[img]http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~dpd/Sabbat/2004/12.08-21.04People/IMG_0468.jpg[/img]

Professor John O. Dabiri

Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Bioengineering
B.S.E., Princeton University, 2001
M.S., California Institute of Technology, 2003
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 2005


Biography

John Dabiri is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories and the Option of Bioengineering at Caltech.  He graduated from Princeton University with a B.S.E. degree summa cum laude in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in June 2001.  In September 2001, he came to Caltech as a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow, Betty and Gordon Moore Fellow, and Y.C. Fung Fellow in Bioengineering. Under the supervision of Professor Morteza Gharib, he earned an M.S. degree in Aeronautics in June 2003, followed by a Ph.D. in Bioengineering with a minor in Aeronautics in April 2005. He joined the Caltech faculty in May 2005. In 2008, he was selected as an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator for research in bio-inspired propulsion, and Popular Science magazine named him one of its "Brilliant 10" scientists.


Expertise

Mechanics and dynamics of biological propulsion, fluid dynamic energy conversion

While sycophants are locked in a perpetual cycle that revolves around the celebration of mediocrity, using titles they've not earned like "Professor Oga Pata Pata", real professors are doing Nigeria proud at the world stage!

In Abuja, the political professors (some of them not even completing their doctorate degrees) crawl around with titles their otimkpus have bestowed on them. The sorry state of the oga mentality!

http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/caltechnews/articles/v41/jellies.html

More of Prof. Dabiri's work.

This young professor will someday bloom to be a great mind in the field of engineering.

We hope for more real professors and less fake ones

Is he nigerian or 'american'?

Like many individuals in America, he is likely both Nigerian and American.

Well, except you want to go into the technical details of 'Who is a Nigerian?" - possession of Nigerian passport, parentage, ethnic identity, etc., we can assume he is a Nigerian.

I don't know where he was born and I don't know if he has a Nigerian passport, however, from his name and looks, it is clear he is Nigerian, at least by heritage.

Oh well but have it in mind that he might not consider himself a nigerian.

asha 80:

Oh well but have it in mind that he might not consider himself a nigerian.

True.

I am proud to be Nigerian (education wise) the sky is always the limit. My prayer is hopefully Nigeria one day will be able to harness this excellent and special abilities.

.

He is definitely a US citizen, as it is required for the NDSEG fellowship. He likely has Nigerian parent as well given the name.

Gosh, i am so proud of him. Caltech!!! that is just wonderful. Now the thing is that we need millions more of this if Nigeria is going to develop and compete with the US in science and technology. What i am saying is that the Nigerian govt should create a trust fund to sponsor any nigerian student who gets into any lvy league university or any top 15 school to study any math or science related field on a J-1 visa, with a stipulation that they come back and teach the number of years that they were sponsored by the nigerian govt.

In other words, if you are not studying something like biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics or medicine, pele o sorry , go and look for someone else to sponsor you and if you are going to a school like Texas Southern University or a Panhandle state university instead of Stanford or MIT you too don't qualify for the scholarship. If Africa is going to develop, it needs innovative and brilliant scientists who can compete with the best of the best and are going to be able spur industrialization, new ideas and innovation in technology.

you forgot to mention his tribe.

Is he an Igboman from your core Igbo state or is the attraction you feel for him purely a physical one.

tpia, by the way, dabiri is a yoruba name.

davidif:

tpia, by the way, dabiri is a yoruba name.

I wonder why some people want to distract a thread that's celebrating real Nigerian professors and turn it into one of ethnic bashing.

.

Am Proud Of This Wonderful Nigerian.
@tpia
Why are you rubbing the shine off the Brilliant Proffessor?

.

Nice achievement. But Assistant Prof position is no biggie. He still has to cross the hurdle of Associate Prof to get to full Prof.

In the US, the rank goes thus:
Postdoctoral Associate/Fellow
Assistant Prof
Associate Prof
Adjunct Prof (may not be necessary)
Prof.

Clearly, the guy is still in the lower rung of the ladder.

Afaukwu:

Nice achievement. But Assistant Prof position is no biggie. He still has to cross the hurdle of Associate Prof to get to full Prof.

In the US, the rank goes thus:
Postdoctoral Associate/Fellow
Assistant Prof
Associate Prof
Adjunct Prof (may not be necessary)
Prof.

Clearly, the guy is still in the lower rung of the ladder.

was all these necessary??or how has this lessened or taken anything off the man's laudable achievements?
sometimes i just wonder at what comes out of the mouth of nigerians, first its the unreasonably innocuous comments up there now this

Afaukwu:

Nice achievement. But Assistant Prof position is no biggie. He still has to cross the hurdle of Associate Prof to get to full Prof.

In the US, the rank goes thus:
Postdoctoral Associate/Fellow
Assistant Prof
Associate Prof
Adjunct Prof (may not be necessary)
Prof.

Clearly, the guy is still in the lower rung of the ladder.

Assistant professor is usually the first office in a tenure track position. Given the less than handful number of black professors among the engineering faculty at top US schools, the guy has done well for himself, and there is no need to try take away from it. Mind you, it is easier to get tenured at a lower university than it is to be appointed an assistant professor at Caltech.

biina,
my proffessor was telling me today (he is an associate proffessor) that in order to become a full proffessor that he has to have 12 points in around six years to make to a full proffessor. What that means is that in order to have those points, you work needs to be published in journal (which is a big deal because they have many people submitting there research so that it can be published). The top journal gets you 4 point, which is very hard for you to even get into because you are competing with a lotttttttttt of other people. You also have journals worth 2 points and the others are worth 1 points each. If you don't get it then you can't get tenured. The same goes for assistant proffessors wanting to jump to associate proffessorship. So there is an incredible amount of pressure on this people to come up with very substantial research which they can submit for publication. After 5 years, the assistant profs are evaluated. If they don't know how to teach or they don't make those certain number of points, then they are fired.

biina,
my proffessor was telling me today (he is an associate proffessor) that in order to become a full proffessor that he has to have 12 points in around six years to make to a full proffessor. What that means is that in order to have those points, you work needs to be published in journal (which is a big deal because they have many people submitting there research so that it can be published). The top journal gets you 4 point, which is very hard for you to even get into because you are competing with a lotttttttttt of other people. You also have journals worth 2 points and the others are worth 1 points each. If you don't get it then you can't get tenured. The same goes for assistant proffessors wanting to jump to associate proffessorship. So there is an incredible amount of pressure on this people to come up with very substantial research which they can submit for publication. After 5 years, the assistant profs are evaluated. If they don't know how to teach or they don't make those certain number of points, then they are fired.

The guy is still young. You guys are making it look like he may never get there. Rome was not built in a day. Na small small.

Nice achievement. But Assistant Prof position is no biggie. He still has to cross the hurdle of Associate Prof to get to full Prof.

In the US, the rank goes thus:
Postdoctoral Associate/Fellow
Assistant Prof
Associate Prof
Adjunct Prof (may not be necessary)
Prof.

Clearly, the guy is still in the lower rung of the ladder.

nobody send una message!!!

na only person wey never see professor before go dey trip over the title.

You want to start counting the number of Nigerian professors, you go tire!

wow y did they ban you?

nobody send una message!!!

na only person wey never see professor before go dey trip over the title.

You want to start counting the number of Nigerian professors, you go tire!

How many do you have in your family?. Err errr, I am sure a large number of your family members also have PHD's in internet trolling just like you. I thought your second coming will be more stylish and grandeur. You changeth not!

bawomolo:

wow y did they ban you?

you must be slacking on your stalking duties if you're unaware I was banned for harassing innocent people like you, your moderator and the other irritants.

So are you happy now? You were practically crying the last time we met. Nasty tpia was picking on bawomolo.

tpia2:

you must be slacking on your stalking duties if you're unaware I was banned for harassing innocent people like you, your moderator and the other irritants.

So are you happy now? You were practically crying the last time we met. Nasty tpia was picking on bawomolo.

awww my condolences

Aloy.Emeka:

How many do you have in your family?. Err errr, I am sure a large number of your family members also have PHD's in internet trolling just like you. I thought your second coming will be more stylish and grandeur. You changeth not!

The answer would only fuel your jealousy and bitterness, so why not look for professors closer to home so you can feel better.

Dont be asking me stupid questions plz! Do I sound like someone who never saw a professor before?

bawomolo:

awww my condolences

eh, save them for someone who cares.

I'm still me!

eh, save them for someone who cares.

I'm still me!

I think tpia2 is a retrograde of the original one. Could it be that no man on this blue planet hasn't fancied you and bang you even in darkness or what?. Try those urchins near obalende, the dwarfy ones may contribute sperm for you, you never know.

