Each month, beginning February 2022, a researcher is featured giving briefs on research undertaken/undertaking.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – November 2024
Dr Elijah Muange is an agriculturalist specializing in agricultural economics and rural development. He has vast experience in agricultural research and training in Eastern Africa. His experience and interests are in technology research, dissemination and adoption; food and nutrition security, the role of information dissemination in agriculture; use of social networks and ICT in agricultural information dissemination; the interaction between agriculture, technology and nutrition; agricultural marketing; project evaluations; and impact assessments.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – September 2024
Franklin Mutisya, a Huawei Certified ICT Academy Instructor at Machakos University, has been a pivotal figure in advancing the university’s ICT education and empowering students to achieve global recognition. His dedication to mentoring and training has equipped students with the practical skills and knowledge necessary to excel in the fast-evolving technology landscape.
Under his leadership, Machakos University has garnered significant success in the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024 Global Finals.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – August 2024
Dr. Kikwai’s research interests are diverse and cover several areas of mathematics. His notable work includes the paper titled “Refined Node Polynomials via Long Edge Graphs,” published in Communications in Number Theory and Physics. In this paper, the authors used long-edged graphs, which are discrete abstractions of tropical curves, to show that the generating functions for refined node polynomials associated with certain nodal curves on tropical surfaces exhibit a multiplicative nature.
Additionally, Dr. Kikwai has worked on elliptic curves and their applications in cryptography, including pairing-based cryptography.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – June 2024
Prof. Robert Arasa has over 15 years’ experience in academia having served as Senior Faculty (Strathmore University), Senior Faculty and Director– Graduate Business School (Catholic University of Eastern Africa) and currently as Professor of Strategic Management – Machakos University. Arasa has mentored and continues to mentor the youth and learners who pass through his hands. He strongly advocates for use of case studies in helping the learners and practitioners connect their learnt knowledge and skills with practices and challenges in today’s businesses. He has published in areas of strategy, entrepreneurship, supply chain management, marketing and human resource and has attended and co-presented papers in various conferences.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – May 2024
Current Project: Language(s), Capabilities and Humanisation in Higher Education in Tanzania and Kenya: Developing and applying a multi-dimensional, interdisciplinary, and contextually-relevant framework – CO-Investigator: ODA International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2024 supported by the British Academy:
FEATURED RESEARCHER – April 2024
Prof. Peter Kibet Koech is an Associate Professor of Education in Early Childhood Years and Primary Education. Prof. Kibet currently is serving as the Director at the Centre for Open Distance and e-learning.
His research interests include Open, Distance and e-learning ,teacher education, ICT and AI-powered educational technology, Early Literacy and Numeracy, Pedagogy and Andragogy. Professor Kibet has published articles in many peer reviewed international journals
See( https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=iITgOVAAAAAJ )
FEATURED RESEARCHER – March 2024
AREAS OF RESEARCH:
Curriculum Development and Implementation in Science and Mathematics; Preparation of Teaching Materials for Primary and Secondary School levels. Pedagogy and Andragogy for University Teaching; Philosophy of Science and Mathematics. Philosophy of Science Education.Cognitive Processes, Rational Psychology; Emotional Intelligence. Entrepreneurship Dynamics. Students Leadership and University Management. Research Methodology and Data Analysis. Organizational Improvement and Reinventing. Performance Management, appraisal and evaluation. Information, Communication and Technology. Conflict Resolution. Wellness and Stress management.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – February 2024
Professor Charles Ombuki is a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics, Machakos University. He holds PhD in Economics (JNU), Master of Arts in Economics (KU) and Bachelor of Education (Arts, KU).
Current ongoing research work is on “Devolved Units and Private Sector Economic Activities; Towards Creating an Enabling Environment for the Private Sector in Kenya”. Professor Ombuki has supervised several PhD and Masters students to completion and has published widely in peer refereed journals.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – December 2023
Prof. Makindi research interests revolve around the environment and development nexus that includes; human ecology, biodiversity conservation, environmental health and impact assessments.
