Background
Francis has a 12-year expertise in energy systems technologies. His experience includes research, design, installation and commissioning of electricity infrastructure projects mainly Hydropower and Solar Photovoltaic projects.
He holds a Distinction in a master’s in Renewable Energy Systems Technology from Loughborough University (UK) and a first class bachelor’s degree of science in Mechanical Engineering from Makerere University (Uganda).
He is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, at Makerere University and a PhD student at Loughborough University.
His speciality is in conducting hydrology& hydraulic studies, GIS mapping, power modelling, energy scheme reconnaissance, financial & Economic analysis of energy projects, Power Purchase Agreement negotiations, power plant design, licenses & permit application, design reviews, Non-Destructive Tests, factory acceptance tests, project risks and resilience assessment of critical infrastructure systems.
He is registered with the Energy Institute (UK) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Title of thesis: Pathways to Resilience; a Comparative Study of Great Britain and Uganda Power Systems
The problem being investigated is, in part, formulated from four distinct challenges.
First, there is a low uptake in the utilisation of resilience assessment frameworks mainly because of their lack of definitive linkages with other organising concepts such as sustainability and development. This renders most frameworks merely academic, given that most resilience champions are interested in the idea for practical planning, operations, and policymaking purposes.
Secondly, there are incoherencies within literature on which kind of data is appropriate for modelling extreme events, especially weather-related ones.
Thirdly, resilience is often regarded as an end, a desirable property of a system that ensures the system’s continuous operations during drastic conditions. Usually, such a conception does not consider the consequences of reduced resilience or maladaptation beyond the power system.
Lastly, there is a gap in the literature of the possibility of objectively comparing resilience within countries with vastly varying economic statuses and what accommodations can be made in data collection, analytic approaches or metrics to make meaningful comparisons.
Supervisors: Dr Richard Blanchard and Dr Tom Betts