leadership in Antarctic research.