African Voices profiles Francisca Okeke

Renowned Nigerian female scientist, Professor Francisca Nnenna Okeke, will be the star guest on the Glo-sponsored television magazine programme, African Voices.

The 30-minute programme which runs on CNN International will be telecast at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday and at 4.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Viewers can also watch the show during the repeat broadcasts on Monday at 3:30 a.m., 11.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., on Tuesday at 5.30 a.m. and on Wednesday at 10.30 a.m.

Okeke is a professor of physics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,  and  was the first woman to Head the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2003 to 2006. She was again the first female Dean, Faculty of Physical Sciences, 2008 to 2010, and the first indigenous female Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University. She was also the first female Professor of Physics in the Eastern part of Nigeria.

The research professor has contributed immensely to the development of Physics at both secondary and tertiary levels in Nigeria and has conducted many workshops.  She has written a number of Physics text books and articles that have enhanced the teaching and learning of Physics at both secondary and tertiary levels in Nigeria. She has written many articles that  encouraged girls to study Physics in the country.

Her passion for physics and science began at an early age and this was principally because of her father’s efforts to ensure his children were well educated. She is reputed for her dedicated and painstaking commitment to academic research over the past twenty-four years, and this has resulted in her significant contributions to  geomagnetism and equatorial electrojet (EEJ) phenomena.

Viewers of African Voices will learn how her academic contributions in her areas of research have immensely helped in simplifying the understanding of rather complex phenomena, and how this has consequently led to a better understanding of geomagnetic and EEJ phenomena.

Professor Okeke has won several awards in recognition of her contributions to research. Among the awards are: visiting research fellow to University of Natal, Durban, South Africa in 1998, the fellowship international Award as (FJSPS) to University of Tokyo, Japan, from 1999 to 2000, Visiting Associate to CPTEC Brazil, Research visits to Harvard Smithsonian Centre, Cambridge, USA, 2004 and Morgan State University, Baltimore, USA, 2003.

Source: dailyindependent