Professor Oritsegbemi Omatete

Professor Oritsegbemi Omatete is a pioneering figure in Chemical Engineering
education and practice in Nigeria. A recipient of both the inaugural Shell BP Oil
Scholarship and the first ASPAU scholarship to Princeton University, he holds a BSE, MSE, and MPA from Princeton and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He is among the earliest COREN-registered Chemical Engineers
in Nigeria.
Prof. Omatete returned to Nigeria to teach the first generation of Nigerian-trained Chemical Engineers at the University of Ife (now OAU) and served as foundation faculty at the University of Lagos. establishing him as a true architect of the discipline in Nigeria. He later joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he co-invented the internationally recognized gel casting process, holds five U.S. patents, and has been widely cited across the global scientific community.
Beyond his technical legacy, Prof. Omatete has dedicated himself to civic and
community leadership, serving as Chairman of the Ugborodo Community Trust,
foundation Patron of Ugbajo Itsekiri USA, and President General Worldwide of the Government College Ughelli Alumni Association. A foundation member of CIPHE, he remains a steadfast supporter of the SEED vision and the advancement of Itsekiri communities.