It is no longer news that President Joe Biden of the United States of America, appointed John Dabiri, a Nigerian-American aeronautical engineer, as a member of his council of advisors on science and technology.

But not many know much about the engineer whose parents left Nigeria for the US in 1980 in search of greener pasture.

Let’s look at the profile of John O. Dabiri who is the youngest among the 30 members of the council on Wednesday:

John Dabiri’s profile

Dabiri who is currently a professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), was born to Nigerian immigrant parents in 1980.

His profile, according to the White House, states: “John O. Dabiri, PhD, is an aeronautical engineer who designs next-generation wind turbines with the potential to reduce cost, size, and environmental impacts while maximizing the amount of electricity generated.”

Discoveries on the ideal placement of wind turbines were shaped by his cross-disciplinary research into how jellyfish and schools of fish move throughout the ocean efficiently.

He was awarded the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation.

He is a member of the NVIDIA Board of Directors and Trustee of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
He serves on the National Academies Committee on Science, Technology, and Law and is Chair of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics.