Omphile is a PhD candidate at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She studies Super Massive Black Hole mergers using the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.
She obtained a BSc in Physics through the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS). She then completed her BSc (Honours) and Masters in Astrophysics through the National Astrophysics and Space Science Program at the North-West University node. Her time at the institute allowed her to work at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy (HartRAO) observatory (near Johannesburg), the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS; Namibia) as well as remote observations using the KM3Net Neutrino telescope situated at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
Besides stargazing, she also enjoys African ethnoastronomy. Robert Heinlein once said “When one teaches, two learn” and these are the words Omphile lives by through her passion for community engagement and teaching.