Deo is an atmospheric scientist committed to utilising his expertise, knowledge, and experience to contribute to the development of scalable solutions for (atmospheric) environmental challenges in resource-constrained settings, particularly in Africa and the global South. His current research in atmospheric science revolves around three main areas: air quality network development, identification of air pollution sources, and research-to-policy translation.
Since 2018, he has had the privilege of working with the AirQo team, a multidisciplinary research group based in Uganda, Africa. AirQo is at the forefront of advancing new and innovative approaches to air quality management in African cities. The AirQo team is housed at Makerere University's Department of Computer Science. In his current role, he provides scientific supervision and technical oversight to the AirQo team. In the same capacity, he contributes to training the next generation of scientists through direct co-supervision of undergraduate and graduate student research projects. Furthermore, he is involved in the co-design and implementation of post-doctoral research projects.
He takes pride in his commitment to contributing to science and public policy. As part of this dedication, he serves as a guest lecturer and provide mentorship to emerging leaders from academic institutions around the world.
Over the years, he has acquired extensive experience in stakeholder engagement for policy development, and continues to actively participate in high-level discussions with various stakeholder groups. These engagements have helped shape and inform policy directions on air quality management in urban areas across Africa. Through these endeavours, he has served as a technical expert in several research-to-policy translation projects. Notable examples include the development of Uganda's first-ever air quality regulations, the formulation of East Africa air quality standards, the enactment of the Nairobi Air Quality Act, the compilation of the National State of the Environment report for Uganda, and the Air Quality Action Plan for Kampala, among others.
Deo joined the IES to advance his work through networking and knowledge sharing across multiple environmental science disciplines as well as to work towards his goal of becoming a chartered scientist
