Oswald Jumira’s fervency for technology and telecommunications can be summed up in one sentence; ‘connecting every device on earth.’ That is his dream, and he works at it every day and in every way.
Oswald is developing novel ways to power wireless communications devices to improve their function, cost-effectiveness and significantly reduce their environmental impact.
The 31-year old Zimbabwean Engineer, who is a PhD candidate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a Bachelor of Engineering from the National University of Science and Technology, [NUST] in Zimbabwe.
Oswald is a researcher in the MIH Electronic Media Laboratory at the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town which specialises in research in the “new media” technologies. The MIH Media Lab aims to participate in research on next-generation technologies that will influence the ways in which humans interact with computers, the web and other forms of electronic media.
Oswald’s research interests are in technology and connecting everything in the world.
“I’m working on how to distribute information in the most energy efficient way. We can use anything to transfer data; human beings, forests, buildings, moving cars…it’s called the internet of things. Sensors can be placed anywhere to record information, it’s the distribution that’s tricky.” >>>http://www.capetownmagazine.com/mih-media-lab
Oswald has been a Visiting Researcher at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (French: Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, (INRIA)-Lille Lab in France and the Compliance Resource Group Lab at the University of Michigan, USA. Oswald has also been engaged in ICT consultancy, product development and research for a number of companies in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
He has promoted Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in Africa which makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler to make transactions, exchange digital content, and connect electronic devices with a touch.
Interviewed on tedxharare.blogspot.com – Oswald is a frequent speaker at the TED conferences – Oswald revealed the best part about his work;
“I am in a field which is highly exciting, dynamic, innovative and contributes to our everyday life. I love the fact that I am part of the technology evolution taking place in the world today.”
On his dreams for Zimbabwe, he states,
“Zimbabwe is the most blessed country in the world in my view. We are a very peace loving and socially responsible nation. The Almighty has blessed us with great weather, abundant natural and human resources which we need to utilise in order to claim our position on the world stage. My idea of Zimbabwe is a nation whose people must take charge of their country in all sectors, enter into strategic, symbiotic and mutual partnerships with other countries as our influence and impact grows beyond our borders.”
Oswald has co-authored several publications including, Energy-Efficient Beaconless Geographic Routing in Energy Harvested Wireless Sensor Networks. Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience Riaan Wolhuter, Sherali Zeadally: 25(1): 58-84 (2013), and the book, Energy Efficiency in Wireless Networks with Sherali Zeadally.
‘This book presents state-of-the-art energy-efficient techniques, designs and implementations that pertain to wireless communication networks such as cellular networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs) and wireless ad hoc networks (WAHNs) including mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) as they are deployed across the world to facilitate “always on” reliable high-speed wireless access from anywhere, at any time to accommodate the new paradigm of the “Internet of Things” (IoT). The pervasive and exponential growth of Wi-Fi and the impact of bandwidth-intensive applications on the energy consumption of Wi-Fi-enabled devices are discussed along with energy harvesting as an advantageous option to power WAHNs.
The book aims to serve as a useful reference for researchers, students, regulatory authorities, and educators.’ http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1848214448.html
Oswald was one of the winning scientists of the Green Talents competition in 2012. His work focused on developing new ways to achieve ecologically sustainable and cost effective communications infrastructure.
‘Jumira focuses on energy harvesting techniques, which allow wireless communication devices to draw the energy they need from the immediate environment. These devices can tap into vibrational energy, thermal energy, outdoor solar energy or indoor lighting for their power needs, and reduce or even eliminate their dependence on batteries. The jury felt that Jumira’s work developing more sustainable and energy efficient ICT systems could bring great ecological and economic benefits, especially to Africa. They were particularly impressed with his breakthroughs in energy efficiency and energy harvesting techniques for embedded wireless communication systems.’ >>www.greentalents.de.
In a speech delivered at TEDxHarare, Oswald re-stated his position; let us not design just for the coolness of it; we need to build applications that solve the myriad problems of Africa.
We agree, do you? Please take a moment to leave your comments or thoughts below. Tell us what problems technology could solve in your community.