He has received several research and community outreach grants, including; GEF-6 Project Grant- Restoration of Arid and Semi-Arid lands of Kenya through Bio-enterprise development in collaboration with FAO, KEFRI and IUCN; Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Causes and mitigation measures in Tsavo Conservation Area, Kenya (2010-2011), funded by NCST (current NACOSTI); Communities Perceptions and Assessment of Biodiversity Conservation Strategies: The Case of Protected Areas in Kenya (2008-2009), funded by UNU/ANSTI, among others.
Prof. Makindi has just completed a research project as the Principal Investigator (PI) on Impacts of COVID-19 on Community Conservation and Nature Based Tourism Enterprises in the Amboseli Ecosystem in Kenya (2022-2023) funded by Machakos University Internal Research Grant. In addition, he is the Project Coordinator for the KA171 International Erasmus+ staff mobility programme (2022-2027) with Riga Technical University, Latvia; and the Project Partner/Coordinator for an Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges in Higher Education and Youth Programme (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-VIRT-EXCH) on “Enriching youth digital, media, and soft skills using virtual mobility experiences in Sub-Saharan Africa and the European Union (DigiTREE)” with other University Partners from Latvia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Botswana and Zambia. The Project is funded by the European Commission Lump Sum Grants of 191,521.00 EUR.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – September 2023
Dr. Esther Nduku Muia holds a PhD in Foods, Nutrition and Dietetics and is a lecturer at Machakos University in the department Health Sciences, School of Agriculture, Environment and Health Sciences. An alumnus of the African Leadership programme.
Dr. Esther is a certified/registered nutritionist and an Expert in Oncology Nutrition. In and out of academia, Esther has interest in research and has published several papers in peer reviewed journals as reflected in her google scholar profile, especially in the area of mental health. Dr. Esther is also a member of various university committees.
As a Nutrition Consultant, Esther has extensively worked in Somalia with ADRA Kenya, where for more than seven years she has run different nutrition aspects in different regions of Somalia, in an endeavor to address chronic malnutrition and to help build household and community resilience to drought and other related risks that are reported in Somalia.
Additionally, Esther has been involved in numerous GOK and Micronutrient Initiative run programmes/interventions in the area of micronutrient deficiencies in Kenya. Esther has been involved in the training and mentorship of young nutritionists at academic and professional levels and is interested in cross-cutting interdisciplinary research themes and in multidisciplinary collaboration.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – July 2023
Dr. Alice Kosgei is a Plant Breeder and Agronomist in the Department of Agricultural Sciences. She has a PhD. in Plant Breeding (University of Ghana)
Her research interests are breeding crops for biotic and abiotic stresses and agronomic adaptations of various crops to these stresses. She also has special interest in climate adaptation strategies among the farmers for food security. She has publications in these fields and a book chapter.
She has attracted several grants for travel, trainings and research from various organizations and institutions such as Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) in collaboration with Egerton University; West Africa Centre for Crop improvement, University of Ghana; Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) in collaboration with Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Institute (KALRO) and Machakos University. She recently received a grant from Future Rural Africa: Female researcher’s Grant 2022 funded by German Research Council to implement a research on climate adaptation strategies by the youth for food security.
Her current research projects include:
- Assessment of strategies used to cope with drought impacts in Machakos county
- Greening the leather industry through the use of cultivated plants to manufacture eco-friendly leather dyes.
- Assessment of role of youth farmers in adoption of climate-smart agriculture strategies for food security.
- Creating synergy in the Irish potato value chain for quality seed, high-quality potatoes, and market development in Kenya.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – Mar 2023
Dr. John Gichimu Mbaka is a Lecturer of Environmental Sciences at the Department of Environmental Sciences, Machakos University, Kenya. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Environmental Science from Koblenz-Landau University, Germany, a Master of Environmental Science and Bachelor of Applied Aquatic Science from Egerton University and International Post-graduate training certificate in Limnology from Egerton University and Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Prior to his appointment at Machakos University, Dr. Mbaka was a lecturer at the University of Embu. He has wide experience in teaching environmental courses at the university level and has extensive research experience. He has been involved in a number of research projects and his most recent research project focused on the effects of artisanal gold mining on heavy metals in environmental media and biota in Kuria west Subcounty, Migori county, Kenya. Another research project that is about to begin focuses on application of citizen science in biomonitoring of selected riverine ecosystems in Kenya. Out of the research work, he has successfully supervised four MSc students to completion and other MSc students are currently ongoing with their research work.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – JAN 2023
Prof. Mugendi K. M’Rithaa is a transdisciplinary industrial designer, educator, researcher and consultant presently the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration, Planning and Finance) at Machakos University, Kenya.
