Gwinyai Dziwa - Newspaper Columns

Newspaper Columns ~ Financial Gazette

Emerging Leaders of a Techno-Century.

A man of noble mien and a bona fide embodiment of intellect, Dr Arthur Mutambara is an eclectic intellectual who has finally chosen the arcane field of mechatronics and robotics.

At 35, his head has advanced in balding and he maintains a moustache that gives his visage an aura of authority. Raised in the valley city of Mutare, Mutambara attended Hartzell High School, a United Methodist missionary school about 18 kilometres from Mutare.

I recall vividly resting my eyes, with a curious mixture of fascination and envy, at his Advanced Level results that were pinned on a bulletin board at Hartzell in February of 1987.

He had 18 points out of 20 for four difficult subjects namely mathematics, physics, chemistry and further mathematics. He enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe for a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering where he later fell in love with student politics.

With his cocksure polemics, he carped about social injustice and political corruption and that catapulted him to national fame as president of the Students' Union at the university.

However, his brazen remarks and sharp intellect did not go down well with the Pooh-Bahs of the time. The prevailing mandarins of the time sought to silence him because he was now placing their clandestine activities under the microscope.

I also remember him being capped by the University of Zimbabwe chancellor where I had attended my brother's graduation, Reginald Dziwa, in 1991. He received a standing ovation that was accompanied by shrills of admiration and deafening ululation. He was then awarded the much-coveted Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships. He chose the former and moved to Oxford where he graduated with a Master's degree in Computation in 1992.

He proceeded to embark on a doctorate in robotics and information engineering at Merton College of Oxford where he completed an abstruse dissertation in 1995. After graduation, he immediately accepted a visiting research fellowship at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later proceeded to Caltech and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

He also spent some time at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute before becoming an assistant professor at Florida State University.

I last conversed with Mutambara over the telephone when he returned my call from Florida, a place he has since left. At Florida State University, Mutambara did not only focus on teaching but he also engaged in immense research, syllogistic reflections and publishing.

His first publication, a hard cover from CRC Press titled Decentralized Estimation and Control for Multisensor Systems was released in 1998. The book is used by university students in the United States and helps to demystify problems associated with development of scalable, decentralised estimation and control algorithms for both linear and non-linear multisensor systems that have applications in robotics and other complex systems such as Space Shuttle Columbia.

His second book titled Design and Analysis of Control Systems is esoteric and gives insights into designing and analysing feasible control algorithms for a broad range of engineering applications.

The book dwells on both theoretical and practical principles involved in design and analysis of control systems. He also thoughtfully outlines development of mathematical models for dynamic systems and describes digital and non-linear control systems. CRC Press published the book in 1999.

The third book titled Mechatronics and Robotics hit the shelves in February 2001. The field of Mechatronics itself is interesting. It brings us the comfort we cherish when we play with those remote control gadgets while cuddling our lovers on a couch.

The technology is being applied in CD players, cameras and automotive systems. It exemplifies the synergism that results by integrating fields of electrical, mechanical and computer science engineering.

There is need to encourage the brains we have in people such as Mutambara because given the opportunities and conducive environment, such people can transform the world into a better place through positive inventions and creativity. Young ambitious scientists must be exposed to such work in order to inspire emulation and assiduity in them.

In any case, developing continents such as Africa will only make a mark on the stage of global events if their inhabitants invoke the latent talents in them. There is a lot to be discovered and colleges and research institutions in Africa must rise to the occasion by employing research scientists such as Dr Mutambara, Dr Christopher Chetsanga and many of such calibre in an effort to encourage sound scholarship and effective research.

Although in developing nations fiscal commitments are made primarily for social services, there is also need to inject funds into research in biotech fields to combat pandemics such as AIDS that have virtually crippled our economies. Let's keep the fire burning. Who knows, Arthur Mutambara may become the Albert Einstein of Africa!