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UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI A TERM PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF A COURSE IN ADVANCED POLYMER CHEMISTRY TOPIC: AN OVERVIEW OF POLYMERS USED IN PAINT AND SURFACE COATINGS APPLICATION

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Different painting techniques, materials and application methods that characterise contemporary artworks, with predominantly matt surfaces and uniform tones, make retouching one of the most complicated conservation treatments, since sameness is the main target. The retouching intervention carried out at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome on Tempi prospettici (1969), an installation by the Italian artist Carlo Alfano, gave the opportunity to investigate a method to obtain different matt/glossy values through the use of natural polymers as binders. The binders chosen (different polysaccharides, cellulose derivatives and isinglass) were analysed, both individually and mixed, through colorimetric and glossmetric measurements. The pigment-binder ratio and the addition of silica to get a modulation of the matt appearance of paint formulations were also evaluated. The comparation of the colorimetric values of painting samples and those of the original paint led t...

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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CLIMATE CHANGE

INTRODUCTION:

The Kenya National Climate Change Response Strategy (2009) identified the need to train skilled personnel in Climate Change Science for sustainable national development. The Master of Science programme in Climate Change is designed to provide students, having a first degree in various fields, with advanced theoretical and practical knowledge in Climate Change Science. The programme is uniquely broad in its coverage and reflects the range of knowledge and skills required to address the challenges of climate change and sustainable development. The programme meets the needs of graduates seeking a career in the climate change and climate risk management and also enables professionals to extend their knowledge or to change their career. It also provides depth in key areas, drawing upon the internationally recognized teaching, research and consultancy expertise of the multi- disciplinary team of lecturers drawn from many disciplines from within the university, plus visiting lecturers from industry. The programme resides in the thematic area of Climate Change in the Unit of Meteorology.

The Kenya Vision 2030, the country’s development blueprint covering the period 2008 to 2030, aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialised, “middle-income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030”. Several “flagship” projects have been identified and are being implemented and are expected to take the lead in generating rapid and widely- shared growth. Climate change has been recognised as a developmental issue which may impede the gains expected from some of the proposed flagship projects in the Vision 2030. For instance, the flagship environment project, namely the Water Catchment Management Initiative, calls for rehabilitating of the five water towers (i.e. Mau Escarpment, Mt. Kenya, Aberdares Range, Cherangani Hills and Mt. Elgon). Sustainable rehabilitation of these towers requires skills in climate change science.

The Kenya National Climate Change Response Strategy (2009) identified the need to train skilled personnel in Climate Change Science for sustainable national development. The Master of Science programme in climate change is uniquely broad in its coverage. It is designed so to tackle the range of knowledge and skills required to address the challenges of climate change and sustainable development. It also provides depth in key areas, drawing upon the internationally recognized teaching, research and consultancy expertise of the multi-disciplinary team of lecturers drawn from many disciplines from within the university, plus visiting lecturers from industry. Climate Change Science is growing rapidly due to the rapid technological developments. The course structure and content will be constantly revised to align it with emerging knowledge, technologies and demands. The Master of Science programme in Climate Change is designed to provide students, having a first degree, with advanced theoretical and practical knowledge in Climate Change Science. The programme meets the needs of graduates seeking a career in the climate change and Climate risk management and also enables professionals to extend their knowledge or to change career. This climate change programme will be guided by the need to connect and inspire the Kenyan citizenry and international community to provide leadership and stewardship and to give hope and faith to the Kenyan and international society that it can excel in in the field of climate change with passion, moral responsibility and a strong sense of patriotism in line with the University of Nairobi Philosophy.

Climate change has been recognized as a developmental issue which if not urgently addressed, may impede the gains expected from some of the proposed flagship projects in the Vision 2030. The Kenya National Climate Change Response Strategy (2009) identified the need to train skilled personnel in Climate Change Science for sustainable national development. One of the key components of this strategy is capacity building including research. The Master of Science programme in Climate Change seeks to contribute to the national and global initiatives of responding to climate change effects through capacity building in various components of climate change science including change hazards, vulnerability and risk assessment; mitigation; and adaptation. This programme is unique in its coverage and is designed to cover a wide range of

knowledge and skills required to address the challenges of regional and global climate change and sustainable development. The programme is designed to provide students with both theoretical and practical knowledge in Climate Change Science.

The Master of Science in Climate Change programme aims to equip students with knowledge and skills in the science and practical applications in Climate Change science. It targets first degree holders interested in pursuing Climate Change Science as a profession.

MODE OF DELIVERY

Face to face 

The programme is delivered through a variety of face-to-face methods such as tutorials, experiential field exercises, practical exercises, seminars, individual and/or group assignments and presentations.

Open, Distance Learning, and e-Learning (ODeL)

The ODeL mode of study is offered using multi-media approach, including a variety of self-instructional print and electronic study materials. In addition, there is limited face to face instructional mode during residential training. Face to face instruction shall not exceed one third (1/3) of the instructional time.

This mode combines the face to face leaning and online learning delivery methods. Currently due to Covid 19 containment measures, all programmes are offered online through various Learning Management Platforms approved by the University of Nairobi Senate .

The online mode of delivery consists of comprehensive coverage of the syllabus through lectures, assignments, quizzes, tutorials, practicals, seminars, workshops using the following online learning platforms:

eClass  Click Here  

SOMAS,  Click Here

Mtihani C lick Here

Microsoft teams,

Google meet,

Big blue button 

the Student Management Information System (SMIS),

University of Nairobi Learning Management Systems..

CONTACT OF SUPPORT PERSONS  

Dr F. J. Opija

Cellphone No. +254 721 531 908

Tel: 020-491-4132/020-491-4305

Email: [email protected]

COURSE STRUCTURE AND DURATION

• The course consists of course work, continuous assessment, written examination and a research project.
• The continuous assessment shall comprise tests, assignments, practicals, field work and term papers.
• The candidate shall be required to take at least sixteen (16) course units.
• The research project is equivalent to four unit courses.
• The course shall be covered in a minimum period of three semesters and a maximum of twelve (12) semesters each of fifteen (15) weeks.
• Candidates shall be required to take at least three (3) course units and a maximum of six (6) course units in a semester.
• Each unit shall be covered in 45 contact hours
• The programme has five (5) specialisations

Course outline Core courses Code Title Hours SCC 601 Climate Change Science 45 SCC 602 Climate Change hazards, vulnerability and risk assessment 45 SCC 603 Climate change adaptation and mitigation 45 SCC 604 Socio-political dimensions of climate change 45 SCC 605 Economics of Climate Change 45 SCC 606 Climate change and environmental sustainability 45 SCC 607 Climate change and geospatial modeling 45 SCC 608 Research methods and Techniques 45 SCC 609 Research project 180

ELECTIVES Climate Change and Sustainable Development Code Title Hours SCC 610 Climate Change Agriculture, Livestock and Food security 45 SCC 611 Technology and innovation for climate change 45 SCC 612 Climate Change Costing 45 SCC 613 climate Change, Human health and wellbeing 45 SCC 614 Climate Change, Animal health and welfare 45 SCC 615 Energy resources and technologies 45 SCC 616 Climate change and Water Resources Management 45 SCC 617 Rapid climate change 45 SCC 618 Climate Change and Biodiversity 45 SCC 619 Climate Change and Coastal Zone Management 45

Climate Change modeling and Scenarios SCC 620 Statistics and modelling for climate change science SCC 621 Advanced Climate Change Science SCC 622 Regional Climate modeling and Scenarios SCC 623 Physics of Climate Models SCC 624 Climate Change Modeling and Simulation

Human Dimensions of Climate Change SCC 625 Socio economic dimensions of Climate Change adaptation and Mitigation SCC 626 Gender and Climate Change SCC 627 Advanced socio-economic benefit assessment of climate change SCC 628 Environmental International Agreements SCC 629 Communication of Climate Change

Disaster Risk Reduction SCC 630 Disaster risk communication SCC 631 Changes in climate extremes and their impacts on the ecosystem SCC 632 Disaster risk assessment SCC 633 Managing disaster risks from climate extremes SCC 634 Projections on resilient and sustainable future

Urban Environment under Climate Change SCC 635 Urban Hydrology SCC 636 Urban Climatology SCC 637 Urban Design, Infrastructure, Development and Climate Change SCC 638 Urban Climate modeling SCC 639 Urbanization and Climate Change

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

The common regulations governing Masters programmes in all faculties, institutes and schools shall apply. The following shall be eligible for admission: A holder of first degree of the University of Nairobi (UoN) or an equivalent qualification from any other institution recognised by the Senate of UoN. In addition, the candidate must have any of the following qualifications: a) At least Upper second class Honours degree.

b) Second class lower division with a working experience of at least two years in a relevant research/ operational institution,. c) Pass degree with relevant professional qualifications. d) Pass degree with a working experience of at least five years in a relevant research/ operational institution,

TRANSFER OF CREDITS AND EXEMPTIONS

Applicants who wish to transfer course work credits for similar courses taken in other institutions may, on recommendation of the School Board and approval by Senate, be allowed to transfer credits up to a maximum of one third of courses offered in the programme. Applications for credit transfer will be made on payment of prescribed fees to the Dean, School of Physical Sciences, giving details of the subjects for which credit transfer/exemption is sought. The Department may administer an assessment test for each course unit as appropriate.