He is the Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Cloud Computing for Sustainable Development. Additionally, Mugendi is the President Emeritus and Senator of the World Design Organization (WDO) – having been the first African President in the history of the WDO. Much of his work with the WDO focuses on the importance of supporting the aspirations of designers worldwide in the [industrial] design profession’s collective quest to resolve wicked problems in diverse contexts.
Machakos University (MksU) was recently awarded the rare and prestigious UNESCO Chair on Cloud Computing for Sustainable Development within the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme commencing in January 2023 for an initial period of four years. Under this design-led transdisciplinary research project, Machakos University will lead a dynamic private-public partnership that will address five sub-themes, namely: Health and Well-being; Agriculture and Food Security; Education and Training; Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability; and Space Science and Surveillance.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – Dec 2022
Dr. Mercy Ndalila is a Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Environment at Machakos University. She holds a PhD in Fire Ecology at the University of Tasmania, Australia and a Joint MSc. in Geo-information Science from two European universities.
At Machakos University, she is working on a trans-disciplinary project that involves researching on wildfire regimes in Mt Kenya forest. She is specifically using geospatial tools to map fire severity patterns from recent fires, analyze historical fire weather, and compare with projected weather for Mt Kenya region. The aim is to understand whether climate change has an effect on the frequency of wildfires.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – Nov 2022
Dr. Cornelius Okello is a Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Agriculture, Environment and Health Sciences. He is a registered member of Environmental Institute of Kenya and a Lead Expert, Environmental Impact Assessment. He is an environmental scientist who specializes in freshwater resource management and climate change particularly in coastal areas.
He has recently complemented a project in collaboration with the African Climate & Development Initiative (University of Cape Town) titled A Co-designed, Integrated Framework for Adaptive Management of Freshwater in Coastal Areas Under the Threat of Climate Change: A Case Study of Lamu, Kenya. Currently, he is working on a project to leverage use of nature-based solutions to address environmental challenges, especially in the water sector.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – Oct 2022
Dr. Veronica Okello is a lecturer at the Machakos University (MKsU), Department of Physical Sciences and School of Pure and Applied Sciences. She has a Ph.D. in Analytical Environmental Nano remediation Chemistry from State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton.
Her research interests revolve around, the development of analytical methods and monitoring materials. Specifically, nanoscale and nano-enabled materials/polymers that offer new possibilities for the development of novel remediation and environmental sensing/monitoring technologies for water, soil and air pollutants.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – Sep 2022
Dr. Christabel Muhonja is currently a lecturer at the Machakos University, department of Biological Sciences and School of Pure and Applied Sciences where she is also the Examinations and Timetabling Coordinator. She has a PhD degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the Pan African University-Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation. She also holds a Master of Science in Microbiology from JKUAT and a Bachelor of Education Science from Egerton University.
