Mr. Ronald Ssembajwe | Climate | Young Researcher Award

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Mr. Ronald Ssembajwe | Climate | Young Researcher Award

Mr. Ronald Ssembajwe, Makerere University and National Coffee Research Institute, Uganda

Ronald Ssembajwe is a climate scientist and technologist based in Uganda, specializing in applied meteorology, remote sensing, and climate-smart agriculture. He holds a Master of Science in Applied Meteorology and a Bachelor’s degree in Meteorology from Makerere University, Kampala. Ronald currently serves as a Research Officer at the National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI/NARO), where he contributes to multiple national and international research projects focused on sustainable coffee production, climate modeling, and pest and disease management. He has led work on the development of digital decision-support tools and mechanistic models for coffee farming under changing climatic conditions. Ronald is also the Co-founder and Director of Agape Innovations Limited, a firm driving climate-smart and tech-based innovations for agriculture. His extensive training includes advanced research methods, remote sensing, programming, and geospatial analysis from institutions across Africa and Europe. A recipient of several prestigious scholarships and grants including USAID, Erasmus+, and the EU Space Programme, Ronald is a member of multiple professional associations such as the Association of Applied Biologists (UK) and the Uganda Meteorological and Allied Professionals Association. His interdisciplinary expertise spans predictive modeling, climate data analysis, and community resilience, making him a key contributor to agricultural research and innovation in East Africa.

Professional Profile:

ORCID

SCOPUS

Summary of Suitability for the Research for Young Researcher Award: Ronald Ssembajwe

Research Focus and Innovation
Ronald Ssembajwe is a dynamic early-career researcher whose work is already making a substantial impact in the fields of applied meteorology, climate-smart agriculture, and bioclimatic modeling. Currently serving as a Research Officer at the National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI/NARO) in Uganda and pursuing his M.S. in Applied Meteorology at Makerere University, Ssembajwe has demonstrated deep commitment to integrating climate science with agricultural innovation, particularly for sustainable coffee production—a critical sector for Uganda’s economy.

🎓 Education

  • M.S. in Applied Meteorology (Makerere University, 2024)
    Thesis: Assessment of Climate-sensitive Crop Indices over various Phenological Stages for Robusta Coffee in Uganda

  • B.S. in Meteorology (Makerere University, 2017)
    Dissertation: Assessing the Urban-rural Climate Variability in Uganda, A Case Study of Mukono and Kampala

💼 Work Experience

🧪 Research Officer (Jan 2020 – Present)

National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI/NARO), Uganda

  • Climate modeling, pest/disease monitoring, and yield prediction

  • Leading various national/international coffee-based climate research projects

  • MSc student under USAID-IITA CSA Project

💡 Co-founder, Director & Lead Technovations (Feb 2018 – Present)

Agape Innovations Limited, Kampala, Uganda

  • Business strategy, partnership development, grant writing

🌦️ Research Volunteer (May 2017 – Nov 2019)

Uganda National Meteorological Authority

  • School outreach programs and weather training content creation

🏆 Achievements, Awards & Honors

  • 🎓 USAID MSc Scholarship (2021–2025)

  • 🌍 Erasmus+ Mobility Scholarships

    • Dimitrie Cantemir University, Romania (2023–2024)

    • University of Bucharest, Romania (March–April 2025)

  • 🛰️ RCMRD/GMES & Africa Research Grant (2023)

  • 🌌 KijaniSpace HORIZON-EUSPA Grant (2024–2027, EU Space Programme)

Publication Top Notes:

Dynamics and associations of selected agrometeorological variables in Robusta growing regions of Uganda

 

Prof. Hamidreza Moradirekabdarkolaee | Climate | Top Researcher Award

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Prof. Hamidreza Moradirekabdarkolaee | Climate | Top Researcher Award 

Prof. Hamidreza Moradirekabdarkolaee, Watershed. eng Department, Natural Resources and Marine Sciences Faculty, Tarbiat Modarres University, Iran

Dr. Hamidreza Moradi is a Professor in the Department of Watershed Engineering at the Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran. Born in 1961 in Gaemshahr, Mazandaran, he earned his B.Sc. in Geography from the University of Tehran in 1991, followed by an M.Sc. (1995) and Ph.D. (2001) in Natural Geography from Tarbiat Modares University. With over two decades of academic experience, Dr. Moradi is an active member of the Iranian Watershed Society, the Iranian Remote Sensing Society, and the Range & Watershed Specialist Committee at his institution. His research interests focus on water resources management, drought and climate change, and natural hazards with an emphasis on landslides. He has published extensively in indexed journals such as Catena, International Journal of Ecological Economics & Statistics, and the Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering. Dr. Moradi has also contributed to international and national conferences and has led several scientific research projects in watershed and environmental management.

Professional Profile:

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

🏆 Summary of Suitability – Top Researcher Award

Dr. Hamidreza Moradi is a distinguished academic and highly suitable candidate for the Top Researcher Award, with an extensive career dedicated to environmental science and natural resource management. With a Ph.D. in Natural Geography and over two decades of academic service as a Professor at Tarbiat Modarres University, Dr. Moradi has contributed significantly to the fields of watershed management, climate change adaptation, and natural hazards analysis, particularly focusing on drought and landslide dynamics.

🎓 Education

  • B.Sc. in Geography – University of Tehran, 1991

  • M.Sc. in Natural Geography – Tarbiat Modarres University, 1995

  • Ph.D. in Natural Geography – Tarbiat Modarres University, 2001

🧑‍🏫 Work Experience

  • Professor – Faculty of Natural Resources & Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modarres University, Iran (Since 2001)

  • Department: Watershed Engineering, Natural Resources Faculty, Noor Campus

🧠 Research Interests

  • 💧 Water Resources Management

  • 🌦️ Drought & Climate Change

  • 🌍 Natural Hazards (with emphasis on landslides)

🏅 Achievements & Honors

  • 📚 Published multiple ISI and Scopus-indexed research articles in environmental sciences, geography, and watershed management

  • 🌐 Member of several scientific societies:

    • Iranian Watershed Society (since 2001)

    • Iranian Remote Sensing Society (since 1999)

    • Specialist Committee on Range & Watershed, Tarbiat Modarres University (since 2001)

  • 🛰️ Expert in GIS and Remote Sensing applications in land use and environmental studies

  • 📖 Contributed to international conferences and seminars in English and Persian

Publication Top Notes:

Landslide susceptibility mapping by binary logistic regression, analytical hierarchy process, and statistical index models and assessment of their performances

CITED:496

Application of weights-of-evidence and certainty factor models and their comparison in landslide susceptibility mapping at Haraz watershed, Iran

CITED:377

GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping with probabilistic likelihood ratio and spatial multi-criteria evaluation models (North of Tehran, Iran)

CITED:249

Using machine learning models, remote sensing, and GIS to investigate the effects of changing climates and land uses on flood probability

CITED:140

Climate change impacts on streamflow and sediment yield in the North of Iran

CITED:140

A comparison of supervised, unsupervised and synthetic land use classification methods in the north of Iran

CITED:115