The man is young, he has brain, he has talent, and he has the potential; let's just rejoice for him. He may not even be a Nigerian-American, but we should still rejoice for him.

davidif:

biina,
my proffessor was telling me today (he is an associate proffessor) that in order to become a full proffessor that he has to have 12 points in around six years to make to a full proffessor. What that means is that in order to have those points, you work needs to be published in journal (which is a big deal because they have many people submitting there research so that it can be published). The top journal gets you 4 point, which is very hard for you to even get into because you are competing with a lotttttttttt of other people. You also have journals worth 2 points and the others are worth 1 points each. If you don't get it then you can't get tenured. The same goes for assistant proffessors wanting to jump to associate proffessorship. So there is an incredible amount of pressure on this people to come up with very substantial research which they can submit for publication. After 5 years, the assistant profs are evaluated. If they don't know how to teach or they don't make those certain number of points, then they are fired.

Actually the tenure process is not that well defined and varies from school to school. In fact, in most top schools it is highly political, and minority professors often struggle with the process.
Hopefully with all the shouting on diversity, we hope to see more black professors at the top level, which will in turn increase opportunities for blacks at the student and faculty level.
It is my considered opinion that students in top schools are not made of innate abilities, but of the little opportunities that are afforded them as they grow up.

One thing I am yet to investigate is the effect of a failed tenure on the career of a professor, particularly one of minority origins, given that the opportunities are usually limited in the first place.

It is my considered opinion that students in top schools are not made of innate abilities, but of the little opportunities that are afforded them as they grow up.

ehn  , did you just say that?? Please, i am going to pretend i didn't hear you well. As all five fingers are not equal so not all man is equal. Are u kidding me?? You sound like a very naive person, its probably because you have not met this kind of humans before. There are some kids that are just incrediiiiiiiiibly gifted and talented, this people are called wunderkinds (prodigies). Just are some people are born to be musicians (Mozart) and athletes (Pele), some people are born to be scholars. They are the ones that go on to become proffessors of physics or biology at Caltech or MIT and end up winning Nobel Prizes. I hope this kid is like that. But, on another note, you do have a point, the quality of students you get at the university level depends on the type of education they get at a young age (nursey school). This is why you don't see students who go to Ansarudeen or Abdual aziz attah win any Nobel Prizes. We have a lot of talented people like this in naija, all we have to do is develop them by giving them a world class education (i don't mean yanki elementary or high school). Can you imagine if we could give our kids in this public schools the same level of education that the Singapore, Taiwan and Japan gives their's. Phew, omo we should be competing with the Americans, Brazillians, Indians and Chinese when it comes to science and technology.

One thing I am yet to investigate is the effect of a failed tenure on the career of a professor, particularly one of minority origins, given that the opportunities are usually limited in the first place.

They just go to other smaller schools and become proffessors.

davidif:

ehn  , did you just say that?? Please, i am going to pretend i didn't hear you well. As all five fingers are not equal so not all man is equal. Are u kidding me?? You sound like a very naive person, its probably because you have not met this kind of humans before. There are some kids that are just incrediiiiiiiiibly gifted and talented, this people are called wunderkinds (prodigies). Just are some people are born to be musicians (Mozart) and athletes (Pele), some people are born to be scholars. They are the ones that go on to become proffessors of physics or biology at Caltech or MIT and end up winning Nobel Prizes. I hope this kid is like that. But, on another note, you do have a point, the quality of students you get at the university level depends on the type of education they get at a young age (nursey school). This is why you don't see students who go to Ansarudeen or Abdual aziz attah win any Nobel Prizes. We have a lot of talented people like this in naija, all we have to do is develop them by giving them a world class education (i don't mean yanki elementary or high school). Can you imagine if we could give our kids in this public schools the same level of education that the Singapore, Taiwan and Japan gives their's. Phew, omo we should be competing with the Americans, Brazillians, Indians and Chinese when it comes to science and technology.

I relate with the so called 'wunderkids' often enough and I stand by what I said. They are what they  are based on their background and experiences, and not any innate abilities. The examples of musicians and athletes are different from academia, as in such fields talent and physical abilities matter (imagine a 5ft guy guarding against Shaq on the basketball court or someone with large fingers playing the violin).

In academia you learn and how well you learn depends on your past exposure and the method of delivery. I have seen people who struggled under one system, become superstars in another, and vise versa. You, like most, get carried away by the duck effect - so calm on the surface, but paddling like mad underneath. All men are born intellectually equal, none are more equal than others.