Awele Augustine Maduemezia (7 August 1934 – 20 February 2018) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

professor of

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was former

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

Ambrose Alli University Ambrose Alli University (AAU) is a state-owned university in Edo State, Nigeria. It was established in 1981 by the governor of Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), Ambrose Folorunsho Alli. Initially known as Bendel State University, sub ...

. He also served as president of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics. In 1995, he was elected as president of the

Nigerian Academy of Science The Nigerian Academy of Science is the official science academy of Nigeria. The academy of science was established on 18 January 1977, as an association of Nigeria's foremost scientists, but incorporated in 1986. It is the apex scientific organ ...

to succeed Professor

Anthony Afolabi Adegbola Anthony Afolabi Adegbola was a Nigerian Professor of Animal science and former President of the Nigerian Academy of Science The Nigerian Academy of Science is the official science academy of Nigeria. The academy of science was established on ...

. He died in February 2018.

Early life

Awele Augustine Maduemezia was born in

Bukuru Bukuru is a city located on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria. It was previously considered a separate city from the city of Jos close by, but like every other form of urbanization, the city of Jos has merged with the town of Bukuru to form the Jos-Buk ...

, Dorowa Babuje, Jos,

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

in 1934. He was the second child of Mgotubo Selina Onyebashi and Chisimbili Charles Maduemezia. They were both natives of

Asaba Asaba is the capital city of Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the western bank of the Niger River, in the Oshimili South Local Government Area. Asaba had a population of 149,603 as at the 2006 census, and a metropolitan population of o ...

situated in Delta State but Mgotubo was from Umu-Agu while Chisimbili was from Umu-Daike. Awele spent his early years in the then Northern Region of Nigeria until 1945 when he returned with his father to Asaba. He attended Government School, Asaba in 1946, Holy Cross School,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

(1947–1948), St Patrick's College, Asaba (1949–1953) and

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

(1954–1959, 1960–1961). He left Nigeria in 1962 to start his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

programme in

Theoretical Physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT),

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, United States. He obtained his PhD in 1965 after only three years, a record at that time.

Career

After completing his PhD programme, he returned to Nigeria in 1965 with his first wife, Late Bibiana Ajoke, who he wedded in the same year. They moved to

Enugu State Enugu State ( ig, Ȯra Enugu) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the south, and Anambra State to the west. T ...

where he worked as an assistant lecturer and lecturer later at the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively referr ...

from 1965 to 1967. In 1967, they moved to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he worked as an associate and senior associate at the

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Education ...

(ICTP). At the end of their one-year stay in Trieste, they moved to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in 1968 where he worked as a lecturer at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

for a few years. They returned to Nigeria in 1972, with their first daughter, Isioma. He was a member, Professor of

and head of department of the faculty of Science at the

. He was a regional sub-editor of the World Directory of Crystallographers. He was a founding fellow and president of the

after being elected in 1995 succeeding Professor

. He was a member of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

and President of the Science Association of Nigeria. He was a member of the Ghana Science Association,

International Association of Mathematical Physics The International Association of Mathematical Physics (IAMP) was founded in 1976 to promote research in mathematical physics. It brings together research mathematicians and theoretical physicists, including students. The association's ordinary memb ...

, Nigerian Institute of Physics, Nigerian Society of Mathematical Sciences and

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

. He was also the president of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics and the Nigerian Mathematical Society. He was a former

of Bendel State University (now

Ekpoma Ekpoma is a town in Edo State, Nigeria. It is the administrative headquarters of the Esan West Local Government Area. Ekpoma lies on the geographical coordinate of latitude . The town has an official Post Office, and it is home to the Ambrose A ...

, and a former Special Assistant to the Minister of Science & Technology in Nigeria. Recently before his death in 2018, he was an

Environmental Pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

expert, consulting for various local and international organizations. He contributed articles on

Mathematical Physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and t ...

and

Science Education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

to professional publications.

Personal life

Awele was married twice and had five biological children with a stepson (Eleojo). Awele married Late Bibiana Ajoke in June 1965. They had three children, daughters named Isioma, Obiageli and Ezinwa. He had a second marriage when he married Dr (Mrs) Celina Peters in 1995. The union would last for 23 years until his demise. Prior to marriage, Awele had two sons, Chike and Amaechi from previous relationships. Awele had seven children-in-law and ~20 grandchildren.

Final years and death

After his retirement, Awele relocated to his hometown Asaba in 2017. He died in February 2018 at the age of 83 from natural causes. A funeral mass was performed at the Catholic Church of Assumption, Zappa, Asaba, Delta State in April 2018. He was buried in his hometown, Asaba, Delta State.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maduemezia, Awele Academic staff of Ambrose Alli University 20th-century Nigerian mathematicians Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science 2018 deaths People from Edo State 1934 births