Noble Banadda
Noble Banadda (born c.1975) is a Ugandan biosystems engineer, researcher and academic, who is a Professor of Biosystems Engineering at Makerere University, Uganda's largest and oldest public university. He was appointed as a full professor in 2012 at age 37, the youngest person in the history of the university to attain full professorship.[1]
Professor Noble Banadda | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975 (age 44–45) |
| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Citizenship | Ugandan |
| Alma mater | Sokoine University of Agriculture (Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology) Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Master of Science in Process Engineering) (Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Post-doctoral fellowship) |
| Occupation | Biosystems engineer, researcher and academic |
| Years active | 2003—present |
| Title | Head of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Makerere University |
Early life and education
Banadda was born in Kampala, Uganda's capital city on May 14, 1975. After attending local primary and secondary schools, he was admitted to Sokoine University of Agriculture, in Morogoro, Tanzania, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology.[1]
His Master of Science degree in Process Engineering, together with his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemical Engineering, were both obtained from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Leuven, Belgium. Later he studied in a post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the United States.[1][2]
He was the first sub-Saharan African person to graduate with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit-Leuven in Belgium.[1]. Banadda is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.[3].
Career
Banadda has had a trailblazing scientific career. He was hired by Makerere University, serving in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. As of November 2018, he is the head of that department. In 2012, he made full professor at age 37.[1]
Noble is Next Einstein Fellowship Laurate (https://nef.org/fellow/noble-banadda); Oliver Reginald Tambo Research Chair at Makerere University (https://www.nrf.ac.za/division/funding/or-tambo-africa-research-chairs-initiative-transforming-african-research-landscape); honored young scientist at the World Economic Forum; Alumni of the Global Young Academy (2013 -2018) (https://globalyoungacademy.net/noble-banadda/); fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences; Member of the Makerere University Senate; Adjunct Professor at Iowa State University (USA) (https://www.engineering.iastate.edu/people/affiliation/faculty/page/5/); Research Fellow at University of Cambridge (UK).
His research focus areas are in the biosystems engineering field and include mathematic modeling of biological systems and interactions. His goal is to create value-added products from solid biowaste resources.[1]
Other consideration
Banadda is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Makerere University. He is favorably cited with an H-Index of 27 and has thus far published research findings in over 190 peer-reviewed journal Scientific publications.[2]
In November 2018, he was selected as the winner of the 2018 Pius XI Medal Award. "The Pius XI Medal is a global award given every two years by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to a scientist under the age of 45, who has conducted and shown exceptional promise in scientific research". He is the first African to receive this award since it was established on 1939.[1][4].
References
- Lirri, Evelyn (14 November 2018). "Vatican offers Makerere University don top papal award". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- Next Einstein Forum (2017). "Noble Banadda: NEF Fellow, Uganda". Kigali: Next Einstein Forum. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- Editor, EABW (18 May 2020). "Mulemwa retains PAU Board Chair role". East African Business Week. Retrieved 24 May 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Mark Wamai (3 August 2018). "Mak's Prof Banadda Becomes First African to Scoop Distinguished Pius XI Gold Medal". Kampala: Makerere University. Retrieved 14 November 2018.