Edith Luhanga
Assistant Research Professor, CMU-Africa
Edith Luhanga joined CMU-Africa as a postdoctoral researcher in June 2021 and transitioned to assistant research professor in September 2022. Prior to that, she was a lecturer at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Tanzania (NM-AIST). She holds a Ph.D. in information science from Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, an MSc in advanced computing science, and a BEng (Hons) in electronic and computer engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK.
Luhanga’s research focuses on designing theory-based behavior change systems that consider people’s personal and socio-cultural contexts, through a human-centered approach. Her main domains of interest are health (particularly nutrition, maternal and child health, and disabilities management), financial inclusion, and privacy and security
She was the deputy project leader for a 10-year project on capacity building through digital technologies at NM-AIST and served as Tanzania’s representative to the UNESCO intergovernmental committee on drafting recommendations on the ethics of artificial intelligence in 2021.
Faculty Insights
Research Interests
Media mentions
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
A honeynet infrastructure to battle SMS scammers
Bernard Odartei Lamptey from CMU-Africa's Upanzi Network hopes to combat mobile money scam transactions by collecting more data about smishing in order to develop ways that users can protect themselves.
CyLab Security and Privacy Institute
Navigating digital financial inclusion in Africa
As the presence of mobile phones becomes increasingly widespread in Africa, digital services have allowed for more financial inclusion among low- and middle-income countries within the continent. A group of Carnegie Mellon University researchers led by Karen Sowon, a postdoctoral researcher at CMU’s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, investigated these issues and recently published a paper on "The Role of User-Agent Interactions on Mobile Money Practices in Kenya and Tanzania."
CyLab Security and Privacy Institute
CyLab researchers present research at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
CyLab faculty members and students presented their research on topics ranging from mobile money practices in Africa to uncovering and identifying side-channel and evasion attacks at the 45th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Symposium on Security and Privacy.
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
Research opportunities enrich the student experience
Three CMU-Africa students presented their research projects to fellow scholars and industry leaders at IEEE Africon in September and IEEE ICMEA in November.
Mani & Luhanga speak at UN Commission on Population and Development 56th session
CMU-Africa’s Ganesh Mani and Edith Luhanga presented at the UN’s 56th session of the Commission on Population and Development which took place on April 13, 2023.
OWSD
Luhanga receives OWSD Early Career Fellowship Award
CMU-Africa’s Edith Luhanga recently won an Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) Early Career Fellowship, which will provide financial support to develop her research and professional and networking opportunities.
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
Luhanga receives 2022 Next Einstein Forum Award
Edith Luhanga, assistant research professor at CMU-Africa, was recently named a 2022 Next Einstein Forum award recipient.