A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Dr. (Mrs) Oluwatoyin Olaseinde has won a $25,000 grant of the Carnegie Corporation of New York through the African Materials Science and Engineering Network (AMSEN) under the auspices of Regional Initiatives in Science and Education (RISE).
Olaseinde, a Corrosion Engineer and RISE scholar responded to call for proposals to establish Research Groups among the five networks under RISE comprising FUTA; University of Nairobi, Kenya; University of Namibia, Windhoek; University of Botswana, Gaborone; and University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Her proposal scaled through and won the only one for AMSEN covering Nigeria and the other countries.
The grant is for the establishment and expansion of Research group in FUTA with the aim of training the trainers. In accordance with the aim, Olaseinde has set up a laboratory named Advanced Materials and Electrochemical Research Group (AMERG) laboratory. The laboratory is located in the department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, FUTA.
During a recent working visit to the AMSEN group, the Executive Director, Science Initiative Group (SIG), Arlen Hastings in company of Programme Associate, Sarah Rich, commended Olaseinde’s delivery on the project. Hastings said “Olaseinde, you made me proud. I am really impressed with this setting and your judicious utilization of the grant.
“I am also happy seeing the third generation of students under a RISE trainee at FUTA. This is an indication that African can do it and I believe the number of students you train would also replicate themselves in the nearest future by training others. This is a huge intellectual investment that I believe will never die”.
Responding to the feat, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adebiyi Daramola said “the RISE programme has been of consistent help in developing next level academic in Africa. One of the grants that have remained consistent to us is from RISE. This has helped to develop our faculties through staff development and attendance at international conferences.
This has really exposed our upcoming academic globally.”
Lending his voice, the Coordinator of AMSEN-FUTA Professor Joseph Borode said the University has benefited immensely from the programme through manpower and equipment development.
Dr. Olaseinde said she is impressed by the opportunity afforded her by RISE through AMSEN to set up the laboratory which has further enhanced her academic horizon through training students in Corrosion Engineering and Physical Metallurgy.
Olaseinde, who emphasized the importance of collaboration in research, said she learnt and achieved a lot through collaborative effort while doing her PhD at Witwatersrand, South Africa. She commended her PhD supervisor at Witwatersrand, Professor Lesley Cornish for investing and believing in her.
She also appreciated the effort of her mentor, Professor Benjamin Adewuyi of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and other colleagues for their collaborative effort which keep yielding result.
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