Geo-Information and Modelling

Dr Azrag Abdelmutalab G. A. Azrag

Dr. Abdelmutalab G. A. Azrag is a Postdoctoral Fellow (Bio-ecology of insect pests and their damage under climate warming) in the Data Management, Modelling and Geo-Information (DMMG) Unit and is based at Duduville.

He holds a PhD in Entomology from University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, funded through icipe's African Regional Postgraduate Programme in Insect Science (ARPPIS).

Prior to joining icipe, Dr. Azrag was a lecturer in the Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Gezira, Sudan. His other previous engagement was as a postdoctoral consultant for several years in the Plant Health Theme at icipe, where he developed risk maps as early warning tools for many native and invasive insect pest species that threaten fruit and vegetable production in Africa.

He has published 30 peer-reviewed articles and has been a recipient of several awards including the Senate Prize for Academic Excellence (five times) from University of Gezira and ARPPIS-DAAD PhD scholarship of icipe. He is the Managing Editor of the International Journal of Tropical Insect Science and a member of the African Association of Insect Scientists (AAIS).

His research interests focus on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), insect phenology modelling and ecological niche modelling to guide preparedness and intervention strategies for pest control in cropping systems.

Dr Senagi Kennedy

Kennedy Senagi is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Data Management) and Data Manager at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).

He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Paris8, France. He has over ten years of experience in the areas of data science, machine learning, and software engineering.

Some of his works are, but are not limited to, optimization of the random forest algorithm, building a research data management system and pipelines, and development of agricultural decision support systems.

Previously, he worked as a university lecturer and software engineer. Currently, Kennedy works in teams of multi-disciplinary experts in implementing solutions that cut across different domains (such as health, agriculture, climate, etc.).

He is also part of a working group at the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture tasked to build the Kenyan Unified Agricultural Data Platform.

Dr Landmann Tobias

Dr Tobias Landmann is a Senior Research Scientist under the Data Management, Modelling and Geo-Information Unit and is based at Duduville Campus. Tobias holds a PhD in Physical Geography from the University of Goettingen (Germany). Prior to joining icipe, he worked as a Project Manager and Senior Scientist in remote sensing at Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH in Munich (Germany). He has previously worked at icipe (2012-2018), also as an Integrated Expert in Geo-Information. In addition, Tobias has worked at the University of Wuerzburg and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) as a senior scientist, and at UN FAO. He has recently won grants from GIZ, EU, European Space Agency, several German ministries, USAID and others. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has been a recipient of several awards, including the Dailmer-Benz fellowship scholarship. Tobias's research interest is the use of geospatial analysis to better understand global change effects and socio-ecological systems. He has an interest in using geospatial science for more concerted interventions in order to improve the livelihoods of communities in Africa.