Without electricity, there’s no way to keep milk cool in rural Africa. University of Georgia College of Engineering professor William Kisaalita is changing that.

Kisaalita's research and design efforts have not only served as academic experiences for students, but have also produced nearly a dozen products, with four of these in commercial use,  designed to empower agricultural producers in Africa and around the world. His EvaKuula, a biogas-powered device for the preservation on milk freshness in low-resource settings, has been recognized with an ASABE AE50 Award, recognizing the best innovations in engineering and technology for agricultural, food, and biological systems.

"My most cherished experiences with students have been in engineering design project courses involving global service-learning and the companion summer research programs overseas with students that I developed. Watching in real-time and being part of these transformational experiences with the students is priceless."

Learn more about the connection between Dr. Kisaalita's teaching, research, and innovation:

► Focus on Faculty
► Microtissue Engineering and Devices Lab
► 3p-Innovations

Education

Ph.D. in chemical engineering, University of British Columbia
B.S. in mechanical engineering, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

Research Focus

• Microtissue engineering
• Development engineering

Affiliated Research Centers

• Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, 2015–Present
• African Studies Institute, University of Georgia, 2015–Present
• Biomedical & Health Sciences Institute, University of Georgia, 2013–Present

Awards and Honors

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Fellow, African Scientific Institute
• Fellow, Uganda National Academy of Sciences
• Fulbright Award to Uganda, 2020-21.
• Lalit and Aruna Verma Award for Excellent in Global Engagement, American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2018
• University Professorship, University of Georgia, 2020
• University of Georgia Athletic Association Professorship in Engineering, 2017
• University of Georgia President's Fulfilling the Dream Award, 2016
• Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award, UGA College of Engineering, 2015
• Lioba Moshi Award for Service in African Studies, University of Georgia, 2015
• Richard Reiff Internationalization Award, University of Georgia, 2015
• Powering Agriculture Award: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development Initiative, 2013
• University of Georgia Scholarship of Engagement Award, 2008
• University Mentor of the Year for Undergraduate Research, University of Georgia Honors Program, 2004
• Lowry H. Gillespie, Jr. Award, UGA College of Engineering, 2002

Recent Publications

Ndyabawe, K., Cipriano, M., Zhao, W., Haidekker, M., Yao, K., Mao, L., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2021). Brain-on-a-Chip Device for Modeling Multiregional Networks. ACS Biomater Sci. Eng., 7(1), 350-359. 

Sempiira, E. J., Mugisa, D. J., Galiwango, J., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2020). Combining thermization and evaporative cooling toward milk freshness preservation at the smallholder farm level. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 43(11).

Ndyabawe, K., Haidekker, M., Asthana, A., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2020). Spheroid Trapping and Calcium Spike Estimation Techniques toward Automation of 3D Culture. SLAS Technology.

Asthana, A., Ndyabawe, K., Mendez, D., Douglass, M., Haidekker, M. A., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2020). Calcium Oscillation Frequency Is a Potential Functional Complex Physiological Relevance Indicator for a Neuroblastoma-Based 3D Culture Model. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 6(7), 4314-4323. 

White, C. M., Haidekker, M. A., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2020). Ratiometric Nanoviscometers: Applications for Measuring Cellular Physical Properties in 3D Cultures. SLAS Technology, 25(3), 234-246.

Asthana, A., White, C. M., Ndyabawe, K., Douglass, M., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2020). Secretome-Based Prediction of Three-Dimensional Hepatic Microtissue Physiological Relevance. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 6(1), 587-596. 

Ndyabawe, K., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2019). Engineering microsystems to recapitulate brain physiology on a chip. Drug Discovery Today, 24(9), 1725-1730. 

Ndyabawe, K., Brush, R., Ssonko, R. E., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2019). Biogas-powered evaporative cooling for smallholder dairy farmers' evening milk: Zeolite characterization and regeneration. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 34, 126-132.

Kisaalita, W. S., Katimbo, A., Sempiira, E., & Mugisa, D. (2018). EvaKuula saves Ugandan smallholder farmers' evening milk. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 29, 155-163.

Asthana, A., White, C. M., Douglass, M., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2018). Evaluation of Cellular Adhesion and Organization in Different Microporous Polymeric Scaffolds. Biotechnology Progress, 34(2), 505-514.

Intellectual Property

EvaKuula
A wind-/biogas-powered cooling system for rural settings with no access to grid electricity, targeting the evening milk. [EvaKuula Africa Region patent application (THERMIZATION AND EVAPORATIVE COOLING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MILK) is pending, ARIPO Patent Application No. AP/P/2017/010045]

YaiKuula
A wind-powered cooling system for rural settings with no access to grid electricity, targeting avian eggs storage for hatching under surrogate brooder hens [Covered under the EvaKuula patent Application].

IzeChurn
A hand-operated milk churner for ghee making that reduces labor or increases productivity eight-fold.

wandaMix
A housefly larvae-based protein concentrate for poultry feed formulation that is enabling small-scale poultry producers to be profitable with as few as 50 meat birds per cycle, three cycles a year.