Prof. Ogechukwu Nkechinyelu Iloanusi
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Spring 2013
Prof. Ogechukwu Nkechinyelu Iloanusi is a Full Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). A Fall 2013 MIT-ETT Fellow, she is a trailblazer in Nigerian academia, holding the distinction of being the first female Professor in the Faculty of Engineering since its inception in 1961, as well as the first female Head of Department. Her research is at the forefront of Biometrics, Computer Vision, and Artificial Intelligence. She is the founder and Director of the Biometrics Vision and Computing Laboratory (BVCLab) at UNN. Her work spans from “fingerprint indexing” algorithms to improve identification speed in large databases, to the use of deep learning for Precision Agriculture (specifically using UAV/drone imagery for cassava crop monitoring). Prof. Iloanusi holds a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from UNN. Her international research footprint is significant; she is currently a Senior Research Associate at the University of Notre Dame (USA), working on the REDI-NET project—a global genomics initiative that uses AI to track disease vectors (like mosquitoes) to prevent epidemics. Following her time at MIT, she radically transformed her teaching methods, moving away from rote memorization to “Problem-Based Learning.” She has supervised over 60 graduate and undergraduate projects and is a vocal mentor for women in STEM, proving that gender is no barrier to technical excellence in engineering.