SCHEDULE OF INTAKE  

Intake is done in the month of September every calendar year. For more information, please  visit this link

APPLICATION INFORMATION 

Applicants will apply at the University of Nairobi online portal 

Applicant will be required to upload

• A photocopy of their Bachelors certificate duly certified as a true copy of the original by the issuing institution.
• A photocopy of their transcripts indicating annual performance also duly certified as true copies of the original.
• latest copy of their CV.
• KCSE certificate

The common regulations for the Masters degree in the University of Nairobi shall apply.

The following shall be eligible for the registration for the Masters degree

 i) Holder of at least an upper second class honours degree or equivalent in non-classified degrees from a recognized university

ii) A holder of lower second class with at least two years of relevant work experience after graduation

iii) Holder of a pass degree with at least three years of relevant work experience after graduation

ATTACHMENT  

Graduates of this programme will find employment in national government ministries, private sector enterprises, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations organizations. They will also be green business and technology entrepreneurs.

The department has structured the attachment opportunities in two ways

i) The Administration office circulates fellowship and scholarship opportunities for students regularly

ii) The Institute accepts interns to support the service delivery functions

CAREERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate risk assessor
• Climate Scenario modeller
• Environmental assessor/expert
• Disaster risk expert
• Monitoring and evaluation expert
• Climate Change adaptation/mitigation expert

EXAMINATION REGULATIONS

7.1 Written examinations

7.1.1 A candidate shall not be allowed to sit any examination unless he or she has attended at least two thirds of the total lecture hours. 7.1.1 Each unit shall be examined by a two hour written examination at the end of the semester during which the course is offered. 7.1.2 The end of semester examination shall constitute 70% of the total marks in each course unit while the continuous assessment shall constitute 30%. Continuous assessment shall comprise of assignments, tests, term papers and practicals where applicable. 7.1.3 Pass mark for each course unit shall be 50%.

7.1.4 A candidate who fails in any unit may be allowed to sit for a supplementary examination for the failed unit. 7.1.5 The maximum score for a supplementary examination shall be 50%. 7.1.6 A candidate who fails in the supplementary examination or has failed to complete the prescribed courses within the prescribed time, shall be discontinued.

7.2 Research Project

7.2.1 The research project shall be assessed in accordance with the common regulations of the university postgraduate studies. 7.2.2 Each candidate shall present, five weeks before the end of the semester of examination, a report of an approved research project, in any one of the areas of specialisation in meteorology for examination. The report shall be expected to demonstrate acquisition of the relevant research skills and their effective application to an investigation of substance and significance in meteorology. The report shall constitute 50% of the marks. 7.2.3 The candidate shall, in addition to 7.2.2 above, present the project report orally in form of a seminar before a panel of examiners. The oral presentation shall constitute 50% of the marks. 7.2.4 The pass mark shall be 50%.

7.2.5 A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in the project shall be allowed up to two re- submissions of the project report.

7.2.6 A candidate who fails in the third attempt, it being a re-submission of the project, or fails to complete the programme within the prescribed period shall be discontinued.

DEGREE AWARD

The final Degree Award shall be Master of Science in Climate Change. The grades for the course done shall appear in the transcript. The grading shall be as follows: Class Marks % A 70-100 B 60-69 C 50-59 Fail 0-49

_____________________________

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MASTER OF ARTS IN LITERATURE

The Department of Literature seeks to promote sensitive and intelligent responses to human experiences and aspirations that are created through imagination and language. The Master of Arts programme in Literature opens doors to rich, rewarding literary experiences that capture the diversity of literary genres, regional literatures, and modes of literary transmission. In the process, the programme is intended to produce literary scholars, teachers, and writers of diverse shades.

The current syllabus provides only one option, that is, all MA in Literature students take the same taught courses and undertake a project in the final semester.  With the growing demands and diverse needs of the industry, it was felt that students should be given the choice to do a Research Project, as has been hitherto the case, or to work on a one year research-based thesis where the scope of their research can be broader and the student may go deeper in his or her area of interest.

In addition, the revised syllabus offers the student the opportunity to specialize in any of the following three areas: African Literature, Literature of the Global South, or European Literature.  This will give an advantage to those who opt to teach, become journalists or literary critics and professionals in Kenya, at international schools, the African region and the Middle East or the rest of the world.

To ensure maximum use of human resources, Option 1 (Thesis) and Option 2 (Project) students will take their first year taught courses together (See Tables 1 and 2 on Course structure). 

Philosophy of the Programme

Since the introduction of the theory of comparative literature in the middle of the 20th century, the discipline of literary studies has experienced rapid progress in the formulation of competitive approaches to the analysis of literature in terms of its validity as social institution. Thus the programme is aimed at establishing the awareness of literature being a major social institution, which defines to a larger extent the standards of a given culture, as well as the culture of a human race as whole.

Programme Rationale

The Program is geared towards meeting the expectations of the Kenyan society that require the institution of literature as one of its major cultural elements, and therefore the profound study of literature as one of the foundations of unity of modern Kenya.

The prospective candidates will be instructed to meet the whole range of needs expected from the specialists of their calibre in the educational/academic establishments in Kenya and beyond, in view of the fact, that their area of specialization is marketable worldwide. Thus, the Department endeavours to produce holistic graduates with requisite knowledge and skills to enable them navigate work environment with ease and confidence.

Programme Objectives

The goal of this syllabus is to produce good readers and good writers..

Programme Learning Outcomes

On the successful completion of this course the learner should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of literary art and the theoretical postulates that have evolved with the art;
• Exhibit effective interpretative and writing skills in relation to literary texts;
• Undertake independent literary research;
• Relate developments in literature to the dynamics of historical and social change; 
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the literatures of Africa and the African Diaspora;
• Demonstrate an appreciation of literatures from the rest of the world.

Schedule of intakes

We have one intake every year. Studies begin in September at the start of the University's academic year.

• The M.A. degree programme shall consist of coursework, examination and a Research Project  or Thesis , and shall run for a minimum of four (4) semesters and a maximum of ten (10) semesters of fifteen weeks; and this maximum may be extended only with the prior approval of the Senate of the University of Nairobi.
• The M.A. degree programme shall consist of either one of two options offered and the student shall select one of these options. 
• In addition, the student shall choose one of three areas of specialization, namely, African Literature, Literature of the Global South or European Literature.

Option One (Thesis)

• Option 1 shall consist of coursework, examination and a Thesis and shall run for a minimum of 4 semesters and a maximum of 10 semesters of 15 weeks each.
• Prior to embarking on thesis work, the candidate shall be required to successfully take 8 course units, of which 3 core units and 5 specialization units.
• The minimum course load in each semester shall be 2 course units; while the maximum load shall be 4 course units per semester.
• All courses shall be of 45 hours duration.
• The Thesis shall be done in the third and fourth semesters and shall be equivalent to 8 course units.
• Topics for the Thesis shall be identified by the student by the end of the second semester and in consultation with the supervisors, subject to formal approval by the Literature Department.
• Each student shall be assigned two supervisors after an oral presentation of the Proposal to the Department.
• At the end of the third semester each student shall be required to give an oral presentation of the draft of the thesis at a departmental seminar.
• Students shall be expected to submit 3 weeks before the end of the final semester a completed draft to the Faculty of Arts through the Department for examination.

Option 2 (Research Project)

• Option 2 shall consist of coursework, examination and a Research Project and shall run for a minimum of 4 semesters and a maximum of 10 semesters of 15 weeks each.
• Prior to embarking on the M.A. Project, the student shall be required to successfully take 12 approved course units, of which 3 core units, 5 specialization units and 4 elective units.
• All courses shall each be of 45 hours duration.
• The Project shall be undertaken in the fourth semester and shall be equivalent to 4 taught course units.
• Topics for the M.A. Project paper shall be identified by the students in the third semester and in consultation with their supervisors, subject to the formal approval of the Literature Department.
• Each student shall be assigned two supervisors after an oral presentation of the proposal to the Department.
• At the end of the final semester each candidate shall be required to submit, with the approval of their supervisors, a duly completed project report for examination by the main supervisor and an independent internal examiner. This completed Project shall account for sixty per cent (60%) of the total marks.
• A student who fails in the Research Project shall be allowed up to two re-submissions.
• A candidate who fails in the second re-submission or fails to complete the course in the prescribed period shall be discontinued.

