Team
Meet the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Energy (CoE) team
Dr Neill Goosen
ARUA CoE in Energy Director
Dr Neill Goosen is the first full-time Director of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Energy. He completed all his studies at Stellenbosch University and holds a BEng., MSc.Eng. and PhD in Chemical Engineering. As Director of the ARUA CoE in Energy, he is seated at the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) in the SU Faculty of Engineering.
Yumna Parker
ARUA CoE in Energy Centre Manager
Yumna holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Science as well as a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development Management and Planning from Stellenbosch University. The latter research concerned energy-water nexus models using System Dynamics Modelling techniques. She is currently serving as a Policy Council Member of the South African System Dynamics Chapter.
Dr Jafaru Egieya
Jafaru has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, with research expertise on the Supply Chain Optimization of Alternative Energy generation. He also possesses a Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering both obtained from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. He has over seven years of experience working as a Scientific Officer with the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, Abuja FCT, Nigeria, and has previous stints working as a Business Development Analyst at a light manufacturing firm in Nigeria. His current research focuses on assessing the interactions, trade-offs, and synergies in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus within the African context.
Dr Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour
Dr. Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour is a fellow of the ARUA Early-Career Research Fellowship (ECRF) programme. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ghana. His research area includes Composite and Nanocomposite Materials Development for Sustainable Energy (Silicon, Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells, Batteries, Capacitors/Supercapacitors), Environment (Water and Waste Engineering) and Construction (Building, Structural and Industrial). He is a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)-German Research Foundation (DFG) at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) for Silicon and Perovskite Solar Cells Development. He is also a Carnegie Corporation Next Generation of African Academics (CC-NGAA) and BANGA-Africa scholar at the Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology (IAMDN), Laboratory for Surface Modification (LSM), Rutgers University, New Jersey, National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, the Integrative Graduate Education Research and Training (Rutgers and Princeton Universities) and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA.