Soni Olufemi Olubunmi

Oyekan Oyekan is a West African surname of Yoruba origin, which means "the next to be crowned". The name may refer to: * Adeyinka Oyekan (Oyekan II) (1911–2003), Yoruba monarch *Lawson Oyekan (born 1961), British sculptor * Oyekan I (1871–1900), Yoru ...

is a

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

, inventor, entrepreneur, author, mentor and educator. Oyekan is the President and CEO of Prafis Energy Solutions, an oil refining and energy consulting company. During his career he has been involved in both research and development and management at a number of major oil companies. He holds patents and has made other contributions in the areas of

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...

, and catalytic systems, including the publication of ''Catalytic Naphtha Reforming Process'' (2018). Oyekan is both a Fellow and a Trustee of the

AIChE The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional organization for chemical engineers. AIChE was actually established in 1908 to distinguish chemical engineers as a profession independent of chemists and mechanical engineers ...

, and has served on its Fuels and Petrochemicals Division and Minority Affairs Committees. Awards received include the William W. Grimes award from the AIChE and the Percy Lavon Julian Award from the

National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers or NOBCChE (pronounced No-be-shay) is a nonprofit, professional organization. NOBCChE's goal is to increase the number of minorities in science, t ...

(NOBCChE).. He is a mentor to many young professionals.

Early life and education

Soni Oyekan was born in Aba,

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to the ...

on 1 June 1946 and came to the United States to study in 1966. Soni completed his high school studies at St. Paul's College,

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

, in 1963, and his advanced high school education at

Olivet Baptist High School Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, Nigeria (formerly Oyo Baptist Boys' High School), located on a hillcrest named Olivet Heights, was founded by American Southern Baptist Mission on 29 January 1945 on its original site in the premises of the old Bapt ...

Oyo, Oyo State Oyo is an ancient city in Oyo State, Nigeria. It was founded as the capital of the remnant of the historic Oyo empire in the 1830s, and is known to its people as 'New Oyo' (Ọ̀yọ́ Àtìbà) to distinguish it from the former capital to the nor ...

in 1965. He is of Yoruba descent. Oyekan was a recipient of an African Scholarship Program of American Universities (ASPAU) award which was administered by the

Africa-America Institute The Africa-America Institute (AAI) is an international education organization dedicated to advancing the continent's development through higher education and skills training, convening activities, and promoting greater engagement between Africa and ...

(AAI) in 1966. The scholarship award enabled Soni to pursue his studies in Engineering and Applied Sciences with specialization in Chemical Engineering at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree program at

in 1970. After his undergraduate studies at Yale, Soni moved on to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and completed graduate studies in Chemical Engineering at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. He was awarded the Master of Science (MS) degree in 1972 and the doctoral (PhD) degree in 1977. During this time he taught at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. His MS degree thesis title was on "The Stability of Low Tension Interfaces—Effects of layers of Discrete Dipoles and Charges". The title of his doctoral thesis was "An Infrared Spectroscopic Study of the Isomerization and Hydrogenation of Cyclic Olefins Over Zinc Oxide". He conducted his doctoral research studies under the tutelage of Professor Anthony L. Dent.

Career

Soni Oyekan is the President and CEO of Prafis Energy Solutions. Prafis Energy Solutions is an oil refining and energy consulting services company. The company is located in

Richmond, Texas Richmond is a city in and the county seat of Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The city is located within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 11,627. It is home to the founder ...

. Prior to starting up his oil and gas processing consulting services company in 2013, Oyekan contributed to chemical engineering and oil refining with his inventions and studies on catalytic systems and the catalytic naphtha reforming process. His patents are used for enhanced profitability in reactor engineering and catalysis for the processing of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

to meet consumer demands for transportation fuels,

heating oil Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers use for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often a ...

propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...

and

butane Butane () or ''n''-butane is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane is a gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Butane is a highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gas that quickly vaporizes at room temperature. The name but ...

gases. Dr. Oyekan provides his expertise as expert witness in litigation cases for oil refining history, oil refining and related waste management challenges. Soni has over 42 years of experience in

petroleum refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt, asphalt ...

technologies and operations. He worked at the

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

Research and Development Laboratory in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

between 1977 and 1980; at

Engelhard Corporation Engelhard Corporation was an American ''Fortune'' 500 company headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, United States. It is credited with developing the first production catalytic converter. In 2006, the German chemical manufacturer BASF boug ...

between 1980 and 1990, and

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

between 1991 and 1993, leading research and development programs in catalysis and reaction engineering. After 1993, Soni moved into the management of oil refineries, with technical management assignments as senior consultant/corporate process technologist at

Sun Oil Company Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...

(Sunoco)1993 to 1997; BP-Amoco, 1997 to 1999, and

Marathon Petroleum Corporation Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a corporate spin-off in 2011. Following it ...

, 1999 to 2013.

Honors and awards

Oyekan has received several awards and recognition for his contributions in oil refining, chemical engineering and in the mentoring of engineers and technical personnel. He is a member of the

Foundation Board of Trustees and was elected as a Fellow of the AIChE in 1999. He is active in the AIChE Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) and was honored with its Distinguished Service award in 2000. The Fuels and Petrochemicals Division honored him with its Distinguished Service award in 2002. Dr Soni Oyekan was named an Eminent Black Chemical Engineer at the AIChE Centennial Meeting in 2008. He was the recipient of the AIChE William W. Grimes award for excellence in chemical engineering and for the mentoring of under represented minority groups in 2008. Soni Oyekan was the recipient of the 2009 Percy Lavon Julian Award. The Percy Julian award is the most prestigious honor given by the

(NOBCChE). The award recognizes and honors a recipient's scientific contributions and achievements, dedication to research, commitment to the educational development of others and passion for the chemistry profession. Oyekan is currently a member of the Foundation Board of Trustees of AIChE, and a member of

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 ...

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

honor societies, and of the Yale

Manuscript Society Manuscript Society is a senior society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Toward the end of each academic year 16 rising seniors are inducted into the society, which meets twice weekly for dinner and discussion. Manuscript is reputedly ...

. He is listed in the 2000 13th edition of Who's Who Among African Americans.

Patents & publications

Soni Oyekan has 15 patents including 5 US patents and over 70 publications on a variety of topics in petroleum refining and catalysis. He has contributed over the years in numerous technical discussions on petroleum refining at the annual National Petroleum Refiners Association (NPRA) Q&A conferences. NPRA is now the

American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is an American trade association, founded in 1902 as the National Petroleum Association. It became the National Petroleum Refiners Association in 1961, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Ass ...

(AFPM). He is a co-author of "Catalyst Regeneration and Continuous Reforming Issues" with P. K. Doolin and D. J. Zalewski, in ''Catalytic Naphtha Reforming'' (2004). Oyekan is the author of ''Catalytic Naphtha Reforming Process'' (2018).

Personal life

Soni Oyekan married Priscilla Ann Parker on 6 June 1970. Priscilla Ann graduated in the first female graduating class at Yale University in 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyekan, Soni 1946 births Living people American people of Yoruba descent American chemical engineers Nigerian engineers Yoruba scientists Yale University alumni Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni People from St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana Nigerian emigrants to the United States Yoruba engineers American inventors Nigerian inventors People from Richmond, Texas Olivet Baptist High School alumni American chief executives Yoruba businesspeople