Mark Alexander is Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering and a Senior Research Scholar in the University of Cape Town. He teaches and researches in cement and concrete materials engineering, with experience in fundamental and applied research relating to design and construction.

He is part of the leadership of CoMSIRU at UCT, where work is being done on problems of marine concrete durability, amongst others. Professor Alexander has published extensively both in South Africa and abroad; he is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher (NRF-B).

Professor Alexander is a Past President of RILEM, an international organisation concerned with research in materials and structures, and President of the Concrete Society of Southern Africa for the period 2018–2020. He acts as a specialist consultant on concrete materials and related problems.