Prof. Cristina Trois is a director at the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), Stellenbosch University. She is also the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)/National Research Foundation (NRF) South African Research Chair in Waste and Climate Change (Tier 1) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, since 2018. Full Professor in Environmental Engineering, she served as Dean of the School of Engineering at UKZN from 2012 to 2018, and Head of Department/Chair of Civil Engineering, Land Surveying and Construction Management from 2008 to 2012. Since January 2022, she serves as Acting Director of the (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) WASH R&D Centre at UKZN.

She holds a degree in Environmental Engineering (summa cum laude) and a PhD in Geo and Environmental Engineering from the University of Cagliari, Italy. Prof. Trois is a C1-rated researcher (Internationally recognized) with the National Research Foundation (NRF) and a Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of Italy.

Her main fields of expertise are: Environmental and Civil Engineering, Waste Management and Climate Change, Sustainable Cities, Waste and Resources Management, Bioenergy, Green and bio-Hydrogen, Waste to Energy, Biogas, Water/Wastewater Engineering, Systems Modelling and Decision-support tools, Renewable Energy from waste and GHGs control from zero waste in Africa and developing countries, Circular Economy.

She developed and coordinated the Master Programme in Environmental Engineering (2001-2011) and the first Master Programme in Waste and Resources Management in South Africa (2018 to date). She has graduated over 120 postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Prof Trois is author of over 130 peer-reviewed publications in ISI-rated journals, conference proceedings, including chapters in books and mono-series. Series Editor for Springer (Nature) for the Series “Waste as a Resource”, Co-editor of the book “Waste Management in Developing Countries” for Springer (Nature), she is in the editorial/review panel of several leading ISI Scientific Journals and actively collaborates with recognised national and international Institutions.

Chair of the joint secretariat for the Southern Africa Region of the UN-IPLA Programme (International Partnership for advancing waste management services of local authorities) and the IWWG (International Waste Working Group), she is Fellow of the Global Engineering Dean’s Council and active member of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies. She is also co-PI in two communities of practice funded by the NRF and the Presidential Commission for Climate Change: CoP Waste and Resources Management (Waste to Value) with UCT, UWC and UKZN and CoP “Climate Change Research in Collaboration with Society” with UCT and WITS.

Prof. Trois has over 25 years of international experience in Environmental Sanitary Engineering and has been the principal investigator as well as the project coordinator of many multi-million Rand feasibility and RDI waste and resources management projects in South Africa, Africa and around the world. She is the developer of the WROSE^TM Model (Waste to Resource Optimisation and Scenario Evaluation), an innovative Decision-Support Tool for local authorities and industry, and advisor for the Just Energy and Decarbonisation Transition, waste and climate change, waste to energy projects to the South African Government and international governmental agencies.

First woman to become full Professor and Dean of Engineering in the history of UKZN, in 2019 she was bestowed the title of Dame of the Italian Republic (Order of the Star of Italy) by the President of the Italian Republic for her outstanding contribution to the development of research and human capital in Africa. Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE) since 2015, she was inducted as Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) in 2019. In 2016, she was the first runner up in the Distinguished Women in Science Awards by the DSI. As a dedicated scholar and researcher of international standing, in 2022, UKZN honoured her as Fellow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

As global engineering leader, Prof. Trois is the co-founder of the RISE (Rising to the Top) Women Leadership Academy, under the aegis of the Global Secretariat of the International Federation of the Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC).