Professor Bart Nnaji is the Chairman/CEO of Geometric Power Limited (GPL) - the first indigenously owned private sector power company in Nigeria.
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Nnaji led the group that financed, designed and built a power plant in Abuja supplying electricity to the Nigerian Electric Power Authority. He served as Federal Minister of Science and Technology of Nigeria in 1993.
Prior to his appointment, the Ministry was abolished. He therefore created what is now the modern Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in Nigeria. He was Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1983-1996); Alcoa Foundation Professor of Engineering at University of Pittsburgh (1996-2002); William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Engineering, and Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for e-Design (2002- Present) – a multi-campus NSF Center of Excellence consortium of the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Central Florida, Virginia Tech, and University of Massachusetts Amherst and member of organizations; Department of Defense, Boeing, Kodak, GE, IBM, Ford Motor Company, Alcoa, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon, BAE, ANSYS, and Lockheed Martin.
He has served as principal or co-principal investigator on over $40 million research sponsored by the NSF, NATO, Department of Defense, and many companies. He has published 5 books and over 100 technical articles. His book, Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering, won the 1994 world best text book prize for Manufacturing Engineering. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Design and Manufacturing and has served as Editor of many professional journals.
He has served as Chairman of many conferences including the World Conference on Robotics Research (1991); the UN Institute for Training and Research Workshop for diplomats from various parts of the world at the UN headquarters on debt and financial management for developing countries (2001 and 2002).
Source: Nesgroup
He has received numerous awards: Honorary Doctor of Science from the Federal University of Technology, Yola; Honorary Doctor of Technology from Enugu State University of Science and Technology; Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; 1988 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award by the Society of Manufacturing Engineering; 1992 Outstanding Young Industrial Engineer Award; Fellow of Nigerian Academy of Science; Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers; the U.S. Secretary of State's Distinguished Public Service Award (1995); Distinguished Scientist Award by the World Bank – IMF Africa Group (October 1998); the national honor – Commander of the Order of Niger by Nigerian Head of State (January 1999); the national honor – Officer of the Order of Niger by Nigerian President (November 16, 2000); the ARCO Excellence in Science & Technology Award (2001); Baker Distinguished Research Award (the highest research award given by the IIE) (May 2001); and the 2004 Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) – Nigeria’s highest intellectual merit award. Professor Nnaji has a B.S. in Physics from St. John's University with distinction; an M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, and obtained a certificate of Postdoctoral studies in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics from MIT.