Research Groups
The IFK focuses on seven themes, each championed by a research group: Blockchain and the Cryptoverse (BC), Data Science across Disciplines (DSAD), Decentralised Artificial Intelligence and Control Systems (DAICS), the Future of Diplomacy (FoD), the Future of Health (FoH), Green Futures (GF) and Work of the Future (WoF).
Data Science Across Disciplines
Professor Charis Harley
The purpose of the research group, Data Science Across Disciplines, is to support the educational and intellectual growth of the field of Data Science in the region, and further afield. The Group takes an interdisciplinary approach to both the application of data science and the sense-making theoretical frameworks that shape its development. At the University of Johannesburg, the Group aims to develop much-needed specialist educational programmes at the postgraduate level, to support student skills development and the upskilling of current professionals in the field. Through cutting-edge research, product development, and close collaboration with industry partners and professionals, DSAD drives innovation in Data Science to support UJ as the driver of the 4IR.

Upcoming Events
Ethics in the 4IR
Data Science Across Disciplines 17:00 – 18:30 Thursdays: 3, 10 and 17 August 2023 Register here This webinar series explores the ethical challenges and considerations
4th Annual PG Workshop: Remaking the World through Machine Learning
Data Science Across Disciplines 09:00 – 17:00 Monday, 10 July 2023 – Thursday, 13 July 2023 Register here Message from the organizers The theme of
Ethics and Explainability for Responsible Data Science (EE-RDS) (2022)
Data Science Across Disciplines Wednesday 2 November 2023 Register here Data Science Across Disciplines (DSAD), a research group within the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for
Our People
Pushpendra Kumar
Research Associate
Pushpendra Kumar is a young mathematician from India. He holds a Doctorate from the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. He has published nearly 50 research papers in more than 20 reputed international journals and is listed among the world's top 2% scientists in2023 as announced by Elsevier and Stanford University. His research works are related to the mathematical modelling of various real-world problems, fractional calculus, and computational methods. More specifically, Dr Kumar has done novel work on the modelling of infectious diseases. He is a reviewer for several international journals.
Pushpendra Kumar
Research Associate
Charis Harley
Head of Data Science Across Disciplines
Professor Charis Harley is Head of the Data Science Across Disciplines Research Group at the IFK and 4IR Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at UJ. She is an accomplished researcher in the field of computational mathematics with over 30 articles, experience at a range of elite universities, and multiple research grants. She also has experience in industry as an analyst and quantitative analyst, with practise in data analysis ranging from the use of filters; Auto-Correlation; Principal Component Analysis; Exploratory Data Analysis, to the use of more advanced methods of data analytics.
Charis Harley
Head of Data Science Across Disciplines
Pushpendra Kumar
Research Associate
Pushpendra Kumar is a young mathematician from India. He holds a Doctorate from the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. He has published nearly 50 research papers in more than 20 reputed international journals and is listed among the world's top 2% scientists in2023 as announced by Elsevier and Stanford University. His research works are related to the mathematical modelling of various real-world problems, fractional calculus, and computational methods. More specifically, Dr Kumar has done novel work on the modelling of infectious diseases. He is a reviewer for several international journals.
Pushpendra Kumar
Research Associate
Charis Harley
Head of Data Science Across Disciplines
Professor Charis Harley is Head of the Data Science Across Disciplines Research Group at the IFK and 4IR Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at UJ. She is an accomplished researcher in the field of computational mathematics with over 30 articles, experience at a range of elite universities, and multiple research grants. She also has experience in industry as an analyst and quantitative analyst, with practise in data analysis ranging from the use of filters; Auto-Correlation; Principal Component Analysis; Exploratory Data Analysis, to the use of more advanced methods of data analytics.
Charis Harley
Head of Data Science Across Disciplines
A case study of monkeypox disease in the United States using mathematical modeling with real data
Mathematics and Computers in Simulation Volume 213, 2023 Abstract In this article, we propose the mathematical modeling of monkeypox, a viral zoonotic disease, to study
Some Existence and Uniqueness Results for a Class of Fractional Stochastic Differential Equations
Symmetry Volume 14, 2022 – Issue 11 Abstract Many techniques have been recently used by various researchers to solve some types of symmetrical fractional differential
Role of fractional derivatives in the mathematical modeling of the transmission of Chlamydia in the United States from 1989 to 2019
Nonlinear Dynamics Nowadays, the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases is a big trend worldwide. The mathematical models help us to forecast future outbreaks of diseases
A Novel Study on a Fractional-Order Heat Conduction Model for the Human Head by Using the Least-Squares Method
International Journal of Dynamics and Control Volume 11, 2023 Abstract In this research article, a model of the temperature distribution in the human skull is
Some Novel Mathematical Analysis on the Fractional‐Order 2019‐nCoV Dynamical Model
Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences Volume 46, 2023 – Issue 4 Abstract Since December 2019, the whole world has been facing the big challenge