ENGR. PROF. B. A. OGUNNAIKE

Born on March 26^th 1956 in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State. Engr. Prof. Babatunde Ayodeji Ogunnaike obtained a First Class Honours B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos in 1976, and proceeded to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA where he bagged M.S. degree in Statistics and Ph.D in Chemical Engineering, in 1981. From 1981-1982, he was a Research Engineer with the System Development Department of Shell Corporation in Houston, Texas. From 1982-1988, he was first a lecturer and later a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos, and a Visiting Professor in the Chemical Engineering department at the University of Wisconsin from 1988-1989.  

He joined DuPont Company’s Central Research & Development department in 1989 becoming a Research Fellow in 1995, and until September 2002, was the Technology Leader of the Process Control group.  During this period, he pioneered the development and implementation of model predictive control (MPC), nonlinear state estimation, nonlinear control, and product quality control for industrial polymerization and granulation processes.

Professor Ogunnaike is also an influential and effective educator. An Adjunct Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of Delaware since 1989, he joined the faculty as a full professor in September 2002 and was named the William L. Friend Professor of Chemical Engineering in January 2004. He was named interim Dean of the College of Engineering in July 2011. 

He is the author/co-author of five books including a widely used textbook, Process Dynamics, Modelling and Control, published in 1994 by Oxford University Press, and the recent Random Phenomena: Fundamentals of Probability and Statistics for Engineers, published in 2009 by CRC Press.. He is also Associate Editor of the journal Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research.  His research interests include Modelling and Control of industrial processes (polymer reactors, extruders, distillation columns); identification and control of nonlinear systems; the application of process analytical technology for control of particulate processes and bioprocesses; the interaction of process design and process operability; applied statistics; reverse engineering biological control systems for process applications; and systems biology with application to neuronal responses and cancer. He is a consultant to several companies including DuPont, Gore, PPG Industries, and Corning. Prof. Ogunnaike has 1 US Patent on Predictive Regulatory Controller issued April 2007.

He is the recipient of several awards including: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 1998 Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) Division’s Computing Practice Award; 2004 University of Delaware’s College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching award; 2005 University of Delaware Slocomb Excellence in Teaching Award; 2007 Instrument Society of America’s Donald P. Eckman Education Award and 2008 American Automatic Control Council’s Control Engineering Practice Award. His citation for the AIChE Computing Practice Award, which is awarded for “outstanding contributions in the practice or application of computing and systems technology to chemical engineering” reads: “for designing and implementing novel control schemes; for the inspirational mentoring and teaching of young engineers, and for the scholarly publication of systems technology fundamentals.” He has been published in 72 Journals, 31 Proceedings, 39 Conferences/Workshop presentations and 70 Seminars.

He is a Fellow of, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Statistical Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Fellow, American National Academy of Engineering.

New Engineering Dean College of Engineering, University of Delaware

Ogunnaike named Dean of the College of Engineering effective July 1

1 p.m., July 1, 2013--Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, William L. Friend Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, has been named dean of engineering following a nationwide search, UD President Patrick T. Harker announced today. The appointment is effective July 1. 

As dean, Ogunnaike will be responsible for the academic leadership of more than 130 faculty members in six departments with a total enrollment of over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, the College of Engineering is home to a wide range of disciplines that support world-class programs and 14 research centers.

“I am honored to accept this leadership opportunity,” Ogunnaike said. “This is a very important time in history for those of us charged with educating the next generation of engineers. With our dedicated and talented faculty and staff, we are well positioned to take our world-class engineering college to the next level. Together we can create a collaborative culture that will enable us to reach our goals side by side.” 

Ogunnaike said his vision for the college includes a renewed commitment to excellence through strategic focus on three key engineering enterprises: research, education and entrepreneurship. He plans to increase the college’s global reach, financial stability, diversity and engagement with alumni and the community. 

First and foremost is the challenge to revitalize the engineering education enterprise so that it prepares students effectively for the changing workforce of tomorrow. This initiative, he said, will enable college leadership and faculty to leverage cross-disciplinary course opportunities, innovative technology for course delivery and student entrepreneurship programs, such as the University’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship.

“Dr. Ogunnaike brings an impressive portfolio of skills to this leadership position,” said UD President Patrick Harker. “His commitment to the profession of engineering and his dedication to his students are matched by a clear and well-articulated vision for the future of Delaware’s College of Engineering.”

“A member of our engineering faculty for more than 10 years, Tunde has an impressive record of commitment to this institution,” Interim Provost Nancy Brickhouse said. “For the last two years, he has served ably as interim dean, demonstrating his abilities to lead a complex organization.”

“I look forward to working with Dr. Ogunnaike as a member of our senior administrative team,” said Domenico Grasso, who becomes UD’s provost Aug. 15. “His academic accomplishments, global perspective and vision for the future of engineering education and research will serve us well as we work to move this University to the next stage of recognition and accomplishment.”

Ogunnaike served the college as interim dean from 2011-13 and, during that time, worked to develop partnerships with other academic institutions and to strengthen community partnerships with such organizations as Bloom Energy, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, DuPont and JPMorgan Chase.

Among his accomplishments is UD’s Global Educational Exchange Initiative (GLOBEX) with Peking University (PKU), known as China’s Harvard. The GLOBEX initiative formalized educational exchange and research collaboration between UD’s College of Engineering and PKU, allowing UD undergraduate students and faculty to conduct an intensive six-week summer program at PKU, while PKU undergraduate students spent a semester at UD. In addition, Ogunnaike recently led engineering faculty and leadership to renew the college’s vision, mission and core values as part of a broader strategic planning process. 

About Babatunde A. Ogunnaike

Babatunde A. Ogunnaike joined the UD faculty in 2002 as a professor with appointments in the Department of Chemical Engineering (now the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute’s Center for Systems Biology, after a 13-year research career with DuPont. 

He was appointed William L. Friend Professor of Chemical Engineering in 2004 and William L. Friend Chaired Professor in 2008. He became deputy dean for the College of Engineering in 2010 and interim dean of engineering in 2011.

Ogunnaike was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering in 2012.

After receiving a bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the University of Lagos in Nigeria in 1976, he earned a masters degree in statistics and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1981.

Ogunnaike is the author or editor of four books and more than 75 papers and book chapters, and his textbooks have been used to educate and train engineers in instrumentation, systems and control at more than 29 universities.

The College of Engineering, with an enrollment of more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, is home to six academic departments. In 2012, the faculty, numbering 133, included 32 named professors, four National Academy of Engineering members, 35 NSF Career Award-winners and 11 UD teaching award recipients. Total sponsored expenditures last year exceeded $55 million. 

About the search committee

The national search was chaired by Charles Riordan, vice provost for research. In addition to Riordan, the committee members included: Paul D. Amer, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Computer and Information Sciences; Nii O. Attoh-Okine, professor of civil and environmental engineering; Cole Galloway, professor of physical therapy; Javier Garcia-Frias, professor of electrical and computer engineering; John Gillespie, Donald C. Phillips Professor of Materials Science; Jill Higginson, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Terri Kelly, president and CEO of W.L. Gore and Associates, and a member of UDs Board of Trustees; April Kloxin, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering; Kelvin Lee, Gore Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute; Darrin Pochan, professor of materials science and engineering; and Cathy Wu, Edward G. Jefferson Endowed Professor of Computer and Information Sciences.