OPINION - Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande: A Noble Nigerian with Dignified Strides. By Nsikan Ikpe
Born in the little town of Offa in Kwara State - the South Western region of Nigeria, a Professor Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande, has risen to fame as one of the world's reown scholars contributing enormously to the development of global electronic industry.
Akinwande, a product of Government College Ibadan (GCI), is currently the first tenured professor in the prestigious Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United State of America, who has made significant developments in the Electrical engineering and computer science.
Speaking on his background, Akinwande described his sojourn to the top as a challenge and encouraging experience. Coming from a family with generations of educated scholars, Akinwande looks at Offa his home town "as a Bethlehem in its own right, a quite town that brings fond memories that have motivated him to be assertive in the search for growth and development".
"I can recount the satisfaction in me when my second grade of elementary school in St. Marks Primary School Offa, I had to move with my family to Ibadan to continue my education and has the opportunity to attend the same school my grandfather, Pa Samuel Ajayi, attended in 1900. These memories boosted my desire to leave indelible track to enhance development", he said.
An astute academic and achiever, Akinwande, demonstrated his talent for research and development in the science world upon graduation from the Unviersity of Ife in 1978. He did his National Service at pulse Telecommunication, and subsequently enrolled and graduated from Stanford University, with a Masters in 1981 and then a PHD in electrical electronics.
He joined Honeywell Inc. USA in 1986. His research on GaAs Heterostructure FET technology for very high speed signal processing and GaAs Complementary Heterostructure FET technology for very low power circuit resulted in several world record demonstrations of GaAs technology. His contribution in this field won him the SWEATT Award, Honeywell's hightest technical achievement prize.
Akinwande is actively involved in research conferences and projects worldwide, as well as research on the organisation of the electronic industry as part of the Globalisation Project in MIT's Industrial Performance Centre.
He is chairman of the International Vacuum Nanoeletric Conference, IVNC and also a member of the on going Detectors, Sensor, and Displays Sub-committee, IEEE-IEDM.
Professor Akinwande has served a number of international technical programme committee. He has authored well over 100 journal publication has several patents in MEMS and Display technologies.
Professor Akinwande is a devoted advocate in the transfer of global best practices, hence his service on the board of several African-American and Nigerian Organisations to boost development. Some of the organisations include the Boston Pan African Forum, Pinnacle International Club, and FATE Foundation USA. He is also involved in the Minnestone Institute of Nigeria Development (MIND) and the assciation of Nigeria Engineers in Minnesota (ANEM).
Akinwande is a recipient of the 1996 National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Awards.
Akinwande delievered the GCIOBA reunion national lecture in Nigeria, during the 75th Anniversary of the Government College Ibadan last week in Lagos.
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
Abdulraufu Mustapha Kwara United Agor Eghe Igbinehin Olabode Towoju Yusuf AbdulRasheed Wahab Kunle Shittu Abdulrahman Iliasu Dogara Saliu Shola Taofeek Kwara State Sports Commission Taofik Mustapha Share Umar Adelodun Wasiu Onidugbe Standard Organization Of Nigeria Ibrahim Bio IHS Ilorin Innovation Hub Alabere Ilorin Likeminds Foundation Offa Poly Orisun Igbomina Niguel Gallando Marcias Valsolar Consortium Bello Oyedepo Makama Elelu Offa Descendants Union Rabiu Kwankwaso Kishira Abdulrazaq Solihudeen Ramadhan Nigeria Customs Service Ilorin Metro Park Sheriff Olanrewaju Facemasks New Nigeria People’s Party Aso-ofi Ahman Pategi Sobi Specialist Hospital Moses Rahman Popoola Yunus Oniboki Shehu Raheem Adaramaja Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Sidikat Alaya KWTV Women For Change And Development Initiative 3MTT Jebba Gbajabiamila M.Y. Abdulrahaman Akanbi-Oke Abubakar B.M Ibrahim Jawondo Hausa Facebook Issa Memunat Moyosore Afolayan Haruna Tambiri Mohammed Ojo Fadumila Oladimeji Thompson Tinubu Abdullateef Abdussalam Mahmud Ayinla Giwa Muritala Olarewaju Ilorin Curfew Kale Kawu Oko-Erin Jumoke Gafar Ibraheem Abdullateef Ayekale Clement Yomi Adeboye Irepodun Yetunde Balogun Abdullahi Samari Abdul-Rahoof Bello

