Rate My Professor Jerekias Gandure

Professor Jerekias Gandure is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, at the University of Botswana. He holds a BEng in Industrial Engineering, an MEng in Industrial Engineering with emphasis on Manufacturing Systems and Operations Management, and a PhD in Engineering specializing in Bio-fuels. His professional experience spans manufacturing systems, operations management, and biofuels. In leadership capacities, he has served as Head of Department, Acting Head of Department, Acting Deputy Dean, board member of the Faculty Executive Committee, Faculty Appointments, Promotions and Review Committee, and School of Graduate Studies, as well as Chair of the Faculty Quality Assurance Committee. He is President of the IEOM Botswana Chapter and a member of the Botswana Bureau of Standards.

Professor Gandure's academic interests focus on productivity and process improvement, systems optimization, and biofuels development. He has contributed to funded initiatives including COVID-19 Projects (University of Botswana), Collaborative Open Design and Manufacture to enhance Capacity in Product Design and Manufacture (Royal Academy of Engineering, UK), Stakeholder Engagement for Sustainable Partnerships (Royal Academy of Engineering, UK), Enriching Engineering Education Programme (Royal Academy of Engineering, UK), Biofuels Project (Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security), Botswana-Japan Jatropha Research Project (MMGE and Government of Japan), Biofuels research project and Biofuels Research Finding Application into Service Delivery in Selected Rural Communities in Botswana (ORD, University of Botswana), and Marula research project (ORD, University of Botswana and UNDP). Key publications include "Variation of Jatropha curcas seed oil content and fatty acid composition with fruit maturity stage" (2020), "Fuel properties of biodiesel produced from selected plant kernel oils indigenous to Botswana: A comparative analysis" (2014), "Torrefaction of non-oil Jatropha curcas L.(Jatropha) biomass for solid fuel" (2020), "A comparative performance analysis of carbonized briquettes and charcoal fuels in Kampala-urban, Uganda" (2016), "Fuel properties of jatropha methyl ester and its blends with petroleum diesel" (2013), and "Production, composition and fuel properties of tallow biodiesel: a case of Botswana" (2017). He teaches courses such as Operations Research I and II, Simulation and Modeling, Renewable Energy, and supervises postgraduate work in biofuels, systems design and optimization, and quality management systems.