Meet Paul Edward Mugambi, the first Mathematics Professor in E. Africa

Prof. P.E.T Mugambi was a highly respected lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Makerere University for many years. Because of his mathematical skills, Prof. Paul Mugambi is widely regarded as the “grandfather” of mathematics in Uganda.

Profile of Prof. Paul Edward Mugambi, the first Professor of Mathematics in Uganda and E. Africa.

Prof. Paul Edward Tebekyagenda Mugambi was born in 1935 in Bukedea district, Uganda.

He holds a BSc, MSc and PhD in Mathematics from the University of Rochester (USA) in 1970.

When he was appointed a professor of mathematics, Paul Mugambi became the first professor of mathematics in East Africa.

Among those who have passed through Prof. Mugambi’s mathematics classes is Prof. Baryamureba, former Vice Chancellor of Makerere university.

As champion of Mathematics

Prof. Paul Mugambi became the founder Chairperson of the Uganda Mathematical Society in 1972, and is the current Patron of the Society.

He is also a member of the American Mathematical Society as well as the Biometric Society.

From 1976 to 1996, Prof. Paul Mugambi served as Head of Department of Mathematics, Dean of the Faculty of Science as well as Director of the Institute of Computer Science at Makerere University.

From 1992, Prof. Mugambi served as the overall coordinator of all projects in Uganda under the Norwegian Universities’ Committee for Development Research and Education (NUFU) program for ten years.

He played a great role in the establishment of the school of sciences at Nkumba university before being appointed the Vice Chancellor of Nkumba University in 2008. He was also the Director of Post-graduate studies at Nkumba University until early 2013.

 Awards

Prof. Paul Edward Mugambi received a Certificate of Merit for the Presidential Science Awards in 2006.

After 25 years of dedicated service to Makerere University, Prof. Mugambi was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Meritorious Service to the University in 1999.

In 1991, Prof. Mugambi was awarded a Medal by the African Mathematical Union in recognition of his contribution to the development of mathematics in Africa.

His contribution

He has made significant contribution to the formulation of national policy frameworks, the most recent being the National ICT Policy Framework for which he served as Chairperson of the drafting Committee.

Prof. Mugambi has engaged in numerous research projects and has published extensively. In 1990 he was a UNESCO Consultant on a project to assess education research in basic sciences as well as science and technology in Africa.

Prof. Paul Mugambi is the Founding Member and President of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS).

He has made significant contributions to the formulation of national science and technology policy frameworks, the most recent being the National ICT Policy Framework.

Currently the first professor of mathematics in East Africa, Prof. Paul Mugambi is among the team spearheading the setup and establishment of Soroti University of Science and Technology (SUST), an upcoming public multi-campus university in Uganda.

Love for music

Besides the mathematics calculations, Prof. Paul Mugambi is in love with music. Professor Mugambi was previously Chairman of the Board of the Kampala Music School.

He is currently the President of the Kampala Singers, a 60-strong choral society.

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