CONVERSATIONS WITH WITH PROFESSOR PETER NGENE ( 2002 set)

However, my research works have led to a number of international awards ranging from winning the best thesis in the Netherlands to the Next Einstein Fellow award in 2012 as well as being awarded one of Africa's best researchers by Paul Kagame, the then president of Rwanda. I also won the $100,000 NLNG Science Prize in the year 2018, a prize that's aimed at stimulating the advancement and application of science and technology

Can you please introduce yourself?

My name is Peter Ngene and I hail from Enugu State. I had my primary school education in Enugu State and my secondary school education in Ganye, a small town in Adamawa State in the Northern part of Nigeria .I had my Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering in the Federal University of Technology Owerri and worked afterwards as a Process Engineer for two years at Dangote Sugar Refinery, where I

learnt and understood a lot about Process Engineering and how things work in practice. I enrolled in a dual master in Microsystems (MEMS) and Nanotechnology in 2006. The master’s degree program was jointly offered by ESIEE (École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique) in Paris and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. After graduating I got a PhD position at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, after completing my PhD. I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for 3 years in the Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage (MECS) group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Around September 2015, I returned to Utrecht University where I currently work as an Assistant Professor but I just got my tenured position last year.

What year did you graduate ?

I finished my last exams towards the end of January 2002.

My area of specialization is in the development of nanomaterials, understanding the fundamentals of nanomaterials, how the properties of these materials can work in real life applications so as to develop new materials, like materials used in hydrogen fuel cells

Can you explain what you do ?

Well, I am an Assistant Professor who teaches. I spend about 25-30% of my time teaching, but spend most of my time doing research with my group. My area of specialization is in the development of nanomaterials, understanding the fundamentals of nanomaterials, how the properties of these materials can work in real life applications so as to develop new materials, like materials used in hydrogen fuel cells, For example, if gold is being scaled down to its Nano-dimension it would be noticed that it actually interacts with the oxygen present in the atmosphere. The beauty about Nano-technology is that, it explains that the property of materials can fundamentally be changed depending on the size of the materials.

Did you stay in school or off campus while in school ?

I stayed in hostel in my first year and almost half of my second year, then moved to Ihiagwa afterwards.

, Chemical Engineering stood out for me and still stands out till today

Why did you choose to study Chemical Engineering ?

It was an intentional choice even though during my Junior Secondary School education I wanted to become to medical doctor and would write in all of my books "Peter Ngene, a naturally born Doctor". You know in those days, students who believed in themselves to be smart most often times chooses to study medicine so that our parents could be referred to "PAPA AND MAMA DOCTOR". However, the sudden change in my degree of interest was as a result of the sudden love I had for mathematics after graduating from Junior Secondary School to Senior Secondary School. and for me to study anything mathematically related I needed to study Engineering. Despite having good grades studying Biology, I realized I needed to memorize a lot of biological terms which unlike mathematics demands understanding the basic principles. And looking at all the Engineering fields, Chemical Engineering stood out for me and still stands out till today. This is basically the reason why I chose to Chemical Engineering and I honestly don't regret.

How would you describe your stay in school ?

It was a fruitful and fun filled experience even though I didn't have as much fun as I would have love to, because back then things were really difficult and my parents weren't so rich and you know you need to have extra for you to do extra, so I was really cautious of the fact that I was sent to the university to study and it really paid off. Regardless of that it was really a fun filled experience .

".......we have to use about 300% of what we learnt in school"

Would you say your Chemical Engineering education has played a role in your performance at work ?

Yes, of course it does play a big role because till today I still apply most of the fundamentals I learnt in school. There is this popular opinion that we apply only about 5% or so of what we learnt when we start working ,in the academia sector it is completely different in fact we have to use about 300% of what we learnt in school. The fundamental topics like reaction engineering we learnt and knowledge we've garnered is something we build upon.

What is your response to the popular saying that school is scam ?

School is not scam but you can scam yourself if you don't know what you are doing in school. School is one of the medium our technological advancements hinges upon which is the very key in the advancement of man. With the right type of knowledge most of the challenges in life can be overcome easily, taking the Corona Virus as an example ,without scientist trying to understand the behavior of the virus it wouldn't have been possible to overcome it.

Can you describe how any of the Chemical Engineering principles you learnt plays out in your Job ?

