Dr. Andrew Katumwehe, a Ugandan geo-science professor at Midwestern State University (MSU) Texas, USA has received a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation.
The grant, totaled at $184,066 ( Shs681 million)will help Dr. Katumwehe search for answers for his questions about the strong forces deep inside of the Earth and where they come from.
According to News Channel 6,the grant will send Katumwehe- a Ugandan born to the Albertine-Rhino Graben in Uganda for a four-year project to study dry rifting.
Graduate student researchers from Uganda and MSU Texas will be involved in both field and lab work. Each member of the group has their own special area of research and will be comparing notes throughout the next four years.
This marks the first time MSU Texas has collaborated with an African nation on research.
There will also be collaborators for this project from Virginia Tech, the University of Delaware, the University of Kansas, Nortwestern University, University of Leicester United Kingdom and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The rifts Katumwehe will be studying are in the western branch of the East African Albertine rift, an area near where he grew up.
The purpose of the study is meant to explore how the rifts form without heat, which will help builders design future construction projects that will be able to withstand the earthquakes in the area.
Katumwehe also hopes his research can help determine how the oil deposits in the area form. This information will make it easier to find more of the deposits.
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