Admission Requirements

• Holders of a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi or any other equivalent institution recognized by the Senate with at least an Upper Second Class Honours.

ii Holders of a Bachelor’s degree of Lower Second Class Honours of the University of Nairobi or any other equivalent institution recognized by the Senate, relevant to the courses offered in the Department of Literature, and with at least two years of work experience in a related field or with a Post-Graduate Diploma.

iii.Holders of a pass degree from the University of Nairobi or any other institution recognized by the University Senate and relevant to the courses offered in the Department of Literature with at least five years of work experience in a related field or with a Post-graduate Diploma.

• A student who has followed the prescribed course of instruction in the relevant course unit or units  and passed the applicable examination(s) for the semester(s) in question at the University of Nairobi;
• A student who has followed a course of instruction in a subject which subsumes the current content of the relevant course unit or units and passed the applicable examination or examinations in respect of the whole subject or subjects at the University of Nairobi;
• A student who has followed the prescribed course of instruction in the relevant course unit or units and passed the applicable examination(s) with a minimum of fifty per cent (50%) in each unit taken at any other University recognized by the Senate of the University of Nairobi;

Credit Transfer and Exemptions

A student admitted to the M.A. programme may, on acceptable grounds, apply for exemption from one or more course units, provided that no student shall be exempted from more than thirty per cent (30%) of the total number of course units that he/she shall be required to take in order to graduate.

Students who meet the following criteria may apply for exemption:

• A student who has followed a course of instruction in a subject which subsumes the current content of the relevant course unit or units, and passed the applicable examination or examinations in respect of the whole subject or subjects at the University of Nairobi;
• A student who has followed the prescribed course of instruction in the relevant course unit or units, and passed the applicable examination(s) with a minimum of fifty per cent (50%) in each unit taken at any other University recognized by the Senate of the University of Nairobi;
• A student who has followed a course of instruction in a subject which subsumes the current content of the relevant course unit or units, and passed the applicable examination or examinations with a minimum of fifty per cent (50%) in respect of the unit or units taken at any other University recognized by the Senate of the University of Nairobi.

Intermission of Studies

A student may intermit his/her studies at any time, for a valid cause and with documentary evidence conveyed in writing to the Academic Registrar through the Dean and may resume later after duly notifying the Dean and the Academic Registrar.

During the entire period or intermission the student shall be required to keep his/her registration current by paying such intermission charges as the Faculty may from time to time determine.  The period of intermission shall not exceed two (2) consecutive academic years.

Mode of Delivery of the Programme

• Instructions shall be given in the form of lectures, lecture-discussions, class presentations, seminars, demonstration, fieldwork, student-lecturer consultations, supervised independent research, or any combination of these.
• Students shall undergo continuous assessment in each taught course in each semester, which shall take the form of written tests, term paper, oral presentations, field assignment, or any combination of these.
• The programme is offered on full time, part time, school-based and distance learning modes. The part-time, school-based  and distance learning programmes are designed to accommodate the special needs of those in full time employment or those who have other demands on their time.

Application information 

 Application is done  through the online application portal link: 

https://application.uonbi.ac.ke/

Before applying prospective students should familiarize themselves with the process of applying by visiting the link below:

https://application.uonbi.ac.ke/how_to_apply.pdf

Contact Person

P.O Box 30197-00100, Nairobi

Email-  [email protected]

Tel: 020-4918202/ 8212

Website: literature.uonbi.ac.ke

Physical location: Education Building, 1st Floor, Room 112, Main campus,

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Thesis Submission Guidelines

This webpage provides guidelines for thesis submission to postgraduate students at the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering of the University of Nairobi. This webpage is continuously updated, the student and supervisor are requested to review it each time before corresponding with the department. 

Proposal Document Standards

The student should use the following template to ensure their document is up to standard. 

• Faculty of Engineering (FEng) proposal template. The FEng Title Page Proposal template . The main body of the proposal (Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Workplan & Budget and References) of the proposal should not exceed 30 pages. 
• The student may use this  Thesis Proposal Checklist   (used to review the student's thesis proposal) as a guide to ensure the document is in order. 

Thesis Document Standards

The student should use the following template to ensure their thesis is up to standard. 

• Faculty of Engineering (FEng) thesis template. The student may use this  Thesis Template  as guide. The Thesis Template  template is slightly modified from the Proposal template. 

Correspondences and Email Header Guidelines

All correspondences to the department regarding thesis submission must be done using the dedicated department's email. Postgraduate Correspondence, Civil & Construction Engineering [email protected] . Please copy your supervisors in all communications sent; doing so will enable the department to capture the student's and supervisors' email addresses and will make future correspondences with the student and the supervisor much easier. Endeavour to use the students' university email ([email protected]). The student must include their registration number in all correspondences to the Department. The subject of every inquiry should be as follows, ' Inquiry - Student Name - Registration Number ', for example, ' Thesis Submission Follow Up - Anony Mous - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Use of the title case allows the department to easily copy and record the requests to a spreadsheet without a lot of further formatting. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). It helps a lot. 

The department keeps the requests in digital form, kindly comply with these requirements of writing the subject to assist in the retrieval of records. Email filters have also been configured to automatically forward the email to the appropriate staff based on the subject header. The sender's compliance will ensure faster delivery of service. 

Because of the large correspondences received, the department may not respond to your email but the request will be recorded in the spreadsheet at the end of this webpage. 

Filenames of PDF documents

The files the student should also take the format of the Email Subject. However, when writing the registration number, the student should use the hyphen character instead of the back slashes. For example, when submitting a fresh thesis proposal, the subject of the email should be ' Fresh Proposal Submission - Mous Anony - F56/1234/2021 ' and the PDF file should be named ' Fresh Proposal Submission - Mous Anony - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Student University Email Account

Students are encouraged to set up the university email account via the student's portal on https://smis.uonbi.ac.ke .

Students who have forgotten their previous passwords and require recovery of the student email account can request a recovery code by writing an email to [email protected] through their personal email (Gmail, Yahoo, Work Email etc.). The subject of the email should be 'Student Email Recovery - Student Name - Registration Number' , for example, 'Student Email Recovery - Another Student - F16/12345/2021' .The body of the email should also include the student university email account to be recovered, phone number and any other relevant information. Copy the Department, [email protected] to assist you with follow up. The student will receive a code to activate the student university email from their personal email. The student is advised to be alert as the code sent to the student will expire six hours after the code is generated. The student should act immediately to restore their account once they receive the code. 

The student can also make a physical visit in to the Faculty of Engineering ICT office on Ground Floor, Mechanical Engineering Block, Harry Thuku Way. 

WhatsApp Support Group

There is a support group on WhatsApp where a student can submit queries, compliments, and complaints. WhatsApp - CCE Thesis Support Group . 

Extension of Registration

Students whose registration has expired will be required to renew their registration. Students who registered more than five years ago have expired registrations. For example, in the year 2024, students with registration number ending /2018 have their student status expired and must extend their registration. The student should write to the Chairman, Department of Civil & Construction Engineering requesting an extension of their registration.  The Faculty will then process the request for Senate approval according to student progression guidelines. The student may use this Extension of Registration template as a guide.  The student should ensure that the supervisor signs next to their name on the document before sending it. The student should send the letter as a signed PDF document to [email protected] . The subject of the email should be ' Extension of Registration - Student Name - Registration Number '. Do not use all uppercase in the subject. Use title case. Title case is a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters as indicated on this webpage. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The student should copy all the supervisors' email addresses. 

The filename of the PDF document

The PDF file should be named ' Extension of Registration - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Provisional Extension of Registration (PhD Students Only) 

PhD Students whose provisional registration has exceeded six months willl be required to extend their registration. The student should write to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic Affairs, through the Dean, Faculty of Engineering and through the Chairman, Department of Civil & Construction Engineering requesting provisional extension of registration.  The student may use this Provisional Extension Request as a guide.  The student should send the letter as a signed PDF document to [email protected] . The subject of the email should be ' Provisional Extension - Student Name - Registration Number '. Do not use all uppercase in the subject. Use title case. Title case is a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters as indicated on this webpage. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The student should copy all the supervisors' email addresses. 

The filename of the PDF document (PhD Students Only)  

The PDF file should be named ' Provisional Extension - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

The student will receive a letter from the academic registrar extending their registration status on the condition that they pay an extension fee. The letter provided will have instructions on how to make the payment. A student who has an overpayment in their fees can direct the excess fees to pay the extension fees by instructing the Finance Department to do so. The narrative for the transfer should be 'Registration Extension Fee Deduction'. The Student Finance Department is in Room G3, Ground Floor, Mahatma Gandhi Wing, Main Campus, Harry Thuku Way, Nairobi. 

