Prof. Winston Soboyejo

Prof. Winston Soboyejo Wole Soboyejo received his BSc degree in mechanical engineering from King’s College London in 1985. He then went on to receive a PhD in materials science from Cambridge University in 1988. After four years of working at the McDonnell Douglas Research Labs (1988-1992) and the Edison Welding Institute (1992), Soboyejo joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University, where he was an Assistant Professor between 1992 and 1996, and an Associate Professor between 1996 and 1999. From 1997 to 1998, Soboyejo spent a sabbatical year as a Visiting Martin Luther King Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT.

His early work at McDonnell Douglas, The Ohio State University and MIT focused mostly on the development of novel and robust aerospace materials. He also developed fracture mechanics models for the prediction of failure due to fatigue and fracture. In 1999, Soboyejo moved to Princeton University as a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a Professor of Materials in the Princeton Institute of Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM). At Princeton, he broadened the scope of his work to include the development of biomedical devices (dental implants, cardiovascular stents, and nanotechnology for cancer detection and treatment); novel processes for the fabrication of Light Emitting Devices and solar cells, and mechanics and materials models for the design of robust Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) structures/thin films, porous/cellular materials, ceramic water filters and sustainable building materials.

In 2011, he was appointed as Vice President for Academics, Research and Innovation at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Abuja, Nigeria. In this role, he introduced interdisciplinary programs in science, technology and innovation. Subsequently, he served as President and Provost of AUST between 2012 and 2014. During this period, he developed the Pan African Materials Institute (PAMI), which was one of the African Centers of Excellence that was funded by the World Bank. Soboyejo returned to Princeton as a Professor between 2014 and 2016. He then moved to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) as the Bernard M. Gordon Dean of Engineering (2016-2018). As Dean of Engineering, Soboyejo introduced interdisciplinary communities in Materials and Manufacturing, Bio-X and the Smart World. Since September of 2018, he has served as Senior Vice President and Provost at WPI. He has also helped to establish the Global School at WPI. Soboyejo is a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a Fellow of the Materials Society of Nigeria, a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, and a Fellow of the African Academy of Science.