Pieter Cilliers Pretorius is joining the PMG

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, as well as your academic background?

My name is Cilliers Pretorius. I come from the sunny shores of South Africa. I completed my master's degree in computer science in 2024, at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. There, my work was focused on the modelling of natural scenes for computer graphics, in particular looking at the interaction between a volcanic plume and the cloudscape around it. I also worked on developing software for scientific data analysis (with a focus on astronomy) and was heavily involved with the development of the open-source iDaVIE tool.

Why did you choose to pursue a PhD?

I want to pursue a career in academia, specifically in teaching and lecturing, having had a taste of it during my master's studies. I found it tremendously fulfilling and rewarding, and a PhD was the logical next step when the opportunity arose. UiB offered a tremendous opportunity to broaden my horizons, both as an academic and researcher, and as a chance to experience a different world from what I've had before.

Your PhD project is part of the Time₄CO₂ project. Can you tell us a little bit about your project?

The Time₄CO₂ project aims to address some of the current shortcomings in modelling geological CO₂ storage in saline aquifers. My work will focus on improving the numerical simulations, in particular looking at anisotropic dispersion and convective mixing. This is important to understand the long-term behaviours of geologic reservoirs and determine the maximum capacity that these reservoirs might hold for CO₂ storage.