Payment of Extension of Registration

Once payment is made. Kindly send the payment receipt to  [email protected]   as indicated in the letter. Copy  [email protected]   so that the department can keep the record in your file and assist with follow-up. The subject of the email should be ' Payment of Extension - Student Name - Registration Number '. Do not use all uppercase in the subject. Use title case. Title case is a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters as indicated on this webpage. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The student should copy all the supervisors' email addresses.

Advisory: All payments should be made by direct physical deposit to the bank, where a deposit slip should be obtained. The narrative or description of the financial transaction should include the student's registration number. MPesa and RTGS Payments are not encouraged as they will require further follow-up with Student Finance by the student. The Student Finance Department is in Room G3, Ground Floor, Mahatma Gandhi Wing, Main Campus, Harry Thuku Way, Nairobi. 

The PDF file should be named ' Payment of Extension - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Advisory: The most opportune time to make the payment of extension (to maximise on the limited additional time) is as the student submits the 'Uploaded Thesis Proposal' if the proposal had not yet been approved by the Academic Registrar/Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic Affairs or as you submit the 'Intent to Submit Thesis' if your proposal had already been approved by the Academic Registrar/Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic Affairs. 

Change of supervisors

A change of supervisors is usually initiated by the student. Students whose proposals have NOT yet been approved by the department can change at any point during the proposal stage. Students whose proposals have already been approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor can request to change their supervisors through a letter. The student should address the letter to the Chairman, Department of Civil & Construction Engineering, requesting a change of supervisor. The student may use this Change of Supervisors template as a guide. The student should ensure that the supervisor signs next to their name on the document before sending it. The student should send the letter as a signed PDF document to [email protected] . The subject of the email should be ' Change of Supervisors - Student Name - Registration Number '. Do not use all uppercase letters in the subject. Use title case. Title case is a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters as indicated on this webpage. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The student should copy all the supervisors' email addresses. 

Students who wish to drop a supervisor must have their request supported with a letter from the supervisor to be dropped. The supervisor may take advantage of the Supervisor's Withdrawal template as a guide. 

The PDF file should be named ' Change of Supervisors - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Other general queries such as Transcript requests, Missing marks, Course registration, Timetables and other requests must be directed to the Department's main email address: [email protected].  

Identifying a research topic

Candidates will be required to undertake research guided by at least one supervisor competent in the subject area and field of research in which the candidate proposes to work. The main supervisor must come from the Department where the student is registered. After the research, the candidate shall be required to submit a thesis for examination. 

The student should approach any of the lecturers that hold a PhD degree whose speciality is in a field that the student is interested in researching on. The supervisors should guide the student in the process of writing a thesis proposal. The student may use this Proposal template as a guide . The candidate, in close liaison with the supervisors, shall develop the proposal. When the supervisors are satisfied that the draft proposal has attained a reasonable quality, they will allow the candidate to present it at a seminar with at least 30% of the academic members of staff of the Department.

Requirements for the supervisors

A minimum of two supervisors shall be appointed for each candidate of whom the first should be an academic staff in the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering. The first supervisor must be a PhD holder. The second supervisor must be an academic member of staff. The second supervisor can be from the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering or any other Department at the University of Nairobi. The Department may appoint a third supervisor from any other institution. If the third supervisor from another institution is appointed, the supervisor's CV must be attached. 

Letter of Introduction

Candidates requiring a letter of introduction in order to carry out research in a different institution should request the letter from the Department via email through [email protected] . The subject of the email should be as follows ' Letter of Introduction - Student Name - Registration Number '. The student must include the topic of their thesis and the address/es to which the letters should be addressed to. If no specific address is mentioned, the letter will be addressed "To Whom It May Concern". 

Renewal of Scholarships

Students who were awarded scholarships in the first year will be required to apply for the renewal of the scholarship for the second year. The scholarship renewal form can be downloaded here . The scholarship renewal application should be accompanied by the first year transcript. By the time the student requests the renewal, it is expected that the scholarship student should already be involved in some teaching assistantship and have made some significant progress on their research proposal in consultation with their supervisor since the supervisor will be required to fill in some sections of the form.  

Setting up a Proposal Seminar Online

The candidate should prepare presentation slides on their proposed research. The student should rehearse to ensure that their presentation lasts no more than 15 minutes.  The candidate may use university slides template to make the slides . The candidate should set up an online meeting via Google Meet and invite academic members of staff and other interested stakeholders. The student may use this guide on setting up online classes to schedule and present in the seminar . The main supervisor must attend the meeting. The minutes of the recommendations made during the presentation shall be forwarded to Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC) together with the revised version of the proposal.  The student may use this Minutes template as a guide . The student should make arrangements prior to the online meeting on who will take the minutes. 

Getting a Turnitin Similarity Index Report

To get a similarity index report, send the proposal document to [email protected]  and copy all the supervisors' emails. Endeavour to use the students' university email ([email protected]). The document to be sent should only contain Item No. 1 to Item No. 4 of the list in the requirements below. Item No. 5 to Item No. 7 should not be in the document to be checked. The document to be checked for plagiarism need NOT be signed by the student nor the supervisors. . The document sent must be in editable format (DOCX) format. Documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) will not be scanned. 

The subject of the email should be as follows 'Similarity Index Report - Student Name - Registration Number'. For example. ' Similarity Index Report - Mous Anony - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). It is important that you stick to this format for the following reasons:

• The email received is automatically forwarded to the email of the staff responsible for running your document through Turnitin. Email filters have been configured to only forward the document based on the subject header.
• The department will capture the student's and supervisors' email addresses and will make future correspondences with the student and the supervisor much easier. Emails requesting the Similarity Index Report without copying the supervisors' email addresses will not be acted on. 

A Turnitin report will be sent back to the student in five business days. The student should extract the summary pages of the similarity index report for signing by the student and the supervisors. Please note that any Similarity Index Report that is not signed and dated by the student and the supervisor is invalid.  The student may use this  signed Turnitin sample report for guidance . Some technical knowledge of editing PDF documents is necessary. The similarity index report should be below 15% ( 14% and below only ). 

Please note the whole document (Item No. 1 to Item No. 4) [Listed below] should be scanned hence the allowance of below 15%. Sentences in quotes and the bibliography will not be marked as plagiarised. A 30-word source exclusion has been set. The document to be submitted will not be deposited to any repository. 

Filename of the DOCX (Microsoft Word) document

The DOCX file should be named ' Similarity Index Report - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Getting Academic Transcript for First Year (MSc Students)

The student can request a transcript from the Department through writing and delivering it to the Office of the Chairman. A typed letter is preferred. The letter should have the student's registration number and name. The student can also make the request through the department's main email address: [email protected] . 

Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities are available on successful application to a relevant grant. These opportunities are advertised every Thursday via the University email from the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation & Enterprise).  The funding opportunities are collated on the landing page of  https://uonresearch.uonbi.ac.ke  under the funding news tab. The candidate is advised to reach out to the Office of the DVC - RIE for further guidance and facilitation. Seeking research funding is one of the office's key role and the staff there will be glad to assist you. The office is located on the 15th Floor, UoN Tower, Main Campus, University of Nairobi, Nairobi. 

Submission of the Thesis Proposal to the Faculty of Engineering

The requirements to submit the Thesis Proposal to the Faculty of Engineering are as follows: 

• Faculty of Engineering (FEng) Title Page without a page number. The FEng Title Page is included in this  Proposal template . 
• Declaration and Approval page with all the signatures on the second page [Page number (i)].  The Declaration and Approval Page is included in this  Proposal template . 
• Signed UoN Declaration of Originality.  The UoN Declaration of Originality Form is included in this  Proposal template . 
• Main Proposal Document (Acknowledgement, Table of Contents, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Budget & Workplan, References and Appendices). The student may use this Proposal template as a guide. 
• Minutes of the Proposal Seminar. The student may use this Minutes template as a guide. 
• First Year Transcript (MSc Students). 
• Turnitin Antiplagiarism Report. The similarity index should be below 15%. (The student and the supervisors should sign and date on the page that shows the percentage). 

Order of Components

Please compile your document into one PDF in the order above. The student should NOT upload the thesis proposal yet. Guidance and requirements for uploading are given further below on this webpage. 

Submit the document through your supervisors, through the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering [email protected]  to the Dean, Faculty of Engineering. The student may use this  Thesis Proposal Checklist   (used to review the student's thesis proposal) as a guide to ensure the document is in order. 

Filename of the PDF document

The PDF file should be named ' Fresh Proposal Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Submission of Thesis Proposal through Email

Submission must be done by email in soft copy. Only one compiled PDF document is to be submitted. The subject of the email should be as follows, 'Fresh Proposal Submission - Student Name - Registration Number'. For example, ' Fresh Proposal Submission - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). There are two ways of submitting the document via email. Please use this subject header so that the email received is automatically forwarded to the email of the staff responsible for acting on the document. Email filters have been configured to only forward the document based on the subject header. 

