16 Nigerian Inventors You Should Know!
1. Jelani Aliyu:
1. Jelani Aliyu:
Jelani Aliyu – General Motor’s Senior Creative Designer Credited For The Design Of The Chevy Volt.
To the well-informed fans of automobile, you probably know that as per January 2014, Chevrolet Volt was voted the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the market currently. This is according to ratings done by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Volt employs a technology that combines electric mode and gasoline consumption of 3.8 L/100 km. The Chevy Volt runs purely on batter-power till the battery capacity drops below a certain threshold level that its internal combustion engine kick-starts and powers an electric generator which will extend the vehicles range. While the engine is running it has the ability to be periodically linked mechanically to the traction motor, which will improve its energy efficiency.
There is no doubt the Chevy Volt comes with superior technology and design to make it not only eco-friendly but also quite a nice set of wheels to “roll down the streets in”. The average automobile fan probably knows in-depth details on the Volt, but should you ask any of them if they know Jelani Aliyu. You will probably get a clueless blank stare.
Jelani Aliyu is the creative mind behind the Chevrolet Volt. Aliyu comes from Sokoto State of Northern Nigeria working as the Senior Creative Designer of the US General Motors. He is the man who designed the Chevrolet Volt which has become one of the most admired American cars globally.
Mr. Aliyu beams with so much pride when he describes his homeland: “I was born and grew up in Nigeria, Land of the Niger crocodile, The Baobab tree, And the midday sun, Nigeria. Where smiles are free like the bright blue sky And the beautiful stars of the night”. Aliyu can be said to have had a fascinating childhood whereby he grew up with wild imaginations on various types of World Class Automobile and Industry Designing. For as far back into his childhood as he can remember, Aliyu always wanted to become a “crème de la crème” car designer. Few professionals can say that they lived up to their fascinating childhood dreams and fantasy, but Mr. Aliyu seem to be one of the very few.
Aliyu first undertook architectural studies, which is as close to car designing as one can get in Nigeria. He later enrolled to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan where he undertook a course in Transportation Design. After graduating, Mr. Aliyu received a job at General Motors. He worked at the GM Tech Center for 3 years until when he sent to Germany on an international assignment at Opel which lasted for about 2 years. After his assignment in Germany, Aliyu returned to the GM Tech Center; this was the point in his career where he came up with the design for the Chevrolet Volt Electric Car: a prototype vehicle that was is not only GM’s pride, but also has a significant importance in terms of championing eco-system conservation.
The magnitude of the imagination that Jelani Aliyu placed in this car design cannot be appreciated enough. As attested by the magnificent appearance, speed and performance of this car. To underscore this fact, Jelani Aliyu was quoted saying: “We must never underestimate the amazing power of human imagination, the ability to envision a dramatically positive and dynamic future. Every great city, every monument, every historic feat, as it stands for all the world to see, was once pure thought, pure imagination acted upon and brought into reality. To imagine is to dream, to dream is to tune in to the ever fascinating possibilities of the future. And when we do dream, it must be big, because dream small is to totally underestimate the amazing capabilities that lie within each and every one of us”.
2. Saheed Adepoju:
Nigeria's
Saheed Adepoju is a young man with big dreams. He is the inventor of the Inye,
a tablet computer designed for the African market.
Credits:
He is the inventor of the INYE-1 & 2, tablet computers designed for the
African market.
Bio: Saheed is the Co-founder of Encipher
Limited, a Nigerian-based technology company that introduced the first
android-powered tablet into Nigeria. The INYE-1, which was unveiled in April
2010 is a 7-inch resistive screen tablet. It runs android 2.1 and allows users
to connect to the internet using its inbuilt WIFI card and to use an external
3G modem from GSM networks. It offers about 3 hours of battery life and allows
HDMI output to HDMI capable devices.
INYE-2, which was unveiled in May
2011, is an 8-inch capacitive screen tablet. It runs Android 2.2 and allows
users to connect to the internet using its inbuilt Wi-Fi card as well as its
inbuilt SIM. It offers about 8 hours of battery life and allow users to connect
to other USB devices.
3. Seyi Oyesola
Credits:
He is credited with the co-invention of CompactOR or the “Hospital in a
Box”, a solar-powered life-saving operating room which can be transported to
remote areas of Africa and set up within minutes.
Bio: Seyi
is a Nigerian trained doctor and inventor. He received his basic science
and medical education at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, with specialist
training in Anaesthesia and Critical Care in the United Kingdom and United
States. In order to help bring surgical care to every region of the continent,
Seyi co-developed CompactOR, or the “Hospital in a Box”: a portable medical
system that contains anesthetic and surgical equipment. One major advantage of
this invention is that the operating suite is light enough to be dropped into
inaccessible zones by helicopter and it can be powered by solar panels.
