Ngalula Sandrine Mubenga is a Congolese engineer, a professor of electrical engineering technology, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a government official leading electrification initiatives in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(DRC). Her accomplishments as a professor at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

are detailed a
www.DrMubenga.com
Research interests include

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...

s, and battery management. Entrepreneurial credits include founding th
SMIN Power Group LLC
The company specializes in the design and installation of renewable energy devices, with a primary mission to provide electrification for communities, schools and hospitals in her native country. As a Philanthropist, Mubenga has become a thought leader and socio-economic influencer in the (DRC) culminating in the founding of th
STEM DRC Initiative
in 2018 where she serves as president. With offices in Toledo Ohio and Kinshasa DRC, the STEM DRC Initiative is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization which promotes STEM education and provides college scholarships for over 100 Congolese students studying in STEM fields. The organization supports interest in STEM fields as a means to stimulate social and economic development in the DRC. As a government official, Mubenga served as a Director on the Board of Directors of

Société Nationale d'Électricité Société Nationale d'Électricité (SNEL) is the national electricity company of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its head office building is located in the district of La Gombe in the capital city, Kinshasa. SNEL operates the Inga Dam fac ...

(SNEL) since 2017 until her appointment as the Director General of th
Electricity Regulatory Agency
in the DRC by President Felix Tshisekedi in 2020. In this capacity she leads regulatory initiatives to promote electrification as a means to spurring social and economic development in one of the poorest nations in the world.

Early life and education

Mubenga was born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

and is the daughter of a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

diplomat. She grew up in the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. At the age of seventeen she was hospitalized with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

, and needed surgery, but the city had run out of power. This near death experience inspired Mubenga to become an

electronic engineer Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...

. Mubenga studied

electronic engineering Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...

at the

and graduated in 2005. She has three kids and a husband. Her master's research considered

hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princip ...

s that included

hydrogen fuel cells A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

. In 2011 she became a licensed engineer. Her doctoral research, also at the

, involved the development of a bilevel equaliser, and was the first to combine an active and low-cost passive equaliser. The equaliser could be used to extend the battery life of

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...

Research and career

Her research considers sustainable energy. After earning her doctorate she was appointed as an assistant professor at the

. Mubenga founded the SMIN Power Group in 2011, which develops renewable energy solutions for people in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Alongside their work in engineering, SMIN provides financial support to African students who study science and work on initiatives to tackle

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. To complement these scholarships, Mubenga launche
the ''STEM DRC'' initiative
which looks to encourage African young people to become inspired by science and engineering. Se
www.StemDRC.org

Awards and honors

Her awards and honors include: * 2009

Nkyoi Mérite * 2010

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

Toledo Young Engineer of the Year Award * 2017 Africa's Most Influential Woman in Business *2017 Appointed to Board of Directors of

(SNEL) * 2018 ''DesignNews'' Most Important Black Women Engineers * 2018

Engineer of the Year *2020 Appointe
Director General
of th
Electricity Regulatory Agency
in the DRC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mubenga, Ngalula Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent University of Toledo alumni University of Toledo faculty People from Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo academics