Paul Beukes is a full professor in chemistry at the North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom, South Africa. He received his PhD (Chemistry) in 1999 from the then Pothefstroom University for CHE. Paul worked in the metallurgical industry for almost a decade after completing his PhD, holding various senior positions such a production manager and operations manager at large ferrochromium smelters. In late 2007 he returned to academia and is currently co-managing the Atmospheric Chemistry Research (ACRG) and Chromium Technology groups (CTG) at the NWU.