4. Ndubuisi Ekekwe
Credits: He is credited with the development of
microchips used in minimally invasive surgical obots.
Bio: Ndubuisi is the founder of First Atlantic Semiconductors & Microelectronics Ltd.
He holds a U.S. Patent on a microchip used in minimally invasive surgical robots and was part of the team that created
XL sensor inside the iPhone and iPad.
Credits: Oviemo is a Nigerian medical Doctor who is
credited with the invention of the Emergency Auto Transfusion System (EAT-SET),
which is an effective, low-cost and affordable blood auto-transfusion mechanism
that saves patients in developing countries. He has patented the invention in
nine (9) countries.
5. Col. Oviemo Ovadje (Rtd.)
Bio:
Oviemo was born in Nigeria and hails from Delta State. He began working on the
invention in 1989 with $120 dollars. In 1995, he was declared best African
scientist and founded EATSET Industries, in April 2001. The United Nation
Development Program (UNDP) and the government of Nigeria funded the EAT-SET
Project, with the World Health Organization (WHO) acting as the executing
agency and providing assistance in the coordination of the project.
He has received many
international awards including:
·
OAU-WIPO Best African Scientist Gold Medal, Geneva Switzerland
(1995);
·
Winner Promex Medal Geneva, Switzerland (1998);
·
First African Winner World Health Organisation
Sasakawa Gold Medal, Geneva, Switzerland, (2000);
·
Winner ARCO Gold Medal, The Dorchester, UK, (2001);
·
Winner Army Council Medal, Nigeria Army, Army Head
Quarters, Abuja, Nigeria.
6. Cyprian Emeka Uzoh
Credits: He holds more than 126 United
States issued patents and over 160 patents worldwide in semiconductor
technology including U.S. Patent No. 6709562, “method of making
electroplated interconnection structures on integrated circuit chips”,
which earned him the inventor of the year award in 2006 from the New York
Intellectual Property Association.
7. Kunle Olukotun
Credits: He is well known for leading the
Stanford Hydra research project which developed one of the first chip
multiprocessors with support for thread-level speculation (TLS). Bio: Kunle is
a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford
University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from The University
of Michigan. He is the founder of Afara
Websystems (later acquired by Sun Microsystems), a
company that builds servers surrounding a custom high-throughput CPU architecture
and develops IP traffic management systems for highthroughput, low power server
systems with chip multiprocessor technology.
8. Sebastine Chinonye Omeh
Credits: He is best known for his
research into the use of windpropelled turbines to generate electricity. Bio:
Sebastine is the Managing Director of Hybrid Micro Machine Products Limited. He
is from Ogrute town in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State,
Nigeria. He is a graduate of engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Challenged by the energy crisis in Nigeria, and the need to develop indigenous technology
he conducted research into the use of wind-propelled turbines to generate
electricity, thereby pioneering wind energy technology in Nigeria.
9. Shehu Saleh Balami
Credits: He is credited with designing a
solid-fuel rocket. Bio: Since year 2000, Shehu Balami, a Nigerian Engineer has
been involved in designing rockets. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from
the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Niger State. He has produced
two solid fuel rockets which were launched along the new Kaduna Millennium City
Road in Kaduna State. In 2008, with the support of his friends and family
members, he was able to build his first rocket which he later modified in 2011.
The solid-fuel rocket was produced under the auspices of the Movement for the
Propagation of Science and Technology in Nigeria.
10. Yemi Adesokan
Credits: He was selected by expert judges
of the Technology Review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the
United States of America for his discovery work on drug resistant infections.
He was honored by the MIT in 2011 because of his innovative work. Bio: Yemi is
a Nigerian born and United States-based founder of Pathogenica Inc. Medical experts
are of the view that his innovation may bring an end to the problem of drug
resistance in the world particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. His discovery work
was carried out by a biotechnology start-up that he
founded with Professor George Church of Harvard
Medical School DNA technology.
11. Ume Ifeanyi Charles
Credits: He is credited with five (5)
inventions all of which were patented at the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO). These are:
·
Method and Apparatus
for Measuring Thermally Induced Warpage in Printed Wiring Boards Using Shadow
Moir, United States Patent No. 5601364, Feb.
11,1997;
·
Method and Apparatus
for Measuring Thermal Warpage Using Projection Moir, United States Patent No.
6564166 B1, May 13, 2003;
·
Object Inspection
Method and System, United States Patent No. 6747268, June 8, 2004;
·
Inspection System and
Methods, United States Patent No. 7492449, February 17, 2009; and
·
Ultrasound Systems
and Method for Measuring Weld Penetration Depth in Real Time and Off Line, United
States Patent No. 7762136, July 27, 2010.
Bio: Ifeanyi is a professor at
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. He is a recipient of the
Donald P. Eckman Education Award in recognition of his contributions towards
education of mechatronics throughout the world. In 2010, he was also awarded
the Electronics and Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD) Excellence in Mechanics
Award.
