"Ernest Mwebaze is a Lecturer and Researcher at the School of Computing and Informatics Technology in the College of Computing & IS, Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. His bachelors’ degree was in Electrical Engineering from Makerere University, his masters degree was in Computer Science from Makerere University and his PhD was in Computer Science from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He is presently the head of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (AIR) research lab at the School of Computing & IT, Makerere University; a lab that leverages computational techniques in Artificial Intelligence to address local problems in developing countries. His keenest research interest presently is to develop tools and the necessary research knowledge to aid the automation of the processes and techniques required for surveillance and diagnosis of viral diseases in cassava. He has previously won a PEARL grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a PEER grant from NAS/USAID both of which target to improve the livelihood of small-holder farmers through the use of low-cost mobile phone based diagnostic and surveillance tools powered by AI and Big Data."