Her current research interests involve application of microorganisms and microbial metabolites in Biotechnology, Agriculture, Medicine and Environment. This work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as PLOS One, International Journal of Microbiology and Journal of Toxicology (Hindawi) among others which can be accessed from https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4O3MLhAAAAAJ&hl=en
FEATURED RESEARCHER – AUG 2022
Dr. Mark Kimathi is currently a Senior Lecturer of Applied Mathematics at Machakos University. He acquired a Ph.D in mathematical modelling with differential equations and scientific computing from University of Kaiserslautern, Germany in 2012. He has ten years of experience in mathematical modelling and scientific computing of dynamics of infectious diseases, fluid flows, and vehicular traffic flow among others, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=R5Gfb1oAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
He is currently a KEMRI-Welcome Trust research fellow working on a Kenya-specific optimal strategy of allocating the limited COVID-19 vaccine doses such that the overall disease burden and the cost of implementing such a strategy is minimized.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – JULY 2022
Dr. Ir. Tindih S Heshborne, currently lectures at the Machakos University where he is also the Chair, Department of Biological Sciences at the School of Pure and Applied sciences. He has a PhD degree in Bioscience engineering of Bovine immunological systems for the control of protozoan parasites (From Katholieke Universiteit Lueven (KULeuven) and Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine-Antwerpen-Belgium) & ILRI-Nairobi-Kenya. Besides he holds a Bachelor degree in Biochemistry & Chemistry from JKUAT-Kenya and Masters of Science in Molecular Biology focusing on animal health, production and drugs prophylaxis-Vrije Universiteit Brussels, VUB).
His current research interests cut across the immunological analysis of vaccine and drugs molecular candidates in Covid-19, Snake-venom, Malaria and Cancer.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – JUNE 2022
Eng. (Dr.) Charles Mwaniki, is a senior lecturer at Machakos University in the department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology. He is also a registered by Engineers Board of Kenya as a professional Electrical and Electronics Engineer.
Currently he is doing a research project entitled: BARIDI SANA – High performance micro-2-phase cooling system for Space Applications.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – MAY 2022
PROJECT: A Situational Analysis of Intervention Measures in The Management of HIV/AIDS Prevalence in Kisii County
FUNDER: National Research Fund (NRF)
AMOUNT AWARDED: 10 Million
STATUS: Ongoing
Project Summary
At the inception of the project, Kisii County had one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the country. According to the county’s HIV/AIDS strategic plan 2016, the disease burden stood at (8.5%) among women and (7.3%) among men. The high prevalence rate was attributed to stigma, challenges faced by HIV specialists, cultural practices, poverty among others.
To generate data for future interventions, this project set out to carry out a situational analysis of intervention measures in the management of HIV/AIDS prevalence in Kisii County.
Results of the project will help in capacity development involving key stakeholders, policy proposals, development of a website for stakeholders, a digital herbarium, publications and conference papers.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – APRIL 2022
Machakos University, in partnership with University of Bergen (Department of Global public health and primary care), Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Norwegian University of Science and Technology won grant to implement Water ESSENCE Africa whose theme is creating synergy to meet the global challenges.
Other collaborators include Addis Ababa University(www.uu.edu.et.), University of Ghana(https://www.ug.edu.gh/), University for Development studies(https://uds.edu.gh/), University of Nairobi (https://www.uonbi.ac.ke/), University of Rwanda (https://ur.ac.rw/), University of Juba (https://uoj.edu.ss/) and Makerere University(https://www.mak.ac.ug/). The project runs for six years (2021-2026) at a budget line of KES 15590924.7687514 (NOK 1401000.49972)
The main project objectives are capacity building for both the University and staff and Curriculum development with a bias in water related program.
FEATURED RESEARCHER – MARCH 2022
Dr. Elizabeth Ndunda holds a PhD in Chemistry (Ulm University, Germany), MSc Chemistry (University of Nairobi, Kenya) and BSc. Chemistry (University of Nairobi, Kenya). She is currently a Lecturer at Machakos University, Department of Physical Sciences in the School of Pure and Applied Sciences.
Her research work focuses on developing novel methods based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for determination of organic pollutants in the environment. This work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Separation Science, Analyst, Journal of Molecular Recognition, Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Analytica Chimica Acta among others (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6656-5413) and presented in various national and international conferences.
Her current research aims at developing a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor based on MIPs for detection of carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment.
FEATURED RESEARCHER -FEBRUARY 2022
Dr. Patricia N. Muendo is a Researcher in Pure and Applied Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Aquaculture from Wageningen University (Netherlands), Masters in Hydrobiology from the University of Nairobi, and a Bachelor of Science (Botany/Zoology) also from the University of Nairobi.