Catherine Nakalembe

Catherine Nakalembe is a Ugandan remote sensing scientist and an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Maryland in the Department of Geographical Sciences.[1] In September 2020 she was awarded the 2020 Africa Food Prize.


Catherine Nakalembe
Born
Kampala, Uganda
CitizenshipUgandan
Alma mater
Known for
AwardsAfrica Food Prize 2020

ESRI Women Stars of Geospatial Science 2020 Maryland Research Honoree 2020

GEO Individual Excellence Award 2019
Scientific career
FieldsRemote sensing
Institutions
  • University of Maryland
  • NASA Harvest
ThesisAgricultural Land Use, Drought Impacts, and Vulnerability: A Regional Case Study for Karamoja, Uganda.
Doctoral advisorChristopher Justice

Early life and education

Nakalembe grew up in Kampala, Uganda. Her father is a self-taught car mechanic, and her mother owns and operates a restaurant in Makindye.[2]

Nakalembe entered the environmental science field by chance, as she missed her first preference sports science course when she was enrolling for her undergraduate program at Makerere University early in 2002.[3]

Being unable to afford self-sponsorship at Makerere University, Nakalembe decided to settle for a new course at the time of environmental science. The new course, combined with a number of short courses she took in Information and Communication Technologies, formed her first knowledge in remote sensing. in 2007, Nakalembe received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences from Makerere University.[3][1]

After Nakalembe finished her undergraduate studies, she applied and received a partial scholarship for the master’s program in Geography and Environmental engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. In 2009, Nakalembe completed the program and received her Master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.[4][3][5]

Nakalembe received her Ph.D in Geographical Science at the University of Maryland under the supervision of Chris Justice. Her doctoral research aimed to highlight the consequences of drought on land use and on the lives of North Eastern Ugandans. It also, was the first step in forming the basis of the remote sensing element of the Disaster Risk Financing Project which has supported over 75,000 households in the region since initial scaleup in 2017 and saving the Uganda government resources that would otherwise go towards emergency assistance.[1][5][6]

Work

She is the Africa Program Director in the NASA Harvest Program and is known for her work using remote sensing and machine learning technology supporting the development of agriculture and food security across Africa. She pioneered the remote sensing by unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying refugee settlements and landslide mapping in Uganda. She has conducted research in remote sensing of drought, agriculture, and leading the integration of earth observations in agricultural monitoring of small holder agriculture in multiple countries.[2]

Nakalembe organizes and leads training on remote sensing tools and data, works with national ministries on their agricultural decision-making processes, and heads initiatives to prevent potentially disastrous impacts of crop failure.[4]

Honors and awards

In 2020, she shared the Africa Food Prize (AFP) with Dr. André Bationo from Burkina Faso. Olusegun Obasanjo, Chair of the AFP Committee, stated "We need innovative Africans like Dr. Bationo and Dr. Nakalembe to demonstrate the potential of new knowledge and technology together with practical technologies that help improve the value proposition for farmers. These two are indeed exceptional Africans."[7][8][9]

She was a 2020 UMD Research Excellence Honoree[10]

She received the Group on Earth Observations first Individual Excellence Award in 2019.[5]

Personal life

Nakalembe is married to Sebastian Deffner,[11] an assistant professor of Quantum Physics at the University of Maryland.[12] They have two children.[2]

References
  1. "Nakalembe, Catherine | GEOG | Geographical Sciences Department | University of Maryland". geog.umd.edu. University of Maryland. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  2. Garner, Rob (14 February 2020). "An Innovator in International Food Security". NASA. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  3. "Dr. Catherine Nakalembe donates USD 100,000 joint food prize for library". www.independent.co.ug. The Independent. September 15, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  4. "Professor Nakalembe Named as 2020 Africa Food Prize Laureate | BSOS | Behavioral & Social Sciences College | University of Maryland". bsos.umd.edu. University of Maryland. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  5. "Dr. Catherine Nakalembe Receives Inaugural GEO Individual Excellence Award | GEOG | Geographical Sciences Department | University of Maryland". geog.umd.edu. University of Maryland. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  6. "Dr. Catherine Nakalembe Named as 2020 Africa Food Prize Laureate | GEOG | Geographical Sciences Department | University of Maryland". geog.umd.edu. University of Maryland. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  7. admin (2020-09-11). "Dr. André Bationo and Dr. Catherine Nakalembe Awarded the 2020 Africa Food Prize (AFP) | Africa Food Prize". Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  8. "Africa needs productive, policy push to transform agric — Obasanjo". Vanguard News. 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  9. "Remote sensing specialist and soil scientist win Africa Food Prize". Devex. 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  10. "Drs. Feng, Loboda & Nakalembe Honored at 2020 Maryland Research Excellence Celebration | GEOG | Geographical Sciences Department | University of Maryland". geog.umd.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  11. "My work helps improve people's livelihoods". Daily Monitor. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  12. "Sebastian Deffner". UMBC / Dept Physics / Faculty. University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
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