Samuel Okoye

Who was Samuel Okoye?

Samuel Ejikeme Okoye was a Nigerian astrophysicist, from Amawbia in Anambra State, Nigeria. He was born in Umuahia,in the old eastern region of Nigeria. Okoye later became a British citizen in 2005.

He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of London and a doctorate degree in Radio Astronomy from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Okoye was the first black African to obtain a doctorate in Radio Astronomy.

Okoye was a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science as well as the Royal Astronomical Society of the United Kingdom. He was a member of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. He was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility and the International Astronomical Union.

He started teaching Physics at the University of Ibadan in 1965 and later transferred to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka just before the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war. He was elevated to a professorship in physics in 1976. Between 1978 and 1989,Professor Okoye was appointed the Director, Division of General Studies, Head Department of Physics and Astronomy; Associate Dean and later Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, all at the University of Nigeria.He was elected as Dean of the School of Post Graduate Studies in 1987. Professor Okoye also acted during the summer of 1978 as Vice Chancellor of UNN.