Prof Patricia Popoola.
Her recent accolades come as no surprise; Prof Popoola is recognised as an exceptional scholar, a multi-talented woman and a perfectionist who exudes passion for research. She has a combination of qualifications that encompasses all areas of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. She holds a National Diploma in Materials Technology, which deals with the study of Metals, Polymers, Ceramics, Glass and Cement Technology. She has a BSC (Honours) degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering; Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Metallurgical Engineering. She completed her Doctoral degree in Physical Metallurgy/Laser Materials Deposition at TUT.
The 54 year-old was born in Lagos, Nigeria and begin her academic career at TUT in 2003 as a part-time Lecturer in Metallurgy. “My research interest lies in Advanced Engineering Materials and Surface Technologies. Globally, emphasis have been placed on the development of engineering materials to address the challenges involved in technological development in our society. As such, my research is focussed on the creation of new processes, products or systems through the development of advanced multifunctional materials. We make use of emerging state-of-the-art technologies to design and fabricate novel materials,” she explained.
Prof Popoola was registered twice on the SciVal list. She is 108th scholar on the list for 2021 outputs and number 435 for the 2020 scholarly outputs. According to SciVal record, her total scholarly output for the two years is 303; total citation is 1774 and h-index of 38. SciVal is a web-based analytics solution that provides comprehensive access to the research performance of over 20,100 research institutions and their associated researchers from 231 nations worldwide.
Prof Popoola keeps on winning, she was recently awarded a total of R3.3 Million as NEP equipment grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and TUT. In addition, Prof Popoola has mentored eight postdoctoral fellows, twenty-eight Masters’ and fourteen Doctoral degree graduates, amongst which are three Full Professors. Mentorship of students remains her prime objective. She is an outstanding study leader with good number of registered postgraduate students. To her, the impartation of skills to students is critical for alleviation of poverty and sufferings; the effect of high quality education cannot be equalled in human. Prof Popoola and her students are recipients of numerous research grants and academic excellence awards.
To date, she has made a lot of impact with her publications, which have been acknowledged both locally and internationally, her works has attained high viewership and citations by different authors within the research field /community. Her research collaborations transverses both local and international space.
“I am grateful to God Almighty, who is the author of success and all manner of good things. Therefore, when we seek HIM, all other things will follow. Glory, Honour and Power Majesty be unto God,” concluded Prof Popoola.