When stars collide, black holes merge, or massive cosmic explosions occur, they send out fleeting signals, fast transients and gravitational waves, that offer rare windows into the most extreme physics in the universe. The Chair in Fast Transients and Gravitational Wave Counterparts is dedicated to detecting and characterising these signals, deepening scientific understanding of compact binaries and extreme-gravity phenomena. Based in the Department of Astronomy, in the Faculty of Science, the Chair plays a vital role in strengthening the country's contribution to global facilities  and the use of South Africa’s premier astronomical facilities such as the Southern African Large Telescope and the MeerKAT radio array.

Central to the Chair's work is the leadership of facilities such as MeerLICHT and BlackGEM, optical telescopes designed for the rapid detection of gravitational wave counterparts and other transient events. Recent highlights include the first-ever application of large language models, such as Google's Gemini, to identify and characterise astronomical transients in MeerLICHT data, and the best-ever limit on the optical brightness of a one-off fast radio burst, a key proof point for twinning MeerLICHT with the MeerKAT radio array. The Chair has also delivered the 'Flash' telescope, the first UCT-built telescope in decades, commissioned in 2025 and bound for the darker skies of Sutherland in 2026. Through leading roles in international consortia and on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Council, the Chair brings global ties to UCT, while training the postdoctoral researchers and students who will lead South African transient and gravitational wave science into the future.