About the NDMC

Jane Asiyo Okalebo

Other Advisor(s): Dr. Brian Wardlow
 
Education:

B.S., Agricultural Engineering, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
M.Sc., Soil Fertility Management University of Reading, UK
M.Sc.  Forestry, University of Toronto, Canada
M.Sc. Agronomy University of Nebraska - Lincoln
PhD candidate School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Research Interests:

My name is Jane Okalebo and I am a PhD candidate at the School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Go Huskers!!  
My principle career objective is to contribute to sustainable environmental management.
I am interested in utilizing remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems together with advanced technology to address the climatic and environmental challenges of the 21st Century.
This is my first year of my program and I am excited to be working at the National Drought Mitigation Center. I will be working for the Drought Mitigation – Decision Support System, headed by Dr. Jae Ryu (Principal Investigator). The purpose of the project is to support end-users in interpreting and utilizing drought forecast information for their specific needs and occupations. I am interested in exploring and utilizing remotely sensed data to evaluate, forecast, analyze and mitigate drought effects.  My main advisor is Prof. Mike Hayes.

Profile

During my undergraduate studies, in Agricultural Engineering, my dissertation study involved sub-surface irrigation of French beans using saline water in a controlled environment. The sub-irrigation was conducted using porous pots of varied porosity and hydro-conductivity. In 1999, I completed a Graduate degree in Soil Science at the University of Reading, UK. My dissertation topic examined hydrological properties of various porous pots and two different soils and their interactive effect on sub-surface soil wetting patterns. 
My interests in Natural Resources and especially water, light and nutrients led me to yet more interesting research. In 2002, I was admitted at the University of Toronto, Canada and attained a Master's degree in Forestry. My research project was entitled “Utilizing Tabu Search, an optimization search algorithm for optimization of Grevillea robusta agroforestry systems”. With the aid of a WaNuLCAS (Water, Nutrient, Light Capture in Agroforestry Systems) simulation model, and a the Tabu Search algorithm (implemented using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0), decisions about tree spacing and duration of tree growth were recommended for maximized agroforestry management for specified locations in Kenya, Africa.

I joined the University of Nebraska- Lincoln in 2005 where I studied competition between weeds and crops. I worked on Fusarium lateritium and its contribution to biological soil suppressiveness of a soil in Eastern Nebraska to velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti).


Hobbies:  networking, volunteering at the local public schools, cooking, singing and reading.