• The student can ensure the document is signed by the supervisors before sending it to the Chairman of the Department, [email protected] and copy the supervisors' email, or 
• The student can send the document to the Chairman of the Department, through the supervisors via email. 

Option 1 is strongly preferred and recommended . To use Option 2 to submit your document, kindly send an email to the second supervisor asking them to sign and date on the relevant pages and forward it to the first supervisor and to inform them to sign and date on the relevant pages and forward it to the Chairman [email protected] . The student should not just copy all the interested parties in one generic email; the forwarding email should have detailed instructions to the various supervisors on what the supervisors should do. See the sample email below: 

The chairman will approve and forward the Fresh Thesis proposal to the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC). At the FPSC, the document is distributed to reviewers at their next scheduled meeting. The reviewers will give comments, suggestions and improvements to the submitted proposal at various dates. The FPSC chairman will consolidate all the reviews into one report and send it to the student through the department. 

It is the student's responsibility to follow up on the approval process of their thesis proposal. If the student has not received feedback after one month from the date of submission, the student should follow up on their thesis status with the Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies, Department of Civil & Construction Engineering.

The physical location of the office of the Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies , Department of Civil & Construction Engineering is: Office Number 110, 1st Floor, Mechanical Engineering Block, Harry Thuku Way, Main Campus, Nairobi. 

Resubmission of the Thesis Proposal to the Faculty of Engineering

The thesis proposal will be reviewed and it will be returned with some corrections from the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC). As you submit the corrected proposal, ensure you meet the following requirements: 

• Faculty of Engineering (FEng) Title Page without a page number.  The FEng Title Page is included in this  Proposal template . 
• Declaration and Approval page with all the signatures on the second page [Page number (i)]. Please note that the supervisors should sign again. Avoid repasting the signatures that were in the initial document.  The Declaration and Approval Page is included in this  Proposal template . 
• Main Corrected Proposal Document (Acknowledgement, Table of Contents, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Budget & Workplan, References and Appendices).  The student may use this Proposal template as a guide. 
• Original Minutes of the Proposal Seminar. 
• Turnitin Antiplagiarism Report on the Corrected Proposal Document. The Corrected Proposal Document should then be rechecked for plagiarism. The procedure for getting the Turnitin Similarity Index Report is outlined above (The student and the supervisors should sign and date on the page that shows the percentage). Please note that the supervisors should sign again. The student must NOT  repaste the signatures that were in the initial document. 
• The original Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC) Reviews. 
• Table of Corrections. Avoid the use of lazy comments such as 'Ammended', 'Done', 'Corrected in Manuscript' or 'Attached'. Instead, make detailed responses to the reviewers' comments. Be clear about how you responded (copy and paste the updated text next to the reviewers’ comments) and state where this fits into the manuscript (with a page number). This practice allows the reviewers to easily see that you have taken all the reviewers’ comments on board and evaluate your response to each of their concerns. Please read this  article on how to properly respond to Reviewers' comments. The student may use this Table of Corrections Sample as a guide . 
• Certificate of Corrections from the supervisors addressed to the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, through the Chairman, Civil & Construction Engineering and through the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC). The student may use this Certificate of Correction template as a guide. 

IMPORTANT: Please review your work plan to match the current dates. The dates signed on the proposal must also reflect the current dates. The date on the cover page must also be updated. 

Please compile your document into one PDF in the order above. The student should NOT upload the thesis proposal yet. Guidance and requirements for uploading are given further below on this webpage. 

Submit the document through your supervisors, to the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering [email protected]  and copy the supervisors' email addresses. The Department will forward the document to the Dean, Faculty of Engineering. The subject of the email should be as follows, 'Revised Proposal Submission - Student Name - Registration Number'. For example, ' Revised Proposal Submission - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). Please use this subject header so that the email received is automatically forwarded to the email of the staff responsible for acting on the document. Email filters have been configured to only forward the document based on the subject header. 

The PDF file should be named ' Revised Proposal Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

The chairman will approve and forward the Revised Thesis proposal to the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC). At the FPSC, the document is distributed to reviewers at their next scheduled meeting. The reviewers will then confirm that the initial comments they gave have been addressed satisfactorily. It is for this reason that the student should include the FPSC reviews as they were. If fully addressed, the proposal is approved. If the comments have not been fully addressed, the FPSC returns the document to the student through the department to address the unattended comments.  The department will send the student further comments. 

Further Revised Proposal

To resubmit the further revised proposal, kindly submit with the subject ' Further Revised Proposal Submission - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 ' and copy all the supervisors' emails. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens).

The PDF file should be named ' Further Revised Proposal Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

FPSC Approval

Once FPSC approval is done, the student will also receive minutes of the deliberations from the FPSC and the filled out Declaration and Approval Page [Page i] (including the Dean's Signature and Stamp). The student should then compile a single document in the order below. 

Final Approved Document to be Uploaded to Postgraduate Tracking System

• Declaration and Approval page with all the signatures on the second page [Page number (i)]. This declaration page should have all the parties signatures: the student, the supervisors, the Chairman - Department of Civil & Construction Engineering, the Chairman - FPSC and the Dean - Faculty of Engineering. 
• Minutes of the Proposal Seminar. 
• Turnitin Antiplagiarism Report on the Corrected Proposal Document. 
• Certificate of Corrections from the supervisors addressed to the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, through the Chairman, Civil & Construction Engineering and through the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC). This Certificate of Corrections should have all the parties signatures
• Signed Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee (FPSC) minutes approving the forwarding of the proposal to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic Affairs. 

The PDF file should be named ' Uploaded Thesis Proposal - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Uploading to the Postgraduate Tracking System 

Before uploading the compiled document above, the student should ensure that they have first been assigned supervisors on the Postgraduate Tracking System on the Students Management Information System  on smis.uonbi.ac.ke . The student can check the assigned supervisors as shown in the screenshot below: 

If the students has not been assigned, the student should notify the department via email [email protected] with the subject being ' Supervisors - Student Name - Registration Number '. The body of the email should have the names of your supervisors.

Once assigned, the student should upload the compiled PDF document onto the Postgraduate Tracking System.

Uploading to the Postgraduate Tracking System

Please see this Guide on using the Postgraduate Tracking System. When uploading to the Tracking System. The student should ensure that the following instructions are followed to the letter. Step 6 in the photograph below is absolutely critical and the student must wait for the document to upload to the system before forwarding the submission. Please note that it is impossible to change any item once this process has been performed.  

The student should then alert the supervisor that they have uploaded their fully signed proposal (Item No. 1 - Item No. 11) on the Postgraduate Tracking System. The student may use this uploaded thesis sample for reference.  Students who had uploaded the proposal before approval will require reuploading the thesis proposal.

Reuploading to the Postgraduate Tracking System

To reupload, the student should click on the ' Test proposal submit ' link (circled in the image below). Once the student clicks on this link, they should click on 'Create Proposal' to reupload. 

Please see this Guide on using the Postgraduate Tracking System. The student and the supervisor are encouraged to review this guide and understand their roles. 

Sending the Uploaded Thesis Proposal to the Department

Once uploaded, the student should also send the compiled PDF document to the Department, [email protected] and copy the supervisors, the email subject should be ' Uploaded Thesis Proposal - Student Name - F56/1234/2020 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The student should ensure that their registration status is in order prior to sending out the uploaded thesis proposal. For example, in the year 2024, students with registration number ending /2018 have their student status expired and must extend their registration and pay the required charges.

Advisory: Kindly note that the department has no access to the Postgraduate Tracking System and it is only by sending the Uploaded Thesis Proposal that the department gets the knowledge that you have uploaded the proposal and initiates the subsequent procedures. 

Based on the fully signed uploaded proposal, the supervisors, Chairman and Dean will then approve the online document for forwarding to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic Affairs. Once approved by the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic Affairs, the student will receive a letter from the Academic Registrar, accepting their proposal. The letter will grant the student the authority to officially begin their research and assign the supervisors officially. Please see the sample Letter of Approval that the student and supervisors will receive to commence research . 

It is at this point that your proposal is considered fully registered in the system. 

Technical Challenges with the Postgraduate Tracking System 

Students with technical challenges with regard to the Postgraduate Tracking System should write an email to [email protected] . Copy the Department, [email protected] to assist you with follow-up. The subject of the email should be 'Postgraduate Tracking - Student Name - Registration Number' , for example, 'Postgraduate Tracking - Another Student - F16/12345/2021' .The body of the email should include the nature of the problem such as documents not attaching, or no documents available for download and request the ICT department to clear all documents in your portal and allow you to re-upload the documents. 

Once the documents have been cleared, the student should reupload and request the supervisor to approve the online documents. Once reapproved by the supervisor, the student should notify the department that the documents have been approved. 

The student can also make a physical visit to the Faculty of Engineering ICT office on the Ground Floor, Mechanical Engineering Block, Harry Thuku Way. 

