Dr. Confidence Kalu | Climate Smart Agriculture | Best Researcher Award

Dr. National Root Crops Research Institute Umudike Abia State, Nigeria

Dr. Confidence Amaechi Kalu is a Chief Research Fellow at the National Root Crops Research Institute in Umudike, Nigeria, with a PhD in Agribusiness and Financial Management. Her research focuses on agricultural economics, with experience ranging from graduate internships to postdoctoral research. She has participated in numerous professional training programs and leadership courses, including Women in Leadership Training funded by Australian Awards Africa and project management by HiiT Plc Lagos. Dr. Kalu has received significant research grants, such as the Australian awards grant on Agribusiness value chain and the World Bank Step B Project Grant for her PhD dissertation. She is dedicated to advancing agricultural research and education.

Professional Profiles:

Scopus

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EDUCATION 🎓

Doctoral Degree
PhD in Agribusiness and Financial Management 16/10/2015 Department of Agribusiness and Management, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

Master’s Degree
MSc in Farm Management and Production Economics 12/8/2008 Department of Agricultural Economics, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

Bachelor’s Degree
BSc (Honors) in Agricultural Economics and Extension 28/11/2002 Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

Secondary School
Senior School Certificate 2/9/1996 Community Secondary School Ohanze, Abia State, Nigeria

Primary School
First School Leaving Certificate 20/6/1989 Mosque Street Girls Primary School, Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

HISTORY OF RESEARCH SERVICE 📚

Aug – Dec 2001: Graduate Internship, University Farm, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Sept 2003-Aug 2004: National Youth Service Corps, Agricultural Science Teacher, Unity Secondary School Gwaram, Jigawa State Feb 2005-Mar 2006: Agricultural Officer, CAE Farms Nigeria Limited 2007-2010: Assistant Lecturer, Proof Management College, Eket, Akwa Ibom State. 2010-2015: PhD Research Fellow, Department of Agribusiness, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike 2016-date: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

PROFESSIONAL ENHANCEMENT TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE GENERATION 🌱

LEADERSHIP TRAININGWomen in Leadership Training funded by Australian Awards Africa (September 24-27, 2019)Project Management and Leadership Training Course organized by HiiT Plc Lagos (August 26 – October 2022) PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES

Grant Writing Proposal Training organized by Agricultural Policy Research Network in Delta State University Asaba, Nigeria (July 2-4, 2017) Rapid Value Chain Analysis Training sponsored by Australia Awards Africa held in Ghana (October 2017) Training on Econometric Analysis with RATS and EVIEWS held at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria (June and July 2018) Workshop on the Use of LSMS Data held in Nairobi, Kenya (August 2019) Training on Survey Data Analysis using STATA held at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria, sponsored by Feed the Future Nigeria Agriculture Policy Activity (July 3-7, 2023) Online Programming Course on Python (July – August 2020) Impact Evaluation Retooling Workshop for Researchers and Teaching Faculty from Sub-Saharan Africa organized by African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Nairobi (July 5-11, 2023)

🏆RESEARCH GRANTS AND AWARDS

Australian Awards Grant on Agribusiness Value Chain held in Queensland University Brisbane (16th August – 2nd October 2017) World Bank Step B Project Grant for PhD Dissertation (October 2014 – August 2015)

✍️Publications Top Note :

Article: A Comparison of the Drying Kinetics, Energy Consumption and Colour Quality of Drying Medicinal Leaves in Direct-Solar Dryer with Different Colours of Collector Cover

Authors: Ndukwu, M.C., Akpan, G., Okeahialam, A.N., … Mbanasor, J., Wu, H.
Journal: Renewable Energy, 2023, Vol. 216, Article 119076
Citations: 3

Article: Heat Transfer Correlations and Pressure Drop Dynamics of Palm Fibre Wetting Media for Evaporative Cooling at Different Air Flow Rates

Authors: Ndukwu, M.C., Matthew, I., Godwin, A., … Mbanasor, J., Wu, H.
Journal: International Journal of Refrigeration, 2023, Vol. 154, pp. 268–280
Citations: 0

Review: Progressive Review of Solar Drying Studies of Agricultural Products with Exergoeconomics and Econo-Market Participation Aspect

Authors: Ndukwu, M.C., Ibeh, M., Okon, B.B., … Mbanasor, J., Bennamoun, L.
Journal: Cleaner Environmental Systems, 2023, Vol. 9, Article 100120
Citations: 5

Article: Analysis of the Influence of Outdoor Surface Heat Flux on the Inlet Water and the Exhaust Air Temperature of the Wetting Pad of a Direct Evaporative Cooling System

Authors: Ndukwu, M.C., Ibeh, M.I., Akpan, G.E., … Ben, A.E., Mbanasor, J.
Journal: Applied Thermal Engineering, 2023, Vol. 226, Article 120292
Citations: 5

