RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN PHYSICS IN EASTERN AFRICA

Abstract

To advance economically and technologically, many African nations need to simultaneously develop a culture of physics and a supporting infrastructure. University's research activities are of vital importance to carrying out education at an acceptable level. This is obvious with respect to Msc and PhD programmes, but is equally important, as concerns undergraduate education and degree projects at that level. Research activity is needed to gain admission and access to research work being pursued outside the country in question. The region of East Africa stretches from Sudan in the north to Swaziland in the south. With a population of more than 230 million, East Africa includes some of the oldest universities in Africa. In many ways, the region is representative of the entire continent. The present work is a compilation of research activities in Physics in Eastern Africa. In doing so we hope to stimulate regional co-operation and facilitate regional and domestic planning avoiding unwanted duplications. In presenting the research groups, the degree of activity may vary to quite an extent. Based on information available we leave it for the reader to make judgments. Many publications listed are not the result of work conducted in the home laboratory but the results of work elsewhere in a more advanced laboratory. Thus the list of publications must be read with care if to be used to evaluate the domestic capacity.