12. Aloysius Anaebonam
Credits: He holds about 12 U.S. Patents
including the following:
Extended release acetaminophen, Patent number: 6254891,
July 3, 2001;
·
Extended release
acetaminophen particles, Patent number: 6126967, October
3, 2000;
·
Pleasant-tasting
aqueous liquid composition of a bitter-tasting drug, Patent number: 5962461,
October 5, 1999;
·
Pleasant-tasting
aqueous liquid composition of a bitter-tasting drug, Patent number: 5763449,
June 9, 1998;
·
Composition and
process for prevention and treatment of cutaneous immediate hypersensitivity
reactions, Patent number: 5684037, November 4, 1997;
·
Composition and
process for prevention and treatment of cutaneous immediate hypersensitivity
reactions, Patent number: 5684038, November 4, 1997;
·
Terfenadine oral
granules, Patent number: 5626879, May 6, 1997;
·
Process for treating
uremic pruritus, Patent number: 5576346, November 19, 1996;
·
Process for treating
hemangioma, Patent number: 5552436
·
Composition and
process for prevention and treatment of cutaneous immediate hypersensitivity
reactions,
·
Patent number:
5532270, July 2, 1996; and
·
Terfenadine oral
powder, Patent number: 5455049, October 3, 1995.
Bio: Aloysius holds a Bachelor of
Pharmacy degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and M.S. and Ph.D. in
Industrial Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Boston
Massachusetts. He is the Founder & Chief Scientist of BREEJ Technologies,
Inc., a developer and marketer of advanced treatment cosmetics products for
problem skin.
13. Mohammed Bah Abbah
Credits: Although he holds no patent on
this invention, he is credited with taking on the challenge of making accessible
the “pot-in-pot refrigerator” or “zeer”, a refrigerating device that does not
use electricity, to people in rural areas. He is a recipient of the Rolex Award
for Enterprise, an award that provided $75,000 which Mohammed used to produce
and distribute his invention in 11 northern states in Nigeria.
Bio: Mohammed developed his
pot-in-pot refrigerator by combining the knowledge he had gained from his
grandmother’s craft of traditional pottery with simple laws of physics. He
followed up on the idea by placing food in a small pot, which is then placed in
a larger pot. The space between the two is filled with moist sand and a wet
cloth cover is used to cover the whole set up. As the water in the moist sand
evaporates through the larger pot, it carries heat away from the inner core of the
whole set up.
Mohammed holds no patent on this invention because the
pot making business is not new. What is novel is the fact that he set up a
local production facilities to provide the pot-in-pot for the cost of $2 (N320)
for the smaller pot-in-pot refrigerator and $4 (N640) for the bigger versions.
The invention allows perishable food to extend their spoilage rate. For
example, meat can be stored in it for up to two weeks instead of a few hours.
14. Olu Atanda
Credits: He is credited with the
co-invention of a self-lubricating layer for a data-storage device and disk and
holds the following patents at the USPTO.
·
Self-lubricating
layer for data storage devices, United States Patent No. 6,677,105, January 13,
2004.
·
Self-lubricating
layer for a data storage disk, United States Patent No. 6,430,114, August 6,
2002.
15. Brino Gilbert
Credits: He is credited with the
invention of the Counter Collision Gadget (CCG), a device that has the capacity
to prevent accidents on the road, air, sea and rail. The invention earned him
many awards including a bronze medal in the Aerospace/Aeronautics category at
the May 2003 edition of the Invention and New Product Exposition (INPEX) in the
United States. He also received a silver medal in the manufacturing category
and a trophy for being the best invention from Africa in the continental
category.
Bio: Gilbert is a Nigerian physicist
from Edo State. He spent 10 years seeking government attention for his research
and approached several groups and individuals for sponsorship. His vision is to
make CCG exportable to many countries of the world.
16. Emeka Nchekwube
Credits: He is credited with the
co-invention of the following:
Hypoestoxides, derivatives and agonists thereof for
use as stent-coating agents, U.S. Patent no. 7229979
Hypoestoxides, derivatives and agonists thereof for
use of antiparasitic agents Patent no. 6242484
Terfenadine oral powder, U.S. Patent no. 5455049
Solutions of pentamidine, U.S. Patent no. 4,853,416
Bio: Emeka Nchewube is a
Nigerian-born Neurosurgeon who currently lives and practices in the United
States. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria and earned his Bachelor’s degree in
chemistry from Central Michigan University. He attended Wayne State University
School of Medicine in Detroit where he also finished his Neurosurgery
residency. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons
and is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is
also a member of the San Jose Surgical Society, the American Medical
Association, and the California Association of Neurological Surgeons.
@WPP JR
Editor/Publisher
