Dr Catherine Wandera is the dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Kyambogo University, Uganda. Catherine is a Manufacturing Engineer with a specialization in Laser Materials Processing and graduated with a Doctor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland, in 2010. She also holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering obtained from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland and BSc in Agricultural Engineering obtained from Makerere University, Uganda. She previously worked as Senior Lecturer at Busitema University, Uganda from 2011-2017 where she also held the position of Deputy Dean and as a Research Scientist and Teaching Assistant at Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland from 2005 to 2010. Additionally, she worked as a production technician at HT Laser Oy, a high-tech equipment manufacturer in Finland from 2009 to 2010. She has published research papers in reputable peer refereed journals in the manufacturing discipline and also in reputable international conferences in Science, Technology and Engineering. Besides her work duties and research interests, she is also passionate about mentorship of students, general careers guidance, and community development.

Education:    

    2010    Doctor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland

    2006    Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland

    2003    Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, Makerere University, Uganda

Publications:    

1. Selected Papers in Peer Refereed Journals

1. Catherine Wandera, Veli Kujanpää, and Antti Salminen, 2011. Laser power requirement for cutting of thick-section steel and effects of processing parameters on mild steel cut quality, Proceedings IMechE Part B, Journal of Engineering Manufacture, Vol. 225, pp. 651- 661. URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09544054JEM1971
2. Catherine Wandera, and Veli Kujanpää, 2011. Optimization of parameters for fiber laser cutting of a 10 mm stainless steel plate, Proceedings IMechE Part B, Journal of Engineering Manufacture, Vol. 225, pp. 641- 649. URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2041297510394078
3. Catherine Wandera, and Veli Kujanpää, 2010. Characterization of the melt removal rate in laser cutting of thick-section stainless steel, Journal of Laser Applications, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 62 – 70. 
4. Catherine Wandera, Antti Salminen, and Veli Kujanpää, 2009. Inert gas cutting of thick-section stainless steel and medium-section aluminium using a high power fiber laser, Journal of Laser Applications, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 154 – 161.
5. Catherine Wandera, and Veli Kujanpää, 2010. Cutting thick-section steel with fiber lasers, Industrial Laser Solutions, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 25 – 27.

2. Book Chapter
3. Catherine Wandera, 2016. Fiber Lasers in Materials Processing, a Book Chapter published in the book titled “Fiber Lasers”, Edited by Mukul Chandra Paul, published by InTech, Rijeka, Croatia, www.intechopen.com, ISBN 978-953-51-2257-9. URL: https://www.intechopen.com/books/fiber-laser/fiber-lasers-in-material-processing

3. Selected Articles in International Conference Proceedings

1. Catherine Wandera and Alphonse Niyibizi, 2017. Potential Benefits of adoption of Laser Materials Processing in East Africa’s Manufacturing Industry, The 3^rd DeKUT International Conference on Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 1^st – 3^rd November 2017, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenya.
2. Catherine Wandera, Antti Salminen, and Veli Kujanpää, 2009. Laser cutting of thick-section mild steel using a high power fiber laser, 18 pages, 12th Nordic Conference in Laser Processing of Materials (12th NOLAMP Conference 2009), 24th – 26th August 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark. 
3. Catherine Wandera, Antti Salminen, Veli Kujanpää and Flemming Olsen, 2007. Cutting of Stainless Steel with Fiber and Disk Laser, 2007, 12 pages, 11th Nordic Conference in Laser Processing of Materials (11th NOLAMP Conference 2007), 20th – 22nd August 2007, Lappeenranta, Finland. 

Catherine Wandera, Antti Salminen, Veli Kujanpää and Flemming Olsen, 2006. Cutting of Stainless Steel with Fiber and Disk Laser, 2006, 10 pages, 25th International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics ICALEO 2006, 30th October – 2nd November 2006, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.