On Tuesday 18th February 2020, Maximus Byamukama, a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering successfully defended his PhD titled “Energy Harvesting, Storage and Management for Environment Monitoring Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in the East African Region”.  

Maximus (Centre) in group photo with his advisors and panelists after his defense

His study investigated the techniques of reducing energy-related failures in environment monitoring Wireless Sensor Networks. It concentrated on the three main parts of the WSN power system: the energy-harvesting unit, the energy storage unit and the load. To maximize battery life and prevent short-term failure, the study proposed several low power design guidelines and further implemented an ultra-low power WSN gateway.

By using the techniques proposed in this study, design engineers can develop robust WSN-based automatic weather stations that can operate longer under limited solar insolation, have longer battery lifespan and be adaptable to various solar insolation profiles.

Dr. Byamukama’s supervisors were Dr. Roseline Akol and Dr. Dr. Geofrey Bakkabulindi from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His opponent was Dr. Geofrey Andogah from the Faculty of Technoscience, Muni University.

Dr. Byamukama’s study was funded by the WIMEA-ICT project, a beneficiary of funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) under its NORHED programme. The project seeks to enhance research capacity in institutions of higher learning in East Africa.

Congratulations Dr. Byamukama