President Bola Tinubu has warmly congratulated six distinguished Nigerian scientists and engineers who were among the 400 recipients of the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.
Established in 1996 by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on exceptional scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. This year’s recipients, announced by President Joe Biden on January 14, 2025, were selected from 14 U.S. government agencies for their groundbreaking contributions to science, technology, and engineering.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, President Tinubu commended the awardees for their outstanding accomplishments and for enhancing Nigeria’s global reputation.
The six celebrated Nigerians include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences at the College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) at Yale School of Public Health, Yale University; and Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral Researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Others are Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University; Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case School of Engineering, Case Western Reserve University.
“The President notes that this recognition highlights the immense potential of Nigerians to achieve excellence both locally and internationally. He looks forward to the honorees contributing their multidisciplinary expertise to advance Nigeria’s development under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the statement concluded.
