Prof. Olu Emmanuel Femi is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Ethiopia, where he has served since 2016 and has held the rank of Professor since November 2023. He received his PhD in Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in 2015, with a thesis on microstructure design and interfacial effects in the Bi–Sb–Te thermoelectric system. He holds an MSc in Materials Science from the African University of Science and Technology and a BSc in Physics from Ahmadu Bello University, both in Nigeria.
His research addresses thermoelectric energy conversion, energy storage and sensing materials, the thermophysical properties of superalloys, and the use of industrial and agricultural waste as a source of functional materials. He has published 68 journal articles, which Google Scholar records as cited 1,191 times (h-index 19, accessed 9 October 2026), and he has supervised 13 PhD theses to completion between 2020 and 2026.
Alongside his research, he has led institutional development at Jimma University as Dean of the Faculty, Chief of Party of the Pathway toward Excellence in Engineering Education Project and Acting Director of the Institutional Quality Assurance Directorate. He serves as a Program Evaluator for ABET and HCERES and, from September 2026, as Honorary Professor at the University of South Africa.
Positions
- Honorary Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa (Unisa)
- Acting Director, Institutional Quality Assurance Directorate, Jimma University
- Professor, Jimma University
- Chief of Party, Pathway toward Excellence in Engineering Education Project, Jimma University
- Acting Dean of the Faculty, Jimma University
- Associate Professor, Jimma University
- Senior Adviser to the Academic Vice President on Postgraduate Programs, Jimma University
- Dean of the Faculty, Jimma University
- Assistant Professor, Jimma University
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Kongju National University, South Korea
- Senior Research Associate, Indian Institute of Science
Also Coordinator of Accreditation and Internationalization Initiatives at Jimma University, and Program Evaluator for ABET and HCERES.
Education
| PhD, Materials Engineering | Indian Institute of Science, India — December 2015 |
|---|---|
| MSc, Materials Science | African University of Science and Technology, Nigeria — December 2009 |
| BSc, Physics | Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria — April 2008 |
Awards and fellowships
- World Bank/NMI-AUST Scholarship Award (2008–2009)
- International Student PhD Fellowship, Indian Institute of Science (2010–2015)
- Visiting Faculty, Indian Institute of Science (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022)
- African Center of Excellence Grant, Makerere University (2019–2021)
- Jimma University Center of Excellence Grant (2020)
- Best Researcher Award, Jimma University (2019/2020)
Name variants
Indexing services and journals list the author under several forms: Olu, E. F., Olu EF, Femi OE, Femi Olu, Femi Emmanuel Olu and Olu Emmanuel Femi. All refer to the same person, whose ORCID iD is 0000-0002-6069-7968.
Gallery
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