Prof. John Nkoma
John S. Nkoma is currently a consultant and teaches part time in the College of Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Dar es Salaam. He served as the Director-General of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) for 11 years, from 2004 to 2015. As Chief Executive Officer of TCRA he is charged with coordinating the regulator’s activities which include the regulation of telecommunications, broadcasting and postal services; management of the radio frequency spectrum; and management of electronic and other Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).
On obtaining his BSc degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) he obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Physics from the University of Essex (UK). He has over 25 years’ experience in university teaching, research and development, and senior management. He was a member of the physics department at the University of Dar es Salaam from 1971 to 1981, serving as Head of Department for the same period. Thereafter he joined the University of Botswana, serving as Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1993 to 1997, and was promoted to full Professor of Physics in 1997. He left the University of Botswana in mid-2004 to join the TCRA.
His field of research includes the study of the interaction of electromagnetic waves with materials (metals, semiconductors and insulators), and the role of science and technology, such as ICTs, on development. He has authored over 70 research articles published in international journals, and co-authored two university text books.
He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), member of the American Physical Society (APS), and served as a Senior Associate of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy. For many years he served as the African representative in the Reference Group for the International Programme in the Physical Sciences (IPPS), University of Uppsala, Sweden., and he has also consulted widely in Science and Technology for developing countries. He has served as External Examiner to several universities such as University of Dar es Salaam, National University of Lesotho, University of Malawi, University of Swaziland, University of Zimbabwe, and University of Namibia.
