Dr. Chris Opio’s Brief Academic Biography
Dr. Christopher (Chris) Opio is a professor at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). He is also a Founder and President of the Northern Uganda Development Foundation (NUDF), a registered Canadian charity organization with the mission of improving the well-being of the people of Northern Uganda through research, service delivery, and empowerment of the local people in the region. Dr. Opio migrated from Uganda to Canada in 1982. He completed his PhD at the University of Alberta, Canada; Masters’ Degree at the University of Calgary, Canada; and his undergraduate studies at the University of University of New Brunswick, Canada. Dr. Opio’s research interests are broad, covering the areas of silviculture, land reclamation, crop-tree interactions, food security, and drinking water management. He collaborates actively with researchers in other disciplines of forestry industry, soil science, crop science, water resources, and social sciences. Dr. Opio has published several papers in scientific journals and has given presentations at scientific and professional meetings. He has been invited to give a presentation and participate in a panel discussion on Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England this coming August. Dr. Opio is a reviewer of several national and international scientific journals. Currently, he is a member of the Scientific Committee of Spanish Journal of Rural Development. Dr. Opio is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Laval, Quebec, Canada. Dr. Opio has received a number of distinguished Awards. These include Professor (Academic) of the Year (2012), given by Confederation of University Faculty Association, British Columbia for doing research that benefits society at large; Alumni Award of Excellence by the University of Alberta (2011) for his NUDF work; Canada’s Champions of Change Award (2010) for being one of the top 10 Canadian volunteers doing humanitarian work in Canada or abroad; Global Hero Award by Verge Magazine (2010) for his NUDF work; and Certificate of Recognition Award (2011) by the City of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada for his NUDF work.