Nigerian-American Scientist Robert Okogie inducted into NASA Hall of Fame

Robert Olusola Okojie, a Nigerian-American Scientist Robert Okogie has been inducted into U.S’s National Aeronautics Space Administration‘s (NASA) Inventors Hall of Fame.

Okogie who has been working with NASA for 20 years has 21 patented inventions to his credit, gained worldwide recognition as the leading expert on silicon carbide-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for use in extreme environments.

It was further gathered that he joined the silicon carbide research group at the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland in 1999. 

NASA wrote on its website; 

“He holds more than 20 patents relating to high-temperature devices, including several licensed for commercial use that could reduce spacecraft weight, and thereby launch cost and fuel consumption, while leaving additional space for scientific payloads. He has also published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers relating to his field.”

Okojie who has received numerous accolades including the NASA Abe Silverstein Medal for Research in 2009 and the Glenn Research Center Distinguished Publication Award in 2012, 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”. In 2007, he was a recipient of the Cleveland Executive Board Wings of Excellence award. 

Okojie whose current research focus is in single-chip integrated multifunctional sensing for extreme environments, has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute Of Technology.