Francis Gacenga

Dr. Francis Gacenga, currently at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), serves as a Senior Digital Research Advisor in the Research Infrastructure Admin department. He is affiliated with the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Institute for Advanced Engineering and Space Sciences.

• PhD in Information Systems (USQ, 2013)
• MBA (University of Nairobi, 2000)
• Graduate Diploma in MIS (University of Greenwich, 2003)
• BA(Hons) from Kenyatta University (1997)

With over 20 years of experience in IT and academic research, Dr. Gacenga specializes in Research Data Management (RDM), IT Service Management (ITSM), Digital Research Infrastructure, and Design Science. His work focuses on applying FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles to agricultural and environmental domains.

The 15 most recent publications reveal a trajectory from foundational ITSM research (2010-2016) to agricultural data platforms (2019-2024). Key themes include FAIR data implementation, cloud computing integration, reproducible research frameworks, and cross-disciplinary agricultural applications.

• Senior Member of Australian Computer Society (since 2009)
• Former Chair of ACS Toowoomba Chapter

As Principal Investigator for grants totaling over $500k from GRDC, Soils CRC, and ARDC, he leads digital infrastructure projects. He also supervises Doctoral candidates and contributes to national cybersecurity and data policy committees.