The Board of Trustees of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, has officially approved the promotion of five distinguished faculty members to the ranks of Professor and Associate Professor.
The decision was approved during the last Board’s meeting following recommendations from the President and Chairman of the Appointments, Appraisal, and Promotions Committee, who noted that the elevations serve as a formal recognition of the recipients’ academic achievements, scholarly contributions, and unwavering commitment to teaching, research, and institutional service.
The newly promoted faculty members are as follows:-
- Prof. Abdulhakeem Bello
Prof. Abdulhakeem Bello is a Professor of Applied Physics at AUST, serving as Acting Vice President (Academic), Director of Academic Planning, and Head of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Physics. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Pretoria and specializes in nanostructured materials (graphene, carbon nanotubes), conducting polymers, and electrochemical technologies including Li-ion batteries, solid-state electrolytes, and supercapacitors.
He has authored over 150 journal articles, nine book chapters, and conference proceedings, with a Scopus H-index of 40 and 5,524 citations, and has contributed to major World Bank-funded grants through PAMI and PASET. He is an Affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences (2022–2026) and a Fellow/Member of the Nigerian Young Academy.
- Prof. Matthew Olumide Adepoju
Prof. Matthew Olumide Adepoju is Director General and Chief Executive Officer of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) with a Ph.D. and M.Sc in Geographical Information Science from the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham. His research focuses on satellite remote sensing and geospatial information science, particularly land use and land cover change detection, geospatial modelling for agriculture and food security, environmental monitoring, and flood and deforestation assessment.
He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and is a Fellow of the Geoinformation Society of Nigeria, the National Cartographic Association, and other professional bodies.
- Dr. Abdulmalik Usman Bello
Dr. Abdulmalik Usman Bello, is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at AUST, Abuja, Director, Professor Charles Chidume Mathematical Institute, and Dean of the School of Science and Science Education. He holds a B.Sc from Bayero University, Kano, an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Functional Analysis from AUST, and researches large-scale mathematical optimisation and inverse problems in imaging, with applications in machine learning and mathematical oncology. He has attracted major grants including TETFund NRF for an Automated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning Aid and Canada’s IDRC grant for AI-based COVID-19 forecasting in Africa, and is a Fellow of the AI in Science Faculty Program at the University of Chicago.
He leads the e-Health and Digital Health research group under NITDA, has published in leading journals with over 300 citations, and supervises 6 Ph.D. students while driving mathematical research capacity-building across Africa.
- Dr. Innocent Ehiaguina Bello
Dr. Innocent Ehiaguina Bello is a geospatial scientist and cartographer specializing in Geoinformatics, Earth Observation, GIS, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Data Infrastructure, serving as Academic Coordinator at the Institute of Space Science and Engineering, AUST. He holds a Ph.D. in Remote Sensing, an M.Sc. in Cartography and GIS, and postgraduate qualifications from the University of Twente and Cranfield University, and is National President of the Nigerian Cartographic Association.
At NASRDA he has led the SDI Division and worked as a Research Scientist and Lead Geospatial Analyst, focusing on space-borne data, spatial analytics, and GeoAI for environmental management, disaster modeling, and national security. He has over 70 peer-reviewed publications, with specializations in advanced cartography, environmental modeling, and geospatial policy and security.
- Dr. Vitalis Chioh Anye
Dr. Vitalis Chioh Anye is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at AUST, serving as Dean of the School of Engineering and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at AUST, with over a decade of experience in solid-state electrolytes, thin-film optoelectronics, perovskite solar cells, energy storage, and sustainable materials design. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. from AUST and physics training from the University of Buea, and has conducted research visits at Princeton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, KIST (South Korea), and the University of Cantabria.
He leads the AUSTInspire Business Incubation Centre and the Pan-African Materials Institute, and has supervised over 15 Master’s and Ph.D. students, and has published over 50 articles with approximately 950 citations and an h-index of 16.
The university community felicitates these rare attainments, and wish our distinguished faculty a continued success and greater accomplishments in their respective academic careers to AUST in particular and the continent at large.