Prof Andriëtte Bekker

Professor Andriëtte Bekker is an emeritus professor and was Head of the Department of Statistics in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria from July 2012 to February 2022. She hold BSc (Mathematical Sciences), BSc Honours (Mathematical Statistics), MSc (Mathematical Statistics) degrees - all of them obtained Cum Laude. She is  a recipient of the S2A3 medal from the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science. She also received her PhD in Mathematical Statistics and a Higher Education Diploma. Professor Bekker is internationally recognised for her contribution to the field of multivariate and matrix variate distribution theory. Her expertise furthermore includes directional statistics, model-based clustering, and graphical network modelling. She has published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers in fundamental statistical research and has edited books featuring innovations in multivariate statistical modelling, advances in modern statistical computation and methodology, and environmental modelling, with particular emphasis on contemporary statistical learning, directionality, and spatial analysis. She is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute and the academic research leader of the Statistical Theory and Applied Statistics focus area within the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. In 2023, the University of Pretoria recognised her work, bestowing upon her the 2023 Exceptional Academic Achiever’s Award. In 2024, she received a fellowship from the South African Statistical Association, recognising her exceptional contributions to the advancement of statistical science and her significant impact on the statistics community. In 2024, she was rated by the NRF as a researcher of international standing