Advisory: The student is advised to start writing a journal article first before writing the thesis. Writing the journal article first will save the student a lot of stress and effort when it comes time to writing the thesis.

CUE requirements: A Master's thesis should be about 20 000 to 30 000 words while a PhD thesis should be about 40 000 to 50 000 words. 

Progress Reports

The student can only get the letter to begin research if their compiled PDF (Items No. 1 - 11) has been uploaded to the Postgraduate Tracking System. Once they receive the letter, the candidate should immediately fill out their first progress report, have it commented and signed by the student and the supervisors only and then upload it on the Postgraduate Tracking system. Only fully signed progress reports should be uploaded on the tracking system.  The student may use this Progress Report template . Please note that comments by the Chairman, Dean and Deputy Vice-Chancellor will be made on the Postgraduate Tracking System. T he student may use this Progress Report sample for guidance . 

The student should also send the Progress Report to the Department department via  [email protected]  for record-keeping. The student must copy all the supervisors. The subject of the email should be, ' Progress Report Q1 - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 ' and so on for the other two progress reports for Q2 and Q3. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The supervisors must be copied to the email sent to the department. 

The PDF file should be named ' Progress Report Q1 - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

The student is required to upload three fully signed progress reports by the time the student sends out the 'Intent to Submit Thesis'. 

Conducting the Thesis

The candidate will then perform the research and make a report. The candidate will be required to make progress reports after every quarter. 

Publishing - Paper Submission to Peer-reviewed Journals

The candidate should make a paper submission to peer-reviewed journals. One journal article is required for MSc students while two journal articles are required for PhD students . This requirement is in line with the Commission for University Education's guidelines. After the publication of the journal article(s), the student may then issue an Intent to Submit the Thesis for Examination. The student may refer to these notes when considering publishing in a peer-reviewed journal. The journals should be indexed in SCOPUS, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Clarivate Analytics or Africa Journals Online (AJOL). Publications in predatory journals will not be considered legitimate publications. Read this article to understand more on predatory journals. A quick method of determining predatory journals is that they have short publishing times and require significant publication fees. Secondly, a student may Google the name of the publication followed by the word "predatory" and read the reviews online. 

The student is strongly encouraged to see the University of Nairobi's library guide for publishing.

Some good journals can be found on: 

• https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/
• https://journalsuggester.springer.com/
• https://journalfinder.wiley.com/
• https://journalfinder.elsevier.com/
• https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php 
• https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-your-research/choosing-a-journal/journal-suggester/
• https://doaj.org/ 

Good publishers also belong to the Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE). Please note some of the journals available from the links above require an additional fee to make your accepted publication open-access. However, it is not a requirement of the University of Nairobi that the journal article be made open-access. Some good journals are free to publish so long as the author accepts that there will be no free access and the reader will have to pay to download the article. The only university requirement is that the journal article should be published in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Once the student has published a paper, the student should send the final published manuscript to the department with the subject ' Published Paper 1 - Student Name - Registration Number '.For example, ' Published Paper 1 - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 ' and so on for the other published papers. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The supervisors must be copied to the email sent to the department. The department will then investigate the journal and confirm that the paper has been published in a reputable and credible journal. 

Paper Publications Review (PhD students only)

Journal articles done by the PhD student will be subjected to further review and scrutiny by the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee to ensure that the journal articles were of high quality and were published in peer-reviewed journals. 

Once the student has published two papers, the student should send a request for publications review to the department [email protected] . The student may use this template as a guide. The subject of the email should be ' Publications Review - Student Name - Registration Number '.For example, ' Publications Review - Another Student - F80/56789/2021 ' and so on for the other published papers. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The supervisors must be copied to the email sent to the department.

Filenames of the PDF documents

The PDF file should be named ' Publications Review - Student Name - F80-56789-2021 '. For this request, there should be three attachments. 

• Publications Review - Student Name - F80-56789-2021.pdf
• Published Paper 1 - Student Name - F80-56789-2021.pdf
• Published Paper 2 - Student Name - F80-56789-2021.pdf

Thesis Registration on SMIS

The candidate should request for registration of FCE 699 after full payment of fees. The student may use this Course Registration Template for guidance . The student should send the Course Registration Request to the Department via  [email protected] . The subject of the email should be ' FCE 699 Course Registration - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens).

Once the request is sent and all the fees paid, the student may continue with the successive steps. 

Filename of the PDF document 

The PDF file should be named ' FCE 699 Course Registration - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Payment of Fees and Fee Statement 

The school fees should be fully paid before sending out the 'Intent to Submit Thesis'. Fees payable is as advised in the admission letter available on the application. For ease of the reference, the fee statements have been provided here: 

• Master's Fee Statement:    A. Admitted before 2021 *    B. Admitted 2021 and later
• PhD Fee Statement.              A. Admitted before 2021 *     B. Admitted 2021 and later  

*The university updated the cost for the student ID in 2020 from KES 500 to KES 1 000 and the amount to be paid should be KES 500 more than what is stated in the PDF form shared. 

Advisory: Bank A/C: UON CESSP Collection Account No.  2032771362  at Absa Bank, Plaza Branch.All payments should be made by direct physical deposit to the bank, where a deposit slip should be obtained. The narrative or description of the financial transaction should include the student's registration number. MPesa and RTGS Payments are not encouraged as they will require further follow-up with Student Finance by the student. The Student Finance Department is in Room G3, Ground Floor, Mahatma Gandhi Wing, Main Campus, Harry Thuku Way, Nairobi. 

Intent to Submit the Thesis for Examination

The candidate should submit a form giving notice of Intent to Submit the Thesis for Examination. The Intent to Submit the Thesis form must have TWO  attachments: 

• Abstract (in one page of approximately 300 words). 
• Detailed Fee Statement (showing complete fees). The Detailed Fee Statement can be printed from the Students' Portal . 

The candidate must use this Intent to Submit Thesis form . 

Submission of Intent to Submit Thesis for Examination through Email

Submission must be done by email in soft copy. Only one compiled PDF document is to be submitted. To submit your document, kindly send an email to the second supervisor asking them to sign and date on the relevant pages and forward it to the first supervisor and to inform them to sign and date on the relevant pages and forward it to the Chairman [email protected] . The subject of the email should be, ' Intent to Submit Thesis - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). The student should not just copy all the interested parties in one generic email; the forwarding email should have detailed instructions to the various supervisors on what the supervisors should do. See the sample email below:

It is recommended that the student ensures the document is signed by the supervisors before sending it to the Chairman of the Department, [email protected] and copy the supervisors' email addresses to the email. 

The PDF file should be named ' Intent to Submit Thesis - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. 

Submission of the Thesis

Submission must be done by email in soft copy. Submission is done to the Faculty of Engineering through the department Postgraduate Correspondence, Civil & Construction Engineering [email protected] . The constituents of the compiled PDF are listed below. The subject of the email should be as follows, 'Fresh Thesis Submission - Student Name - Registration Number'. For example, ' Fresh Thesis Submission - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens). All supervisors' email addresses must be copied. The department will forward the thesis to the Faculty for examination and will follow up on behalf of the student. 

Requirements for submission of the thesis are: 

• Faculty of Engineering (FEng) Title Page without a page number. 
• Declaration and Approval page with all the signatures on the second page [Page number (i)].  
• Signed UoN Declaration of Originality. 
• Main Thesis Document (Acknowledgement, Table of Contents, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results & Discussion, Conclusions & Recommendations, References and Appendices). 

The thesis will then be forwarded for examination by the Faculty of Engineering. 

Please compile your document into one PDF in the order above and attach the thesis submission form as a separate attachment. 

Filenames of the PDF documents 

The compiled PDF file should be named ' Fresh  Thesis Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. For the fresh thesis, there should be two attachments to the email. 

• Fresh Thesis Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf 
• Thesis Submission Form - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf 

The candidate must use this Submission of Thesis form . 

Thesis Examination and Defence

This examination and defence shall comprise two parts:

• Independent written assessment of the thesis by Internal and external examiners.
• Oral examination of the thesis by a committee of examiners as prescribed by the University of Nairobi statutes. The student may view a past defence presentation on YouTube via this link . Defence is done virtually. Even though the defence is virtual, the student will be expected to be present physically at the University with the student ID and other identification documents. 

Defence The candidate should prepare presentation slides on their research. The student should rehearse to ensure that their presentation lasts no more than 15 minutes.  The candidate may use university slides template to make the slides .

The candidate, in collaboration with the main supervisor, might be given some minor/major corrections to implement. The student will receive a consolidated list of corrections from the first supervisor. The student should ensure that the consolidated list is signed and dated by the supervisor. 

