Annie Bekker discovered her passion for structural vibration as a third-year mechanical engineering student at Stellenbosch University. She went on to complete a master's degree in dynamic seat comfort for Ford Motor Company and a PhD investigating the thresholds of bone fracture in vehicle occupants during mine blast events for ARMSCOR. In industry, she worked as technical lead in noise, vibration and harshness for Optimal Energy, helping develop South Africa's in-house electric car, the Joule. Annie joined the Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University in July 2011 and was promoted to Professor in 2020. A keen test engineer, she has led multi-sensor measurement campaigns aboard polar research vessels including the SA Agulhas II and Germany's Polarstern, applying sensing, analytics and digital twin technology to inform decision-making on operational assets. Annie currently holds two research chairs: the Gibela Engineering Research Chair, awarded in 2023 to drive niche condition monitoring technologies for South Africa's new passenger trains, and the DSTF/SAIMI SARChI Chair in Naval Architecture and Design, awarded in 2025 to leverage research expertise from the SA Agulhas II toward post-graduate training for South African boating and shipping. She also leads V.7, a specialist committee on Structural Assessment in Operation for the 2028 International Committee of Ships and Offshore Structures.