I use the fundamentals that I learnt in thermodynamics ,reaction engineering, transport phenomena in developing a good catalyst. We help companies like Albermale in researching on what catalyst is best for specific chemical engineering processes and the we apply the catalysis and mass balance principles we were taught back then in school to achieve our aim.

What Chemical Engineering resource, textbook or videos did you find yourself going back to for reference?

There is this Chemical Engineering textbook Coulson and Richardson volume 1-5 which I make reference to once in a while and Perry's Handbook is also a very useful book I still make reference to because of a whole lot of data contained in it. The availability of these materials on the internet, it has really made it possible for us to easily download and use without having to go through the hassle of going around with the hardcopies. Although, I use majorly published data, articles, journal articles that are up to date for my research work.

Chemical Engineering is a very promising field and If all my kids chooses to study Chemical Engineering I'll be very happy to support them

What role did your CGPA play during your Job search/Career Path ?

The CGPA is a very important one although my CGPA didn't play much of a role when I got my first Job at Dangote Sugar Refinery because I graduated with a 2.1 and the job was opened to those who graduated with a 2.1 and above. The CGPA mattered a lot when I wanted to go abroad for further studies and the individual grades I got would be examined to see how well I performed.

Did you explore other career path or do you have plans to explore other career path apart from Chemical Engineering ?

Well, I can't really say if what I do currently is Chemical Engineering or not, because as a researcher I do fundamental research that cuts across physics, chemistry and material science but Chemical Engineering is more of its application. Since my job is in the academia sector I love the fact that could do remarkable research, teach, be a role model and mentor young people.

Yes, I'll love to explore other career path apart from Chemical Engineering and I'm looking forward to coming back to Nigeria in time to come and get myself involved in the policy, see how I could help out in the country in which ever way I can. I'll love to build a university where high end research can be done.

Do you still think Chemical Engineering is a promising field ?

Yes, Chemical Engineering is a very promising field and If all my kids choose to study Chemical Engineering I'll be very happy to support them. It is one field that is constantly evolving and teaches how to transform raw materials into finished products that are required by the society to attain a very good standard of living. Even though mechanical engineers supports in the production process , chemical engineering still stands an higher chance as it connects chemistry, physics and biology into real engineering which is solving problems involved in the production of food, fuel, chemicals and many other products.

My CGPA didn't play much of a role when I got my first Job

What do you know about Chemical Engineering or know in general that you wish you had known as a student?

What I missed being a student is the kind of thing you are doing right now, zooming out of the academic environment as well as limited access to the right textbooks, not being a member of any professional body like NSCHE, no access to the internet and being unable to operate the computer till I graduated. However, these things are there now and people should learn how to make use of their time ,network more and at the same time not forget to study as it is very important.

If you are to start all over again what career path would you have chosen apart from Chemical Engineering ?

If I am to start all over again I wouldn't mind choosing Chemical Engineering, I like it and don't have any regret. But if there's nothing like Chemical Engineering anymore, I'll choose to study Computer Science since the future is about Information and communication technology, even though it is not my thing. However, since we have to eat and drink we basically can't do without Chemical Engineering as they still remain really relevant.

.....being unable to operate the computer till I graduated

Never have you skipped lectures in School ?

I honestly did not like skipping lectures because it made reading very easy as some concepts that might seem difficult to understand while studying them, can easily be well explained by the lecturer in class. Of course I can't say I never for once skipped lectures while in school but it definitely wasn't intentional.

Never have you had a crush on a course mate ?

(Laughs) Yes, of course I had a crush on a level mate who was in Petroleum Engineering Department. it's bound to happen since it is not a boys high school.

Have your set ever planned on having a reunion after school ?

We've been planning on having a reunion but it's been really difficult and challenging to bring back everyone together because most of us are scattered all over the world, Canada, UK, US, Netherlands. Although, we have a WhatsApp group where we chat and also make contributions for anyone who loses a loved one.

.......back then things were really difficult and my parents weren't so rich

Never have you ever soaked Garri (Otto) while in school?

I definitely can't say didn't ,because it was one of my favorites, you know mixing the garri, groundnut and milk.

Never have you ever been to night class while in school?

While not I went for night classes and we also have reading groups back then where we come together to learn and teach ourselves

How can our viewers connect with you ?

They can connect with me on LinkedIn, Peter Ngene and also through my email address via p.ngene@uu.nl.

Written by Nicodemus Chidera, 400l student chemical engineering

Listen to the podcast by clicking the button below

Available on all platforms