Resubmission of the Corrected Thesis after Thesis Defence and Examination

The student should correct the thesis as advised and prepare a Table of Corrections which should be sent to the main supervisor. The main supervisor will compile the following documents for forwarding to the Dean, Faculty of Engineering: 

• Table of Corrections made by the student. The student should avoid the use of lazy comments such as 'Ammended', 'Done', 'Corrected in Manuscript' or 'Attached'. Instead, the student should make detailed responses to the examiners' comments. Please read this  article on how to properly respond to the examiners' comments. The student may use this Table of Corrections Sample as a guide. 
• Certificate of Corrections. The main supervisor must use this   Certificate of Correction form . 

The supervisor should send the two documents to the Faculty on [email protected] . The supervisor may copy the email to the Department [email protected] . The subject of the email should be ' Certificate of Correction - Student Name - Registration Number '.For example, ' Certificate of Correction - Another Student - F56/1234/2021 '. 

Requirements for submission of the corrected thesis are:

• Main Corrected Thesis Document (Acknowledgement, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results & Discussion, Conclusions & Recommendations, References and Appendices). 
• Digital Repository Agreement Form . (Sent separately with the main thesis) 
• Turnitin Antiplagiarism Report on the Revised Thesis Document. (Sent separately with the main thesis) 
• Another Signed UoN Declaration of Originality . (Sent separately with the main thesis) 
• Valid Student ID. (Sent separately with the main thesis) 

For the corrected thesis, the Digital Repository Agreement Form and the Turnitin Antiplagiarism Report are submitted separately to the final compiled PDF document. The similarity index should be below 15%. (The student and the supervisors should sign and date on the page that shows the percentage). 

Submission of the Revised Thesis

Submission must be done by email in soft copy to [email protected] . The student must copy the supervisors and the Department through  [email protected] . Five (5) separate PDF documents are to be submitted as attachments in ONE email. Do NOT  send the attachments in separate emails. The subject of the email should be as follows, ' Revised Thesis Submission - Student Name - Registration Number '. For example, ' Revised Thesis Submission - Another Student - F56/12345/2021 '. The subject should be in title case (mixed upper and lower cases). Do not use all uppercase letters. All supervisors' email addresses must be copied. Similarly, ensure the registration number on the email subject has slashes (not hyphens).

The PDF file should be named ' Revised Thesis Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021 '. For the revised thesis, there should be five attachments to the email. 

• Revised Thesis Submission - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf 
• Digital Repository Form - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf
• Similarity Index Report - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf
• Declaration of Originality - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf
• Valid Student ID - Student Name - F56-1234-2021.pdf

*The Similarity Index Report should be signed and dated by the student and the supervisors on the page that shows the percentage. 

Valid Student ID

A Valid copy of the Student's ID should is required. Application of the ID is done by the student on their SMIS portal. Where the ID is not valid, the student will be required to apply for the renewal and print out the page showing the renewal application from their SMIS portal. The student will attach the printout page as their application. 

The student may follow up with the Admissions Office. The Admissions Office is located in Room 114, First Floor, Central Administration Office, Main Campus, Harry Thuku Way, Nairobi. 

The student will be required to clear in the following departments and offices:

• Department/Faculty
• Sports & Games
• Halls of Residence
• Faculty Registrar
• Finance Office

Department/Faculty - The department is the mandatory first step of clearance. The student will be given a physical form at the Chairman's office. The student will have the form signed by the technologists of the various laboratories and resubmit it to the department. After resubmission, the clearance on the portal will activated and the status will change. 

Sports & Games - The location of Sports & Games is along Lower State House Road, near the Student's Clinic. 

Library - The location of the library is in JKML. 

Halls of Residence - The student should go to the Student's Welfare Authority along Mamlaka Road, close to Hall 9 and the Students' centre. 

Faculty Registrar - The Faculty Registrar's office is on the second floor of the Central Administration Offices in Main Campus. 

Finance Office - The Student Finance Department is on Room G3, Ground Floor, Mahatma Gandhi Wing, Main Campus, Harry Thuku Way, Nairobi. 

Once you have cleared you will be issued with a Letter of Award from the Senate. 

Library Clearance Procedure for Submission of Soft Copy Thesis

1. Graduating student forwards a duly signed PDF version of their Dissertation/Theses/Project alongside other mandatory documents to their respective Deans.

2. Dean confirm that the above documents meet the expected requirements and forward the same to the Graduate Studies Secretariat for verification for graduation.

3. Graduate Studies Secretariat forwards to the Library the above documents (No.1) for printing and binding through [email protected] for purposes of reference in the respective departments, Libraries and archiving in the repository.

4. The Library Bindery raises invoices and emails to the students to pay for printing and binding services.

5. Printing and Binding Charges are:

• Four (4) copies for PhD theses @Kshs.3,000.00 per copy totalling to Kshs.12,000.00
• Four (4) copies for Masters by Thesis @Kshs.1,950 per copy totalling to Kshs.7.800.00
• Two (2) copies for Postgraduate diploma and Masters by projects/dissertation
• @Kshs.1,450.00 per copy totalling to Kshs.2,900.00Kindly note that all bound copies shall be retained by the University. Any student who requires an extra copy or copies can place a request to the Library after paying for printing and binding charges.

Payment shall be done through either of the following modes:-

LIPA NA MPESA mode. Students using this mode should ensure they use their personal MPESA account and pay by “Buy goods & service” – Till Number 807313.

Deposit to Absa Bank. Account Name: UNES Corporate Account; Branch: Westland Branch; Account Number: 0732255303. Narrative should be the name of the student’s and their Registration Number.

6. Student Scans and forwards a copy of the payment evidence to   [email protected]

7. Bindery confirms payment, clears students for binding services, forwards scanned copies of the clearance form and payment receipt to Graduate Studies Secretariat, Dean and the Student. 8. The Dean initiates the clearance of the student for him/her to seek clearance from various departments. 

NB. Original receipts can be collected from Library bindery at Jomo Kenyatta Memorial

Library (JKML) Main Campus after clearance as per No.8 above.

Completion and Graduation

The student will graduate in the next graduation ceremony after paying the required graduation convocation fee. The mandatory convocation fee is paid to: 

• Bank: ABSA KENYA PLC
• Branch: ABSA Towers
• Account Name: UON MODULE I COLLECTION ACCOUNT
• Account Number: 2032770838
• Amount: 1 000 
• Narrative: Registration Number

Or as advised in memos leading to the graduation ceremony. 

Optional charges are: 

• Hire of graduation gown: KES 4 000.00
• Congregation fee: KES 2 500 (must be paid for those who wish to attend physically)

Collection of Certificate

The graduate should plan to collect their Master's or PhD certificate after the announcement for schedule for collection of certificates is made on the University of Nairobi's main website uonbi.ac.ke . The certificate should be collected from the University of Nairobi Central Examinations Centre, Chiromo Campus. The graduate student should register on the University CRM Portal  on https://graduates.uonbi.ac.ke/ before going to collect the document physically. 

The following will be required before collection of the certificates: 

• Original National Identity Card or Original Passport. 
• Convocation fee receipt for KES 1 000.00

Certificates should be collected by the stipulated date. Any certificate not collected by the stipulated date will be liable to a storage charge of KES 1 000/= per year or part thereof. For avoidance of doubt, any part of a year after the expiry of the collection date shall attract a storage charge of KES 1 000/=. For further information with regards to the collection of the certificate, please contact:

The Academic Registrar University of Nairobi P.O. Box 30917-00100 NAIROBI Telephone: 020-4914201/020-4914202/020-4914204/020-4914203 Mobile: 0700675405 Email:  [email protected]  or [email protected]

Ongoing students can view their status below. The table is sorted by the students' registration numbers in ascending order. 

KEY Turnitin Rcvd - The department has received a similarity index report request from the student. Action required: The department should take action and respond with a similarity index report in not more than five business days. 

Turnitin Snt - The department has scanned and sent back a similarity index report to the student. Action required: The student should take action and submit the proposal, if the similarity index was less than 15%; or revise the document if the similarity index was 15% or more. 

Prpsl Rcvd - The department has received a proposal document with all seven requirements from the student/supervisor. Action required: The chairman should take action and approve the document for forwarding to the FPSC. 

Prpsl Snt - The chairman has signed and has sent the proposal document to the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee. Action required: The FPSC should take action and review the document. 

FPSC Rcvd - The department has received the FPSC reviews. Action required: The department should take action forward the comments to the student. 

FPSC Snt - The department has sent the FPSC reviews to the student. Action required: The student should revise the proposal as per FPSC recommendations. 

NTntn Rcvd - The department has received a similarity index report for the revised thesis proposal from the student. Action required:  The department should scan and send the student the similarity index report. 

NTntn Snt - The department has sent a similarity index report for the revised thesis proposal to the student. Action required: The student should send the department a revised thesis proposal. 

Rev Prpsl Rcvd - The department has received the revised thesis proposal with all 10 requirements. Action required: The chairman should approve the revised thesis proposal and send it to the FPSC. 

