Penlope Yaguma

Penlope Yaguma is an assistant research professor at the Center for Global Sustainability in the School of Public Policy. Her research focus is on advancing energy access in low-resource settings, sustainable cities and urbanisation, and equitable energy transitions. Her background is in renewable energy systems, with previous research involving numerical modeling of solar PV arrays and the fabrication and testing of clean cookstoves and fuels. More recently, her doctoral-related research focused on urban energy access in African cities, specifically grid/offgrid electricity access in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda and Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to her PhD, she worked in her home country Uganda first as an R&D engineer in the clean cooking sector and then as an assistant lecturer at Mbarara University as one of the inaugural academic staff who helped to set up a brand-new engineering faculty. Yaguma holds a PhD in energy and development policy (University College London), an MSc in sustainable energy systems (University of Edinburgh) and a BSc in electrical and computer engineering (University of Cape Town). In her free time she enjoys exploring the great outdoors, trying different cuisines, listening to (afro) house music, and watching documentaries and stand-up comedy.