NASA inducts Nigerian scientist into inventors Hall of Fame

A United States-based Nigerian scientist, Robert Okojie, has been inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame of the US National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA).

In a statement on its website, NASA said Okojie, who joined the silicon carbide research group at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland in 1999, “gained worldwide recognition as the leading expert on silicon carbide-based micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) for use in extreme environments.”

He holds more than 20 patents relating to high-temperature devices, including several licensed for commercial use that could reduce spacecraft weight.

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The scientist has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers relating to his field.

The statement read: “During his decades at Glenn, Okojie has received numerous accolades, including in 2009 the NASA Abe Silverstein Medal for Research and in 2012 the Glenn Research Center Distinguished Publication Award.

“He was also recognized in 2002 as the Scientist of the Year by the National Technical Association for his ‘exceptional accomplishments in advancing the state–of–the–art of MEMS for use in harsh environments’ and in 2007 was a recipient of the Cleveland Executive Board Wings of Excellence award.”

“His current research focus is in single-chip integrated multifunctional sensing for extreme environments.”

Okojie, who is the fourth black person to be honored out of 36 recipients has mentored several students at Glenn, all of whom have gone on to achieve success in their various fields.

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