Article: Farmers’ Perspective toward a Demand-Led Yam Breeding in Nigeria

Authors: Kalu, C., Nnabue, I., Edemodu, A., … Asfaw, A., Obidiegwu, J.E.
Journal: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2023, Vol. 7, Article 1227920
Citations: 1

Article: Quality Attributes of Fufu in South-East Nigeria: Guide for Cassava Breeders

Authors: Chijioke, U., Madu, T., Okoye, B., … Fliedel, G., Egesi, C.
Journal: International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2021, Vol. 56(3), pp. 1247–1257
Citations: More details

Dr. Jie Jian | Fuctional materials | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Jie Jian , Northwestern Polytechnical University, China

Dr. Jie Jian is a distinguished PostDoc in Materials Science at Northwestern Polytechnical University, specializing in photoelectrodes and photocatalysts. With expertise in nanomaterial synthesis and advanced film processing technologies, Dr. Jian has significantly contributed to the field through innovative research and optimization strategies. His academic journey includes a PhD and M.S. from NPU, focusing on BiVO4-nanocrystals and SiC ceramic composites, respectively, and a B.S. from Chongqing University. Dr. Jian has also gained industry experience as an engineer at Samsung Semiconductor. His work is characterized by a profound understanding of material characterization and software proficiency.

Professional Profiles:

Google Scholar

🌟 Technical-Scientific Skills 🌟

Mastering Preparation, Testing, and Characterization of photoelectrodes (photoanodes and photocathodes) and photocatalysts, proposing optimization strategies based on photoelectrochemical principles.Expert in Synthesis of Nanomaterials using pulsed laser irradiation in liquid and wet-chemical methods, and proficient in the design, synthesis, and functional exploration of porous materials.Film Processing Technologies: Skilled in spin coating, dip coating, chemical baths, electrodeposition, magnetron sputtering, and ALD.Material Characterization: Proficient in TEM, SEM, AFM, Raman, BET, UV-vis, XPS, XRD, FTIR.Software Proficiency: Photoshop, 3D-Max, Origin, Endnote, VESTA, Gatan, CAD, ChemDraw, Athena.

📚 Academic Education and Career 📚

03/2022-present
PostDoc in Materials Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU)
Supervisor: Prof. Hongqiang Wang
Project: In-situ Embedding Nanocrystals/Clusters in Porous Materials for Efficient Photo(electro)catalysis09/2016-03/2023
PhD in Materials Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU)
Supervisor: Prof. Hongqiang Wang
Thesis Title: Laser Derived Films of BiVO4-Nanocrystals for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting04/2015-08/2016
Engineer, Samsung (China) Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Xi’an, China (SCS)
Task: Process controlling and equipment monitoring during chemical vapor deposition.09/2012-03/2015
M.S. in Materials Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU)
Supervisor: Prof. Laifei Cheng
Thesis Title: Strengthening and Toughening of Laminated (SiCp+SiCw)/SiC Ceramic Composites09/2008-07/2012
B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University (CQU)
Supervisor: Prof. Baifeng Luan
Thesis Title: Study on deformation structure and texture of pure zirconium with large grain size rolled at liquid nitrogen temperature
GPA: 3.55/4
Ranking: 3/72

📖 Publications Top Note :

Embedding Laser-Generated Nanocrystals in BiVO4 Photoanode for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
J Jian, Y Xu, X Yang, W Liu, M Fu, H Yu, F Xu, F Feng, L Jia, D Friedrich, …
Nature Communications 10 (1), 2609 (2019)
Citations: 160

Recent Advances in Rational Engineering of Multinary Semiconductors for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation
J Jian, G Jiang, R van de Krol, B Wei, H Wang
Nano Energy 51, 457-480 (2018)
Citations: 160

Black BiVO4: Size Tailored Synthesis, Rich Oxygen Vacancies, and Sodium Storage Performance
X Xu, Y Xu, F Xu, G Jiang, J Jian, H Yu, E Zhang, D Shchukin, S Kaskel, …
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 8 (4), 1636-1645 (2020)
Citations: 67

Porous CuBi2O4 Photocathodes with Rationally Engineered Morphology and Composition Towards High-Efficiency Photoelectrochemical Performance
Y Xu, J Jian, F Li, W Liu, L Jia, H Wang
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 7 (38), 21997-22004 (2019)
Citations: 61

Ordered Porous BiVO4 Based Gas Sensors with High Selectivity and Fast-Response Towards H2S
C Li, X Qiao, J Jian, F Feng, H Wang, L Jia
Chemical Engineering Journal 375, 121924 (2019)
Citations: 59

Confidence Kalu | Climate Smart Agriculture | Best Researcher Award