The Commonwealth Scholarships (CSC) awards has declared a staff of National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA, Dr. Ikpaya David Ikpaya as the winner of the 2022 Research Impact Awards [RIA] Topical Prize, for his clean energy-related research, aimed at mitigating the effect of climate change on the environment.
A statement by NASRDA Spokesman, Dr Felix Ale said, Ikpayaโs article, “Development of SHACS: Progress on Channel-1 Prototype Demonstrator”, published in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, is an atmospheric CO2 monitoring instrument suitable for both space-based and terrestrial-based observations.
Dr. Ikpaya is a 2017 Rutherford Fellow who bagged a Post-Doctoral degree in Remote Sensing Instrumentation at the University of Surrey. Dr. Ikpayaโs article explores the design and build of a spaceborne atmospheric carbon-dioxide monitoring instrument known as a Spatial Heterodyne Atmospheric Carbon-dioxide Spectrometer, SHACS.
Report says with various countries seeking to reduce carbon emissions in response to the global climate crisis, the SHACS instrument provides a cost-effective and affordable means for monitoring atmospheric CO2 levels globally.
The report added that due to its compact configuration, the instrument fits into a microsatellite size platform and can provide high-quality, hourly measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentration to inform policymakers.
This research, initially funded by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), has received a wide range of interest from the Space sector and academia as it is a compact, robust, cost-effective, and high-performance instrument suitable for both space-based and in situ-based observations.
The CSC Research Impact Awards (RIA) celebrates the research and publication endeavours of Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni at the early and mid-career researcher stages.
The annual awards are offered through two streams and promote the important research undertaken by doctoral Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni and its value to international development.