The University of Cape Town is flexing its research muscles again – this time with two of its star scholars landing prestigious SARChI chairs to tackle two of the world’s biggest challenges: climate change and artificial intelligence.

Professor Babatunde Abiodun, a climate science heavyweight, now holds the chair in Ocean and Atmospheric Modelling. He’s using cutting-edge tools – including machine learning – to better predict extreme weather in Africa and understand how climate shifts affect everything from crops to coastlines. His mission? Make Africa a key player in global climate resilience talks while training the next generation of weather wizards.

On the tech side, Professor Tommie Meyer has been appointed SARChI Chair in Symbolic AI. While the world obsesses over mysterious AI black boxes, Meyer is pushing for logic-based systems that are actually explainable—so we can understand how machines make decisions. Think ethical AI for healthcare, law and more, where transparency isn’t just nice to have, it’s non-negotiable.

These appointments reinforce UCT’s standing as a leader in both climate and AI research. With 25 SARChI chairs in total, UCT is shaping smarter, fairer futures – one research breakthrough at a time.