Rev Prpsl Snt - The department has sent the revised thesis proposal to the FPSC. Action required: The FPSC should confirm that the student has adopted all the recommendations (or provided adequate rebuttals) to the recommendations it has made. 

Fcmnts Rcvd - The department has received further comments, if any, from the FPSC.  Action required: The department should send the FPSC further comments to the student. 

FCmnts Snt - The department has sent the student further comments from the FPSC, if any. Action required: The student should adopt the FPSC further comments. 

FRev Prpsl Rcvd - The department has received the further revised proposal from the student. Action required:   The chairman should approve the document and forward it to the FPSC. 

FRev Prpsl Sent - The department has sent the further revised proposal to the FPSC. Action required: The FPSC should review the further revised proposal. 

FPSC Aprvl Rcvd - The department has received the minutes from the FPSC granting approval of proposal. Action required: The department will allocate supervisors to the student on the Postgraduate Tracking System and should forward the signed pages and minutes to the student. 

FPSC Aprvl Snt - The department has sent the minutes from the FPSC to the student. Action required: The student should compile the document, upload the document to the Postgraduate Tracking System and forward the compiled document to the department. 

Upl Rcvd - The department has received the complete thesis proposal (with all signatures) for record-keeping. Action required: The department should also request the Dean to request DVC (AA) for official approval of the thesis proposal. 

Upl Snt - The department has sent the complete proposal to the dean's office for record-keeping. Action required: The Dean will request the DVC (AA) for official approval of the thesis proposal. 

Acd Rgstr LttrRcvd - The department has received the letter from the academic registrar. Action required: The department will forward the student the letter of approval to the student. 

Acd Rgstr Lttr Snt - The department has sent the letter from the academic registrar to the student. Action required: The student should begin the research and upload Progress Report Q1. 

Prg 1 Rcvd - The department has received the fully signed Progress Report 1 from the student. Action required: The student should file the second progress report in not less than a month (from submission of Progress Report 1) and begin publishing in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Prg 2 Rcvd - The department has received the fully signed Progress Report 2 from the student. Action required: The student should file the third progress report in not less than a month (from submission of Progress Report 2) and should be in the publication process in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Prg 3 Rcvd - The department has received the fully signed Progress Report 3 from the student. Action required: The student should complete the publication process in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Intt Submit Rcvd - The department has received an 'Intent to Submit' by the candidate. Action required: The department checks whether the student has filled the three progress reports and whether the publication has been made in a peer-reviewed journal.  

Intt Submit Snt - The department has sent the 'Intent to Submit' to the Dean. Action required: The department, chairman and the supervisor in consultation with the Dean will set up a Committee of Examiners. 

CoE Setup - A committee of examiners has been set up. Action required: The dean will request the student to submit the thesis. 

Submt Ths Rcvd - The department has received instruction from the Dean to ask the student to submit the thesis. Action required: The department will forward the instruction to the student. 

Submt Ths Sent - The department has sent the instruction from the Dean to the student asking the student to submit the thesis. Action required: The student should submit the thesis with all the requirements. 

Ths Rcvd - The department has received the thesis from the student. Action required: The Chairman will approve and send the document to the Dean. 

Ths Snt - The chairman has approved the document and has been sent to the Faculty. Action required: The dean will send the thesis to the reviewers for examination. The student will be called for a defence. 

RThs Rcvd - The department has received a revised thesis from the supervisor. Action required: The department will forward the revised thesis to the Faculty. 

RThs Snt - The department has sent the revised thesis to the Faculty. Action required: The Faculty will forward the document to Graduate Secretariat. Action required: The student should clear and prepare for graduation.

Help improve this page by asking questions or seeking clarifications from  [email protected] . Your comments might be incorporated into this page to assist other students. 

Updated: 2024-04-19

© University of Nairobi 2024.  All rights Reserved.

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AI and holography bring 3D augmented reality to regular glasses

Combining advances in display technologies, holographic imaging, and artificial intelligence, engineers at Stanford say they have produced a leap forward for augmented reality.

Prototype of the compact augmented reality glasses. Through holography and AI, these glasses can display full-color, 3D moving images over an otherwise direct view of the real world. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

Researchers in the emerging field of spatial computing have developed a prototype augmented reality headset that uses holographic imaging to overlay full-color, 3D moving images on the lenses of what would appear to be an ordinary pair of glasses. Unlike the bulky headsets of present-day augmented reality systems, the new approach delivers a visually satisfying 3D viewing experience in a compact, comfortable, and attractive form factor suitable for all-day wear.

“Our headset appears to the outside world just like an everyday pair of glasses, but what the wearer sees through the lenses is an enriched world overlaid with vibrant, full-color 3D computed imagery,” said Gordon Wetzstein , an associate professor of electrical engineering and an expert in the fast-emerging field of spatial computing. Wetzstein and a team of engineers introduce their device in a new paper in the journal Nature .

Though only a prototype now, such a technology, they say, could transform fields stretching from gaming and entertainment to training and education – anywhere computed imagery might enhance or inform the wearer’s understanding of the world around them.

“One could imagine a surgeon wearing such glasses to plan a delicate or complex surgery or airplane mechanic using them to learn to work on the latest jet engine,” Manu Gopakumar , a doctoral student in the Wetzstein-led Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-first author of the paper said.

New holographic augmented reality system that enables more compact 3D displays (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

Barriers overcome

The new approach is the first to thread a complex maze of engineering requirements that have so far produced either ungainly headsets or less-than-satisfying 3D visual experiences that can leave the wearer visually fatigued, or even a bit nauseous at times.

“There is no other augmented reality system out there now with comparable compact form factor or that matches our 3D image quality,” said Gun-Yeal Lee , a postdoctoral researcher in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-first author of the paper.

To succeed, the researchers have overcome technical barriers through a combination of AI-enhanced holographic imaging and new nanophotonic device approaches. The first hurdle was that the techniques for displaying augmented reality imagery often require the use of complex optical systems. In these systems, the user does not actually see the real world through the lenses of the headset. Instead, cameras mounted on the exterior of the headset capture the world in real time and combine that imagery with computed imagery. The resulting blended image is then projected to the user’s eye stereoscopically.

“The user sees a digitized approximation of the real world with computed imagery overlaid. It’s sort of augmented virtual reality, not true augmented reality,” explained Lee.

These systems, Wetzstein explains, are necessarily bulky because they use magnifying lenses between the wearer’s eye and the projection screens that require a minimum distance between the eye, the lenses, and the screens, leading to additional size.

“Beyond bulkiness, these limitations can also lead to unsatisfactory perceptual realism and, often, visual discomfort,” said Suyeon Choi , a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and co-author of the paper.

Videos showing the researcher team’s AI-enhanced holography in action. (Stanford Computational Imaging lab)

To produce more visually satisfying 3D images, Wetzstein leapfrogged traditional stereoscopic approaches in favor of holography, a Nobel-winning visual technique developed in the late-1940s. Despite great promise in 3D imaging, more widespread adoption of holography has been limited by an inability to portray accurate 3D depth cues, leading to an underwhelming, sometimes nausea-inducing, visual experience.

The Wetzstein team used AI to improve the depth cues in the holographic images. Then, using advances in nanophotonics and waveguide display technologies, the researchers were able to project computed holograms onto the lenses of the glasses without relying on bulky additional optics.

Using nanophotonic technologies called metasurface optics, the researchers designed and fabricated a novel waveguide design that can relay 3D hologram information of RGB visible light into a single compact device with high transparency. These nanophotonic waveguide samples were fabricated in-house at Stanford Nanofabrication Facility and Stanford Nano Shared Facilities. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

Life-like quality

The 3D effect is enhanced because it is created both stereoscopically, in the sense that each eye gets to see a slightly different image as they would in traditional 3D imaging, and holographically.

“With holography, you also get the full 3D volume in front of each eye increasing the life-like 3D image quality,” said Brian Chao , a doctoral student in the Stanford Computational Imaging lab and also co-author of the paper.

The ultimate outcome of the new waveguide display techniques and the improvement in holographic imaging is a true-to-life 3D visual experience that is both visually satisfying to the user without the fatigue that has challenged earlier approaches.

“Holographic displays have long been considered the ultimate 3D technique, but it’s never quite achieved that big commercial breakthrough,” Wetzstein said. “Maybe now they have the killer app they’ve been waiting for all these years.”

Additional authors are from The University of Hong Kong and NVIDIA. Wetzstein is also member of  Stanford Bio-X , the  Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance , and the  Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute .

This research was funded by a Stanford Graduate Fellowship in Science and Engineering, the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, a Kwanjeong Scholarship, a Meta Research PhD Fellowship, the ARO PECASE Award, Samsung, and the Sony Research Award Program. Part of this work was performed at the Stanford Nano Shared Facilities (SNSF) and Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) , supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure.