Mr. Mfon Okokon Charles

MBBS (Sydney), FRACS (Paediatric Surgery)

Mr Charles is a hardworking, committed and self-inspired Communications Engineering postgraduate with keen interest in the application of robust communication technologies and architectures for the improvement of power production in distributed renewable energy systems.He had his primary education at the University of Calabar Staff Nursery School, completing and obtaining his First School Leaving Certificate in 1995. Mr. Charles had his high school education at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Akamkpa, between 1996 to 2001 and gained admissions into the University of Calabar in 2003 to study for a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Computer Technology, a unit in the Department of Physics. In 2009, hegraduated as the 3 rd best student in his class, with a Second Class Upper Division. He had his National Youth Service between 2009 and 2010 with AFTA Technologies; a computer firm in Ilorin, Kwara State, where he had his first employment experience as a Computer Instructor/Sales Marketer. In addition to his service to the nation, he was also elected as the Kwara State chapter president of the National Association of Catholic Corp Members (NACC) from January to June 2010. In 2011, he enrolled for a Masters programme in Engineering Physics at the University of Calabar. Simultaneously, he started a non-paid job at IpNet Communications, a private communications services company where he served as a Systems Support Technician, learning and assisting in the deployment of satellite-based internet services and CCTV cameras for hotels and business places mostly located in Calabar metropolis, Nigeria. He got his first paid job in January 2012 as a Graduate Assistant with the Department of Physics, University of Calabar. He served in this position between 2012 and 2015, teaching Pre-degree tutorial physics, theoretical basis of 100 and 200 level practical physics, and also assisting in other duties as delegated by the Head of Department. In 2013, while rounding off his Masters at the University of Calabar, he was selected as a beneficiary of the TETFund Scholarships, to study for another Masters degree in Communications Engineering at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. During his studies, he learnt how to use some handy software (VOACAP, PROPLAB, WINPROP) applicable in Mobile and HF Radio Communications, for HF propagation prediction and mobile network planning. He obtained an MSc with merit in Communications Engineering in 2015 from the University of Leicester and returned to complete and bag an MSc with distinction in Engineering Physics at the University of Calabar in the same year. From his two MSc studies, and from collaborations with colleagues he was able to publish seven international journal papers. In January 2015, he was promoted to the rank of an Assistant Lecturer, a position in which he taught several courses including PHY 332, ECT 341, ECT 391, PHY 242, PHY 111, and served in some administrative positions such as Timetable Officer 2, for two consecutive years; 2015/2015 and 2016/2017 sessions. With the need to curb the atmospheric and environmental effects of the classic/traditional energy generation sources such as gas, coal and nuclear power plants, Mr Charles developed a proposal to apply communication networks and architecture to enhance power generation in wind farms (a promising renewable energy source with high generating potential). With this proposal he gained admissions and is currently studying for a PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. From his research so far, he has produced one conference paper which he presented at the IEEE Conference for Power and Energy (PECon), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 2018. He hopes to produce and publish two more conference and two journal papers during his PhD study. He currently uses Python 3.6 for scripting and for development of his simulation models, as well as data analytics. Seeing the recent and growing fuzz in machine and deep learning, he also intends to use Python to implement and apply artificial intelligence to his PhD research. As a PhD student, he has tutored PHY 1025, PHY 1013, and PHY 1012 which are 100-level physics courses for Medical students and Engineering students respectively, at the University of Cape Town. To refresh his knowledge of Computer and Communication Networks, Mr Charles has also tutored EEE 3093: Communication Networks and Systems which is a 300-level course for Engineering students. He has also been fully and actively involved in laboratory demonstrations for all these courses. He has been a graduate member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a member of the IEEE Communications Society (COMSOC), and a member of the IEEE Young Professionals since 2015. Playing tennis, volleyball and pool are some of his hobbies. He loves to sing and intends to take up a short course in music in the near future, to enhance his knowledge of music singing and composition as well as learn to play a musical instrument. As much as singing gives joy to his spirit, he also sees it as a perfect way to de-stress. During his undergraduate and postgraduate studies, he has had the privilege of working with distinguished academics as his project/thesis supervisors or academic tutors. These persons continue to play significant supportive roles in his life and are always willing to put in a good word. They include: Professor Sunday Udoh, Professor Rufus Okoro, Professor Ita Akpan, and Engr. Ukem, all of the University of Calabar, Professor Mike Warrington and Dr. David Siddle of the University of Leicester, Dr David Oyedokun of the University of Cape Town, and Associate Professor Mqhele Dlodlo of the University of Cape Town and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Bulawayo, Zimbabwe..