Dr Jacobus Diener attended Stellenbosch University for his undergraduate and postgraduate studies, earning a PhD in 2012. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute for Theoretical Physics, South Africa, he joined Botswana International University of Science & Technology (BIUST) in 2016. His research interests are magnetized dense nuclear matter as it applies to the neutron star interior. While his research is broadly theoretical, it is underpinned and aligned to support experimental and observational efforts to better understand natural phenomena. He has a strong interest in Physics education and teaching, both in terms of practice and policy. He is also very interested in ways to communicate science to the general public.