Manasse Mbonye is a
theoretical astrophysicist
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...
born in
Gahini
Gahini is a sector and village in Kayonza District, Eastern Province, Rwanda. It is situated on a hill, at an altitude of 1,520 metres (4,990 ft) above sea-level, close to the eastern edge of Lake Muhazi and by road from the capital, K ...
,
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
. He is currently Executive Secretary of the
National Council for Science and Technology in
Kigali
Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...
.
Early life and education
Mbonye's parents (Reuben Rwabuzisoni, father) were teachers. His high school education was at
Nyakasura School in
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. He attended
Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...
in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
, then obtained his doctoral degree from the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
in 1996. His Ph.D. dissertation on “Gravitational Perturbations of Radiating Spacetimes” along with his founding of and activities in the “Rwanda Education Reconstruction Effort” (RERE) earned him the 1996 Ph.D. "Graduate of the Year" at the University of Connecticut.
Research
Mbonye held a postdoctoral position at the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
and was a professor at the
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...
until 2011. He also carried out research at the
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...
in
Greenbelt, Maryland
Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,921.
Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental ...
as a
National Research Council Senior Research Associate.
Mbonye has made important contributions to theoretical physics, including the Mbonye-Kazanas model of non-singular black holes, cosmology with interacting
dark energy
In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is a proposed form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales. Its primary effect is to drive the accelerating expansion of the universe. It also slows the rate of structure format ...
, and models for the origin of the
M–sigma relation
The M–sigma (or ''M''–''σ'') relation is an empirical correlation between the stellar velocity dispersion ''σ'' of a galaxy bulge and the mass M of the supermassive black hole at its center.
The ''M''–''σ'' relation was first present ...
.
Mbonye is currently Vice-Rector in Charge of Academic Affairs at the National University of Rwanda, and RIT-NUR Research Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbonye, Manasse
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century astronomers
Fourah Bay College alumni
Rochester Institute of Technology faculty
Academic staff of the National University of Rwanda
University of Connecticut alumni
University of Michigan faculty
People from Eastern Province, Rwanda