I am a Senior Lecturer in the Computer Science Department of the University of Cape Town (UCT). I am also a member of UCT’s ICT4D Center, collaborating particularly within the Net4D research group.
Research area: My research focuses on Performance of Internet systems in low-resource contexts, with emphasis on (1) Data-driven Network Performance Engineering with Deep/Machine Learning and Software Defined Networking; (2) The interplay between Internet Performance and Security; (3) User-centric QoS/QoE Measurements; (4) Internet universality, particularly with respect to ‘constrained Internet access‘ and various forms of Internet traffic manipulation and censorship.
Prospective postgraduate students can contact me on jchavula_at_cs_dot_uct_dot_ac_za to discuss potential research projects and possible funding avenues.
The goal of my research is to build community-orientated capacity for collecting and evaluating Internet-related data that can be used to identify technical challenges pertaining to Internet access, and to help network operators improve their inter-network topologies. My approach involves interaction with real-world network deployments for measurements and data collection. I also focus on designing, building and testing of Internet measurement tools.
I obtained a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cape Town (2017), an MSc in Networking and Internet Systems from Lancaster University, England (2011), and a BSc in Computer Science and Physics from the University of Malawi (2005). I have previously been a Senior Research Engineer at the African Network Information Center (AFRINIC), the Regional Registry for Internet Number Resources serving the African Internet Community.