Geometric reasoning
| Barthlomew Nnaji | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Power and Steel | |
|
In office July 2011 – 28 August 2012 |
|
| President | Goodluck Jonathan |
| Federal Minister of Science and Technology | |
|
In office 1993–1993 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 July 1956 Enugu State, Nigeria |
Bartholomew Nnaji is a Nigerian engineer, innovator and one of the inventors of the E-Design concept.
He was born in Enugu State, Nigeria and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics at St John's University, New York USA. He then proceeded to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for his Masters and PhD in Engineering. He also obtained a Post Doctorate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT.
He joined the faculty of Engineering at University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1983. After a few years, he became the Founder and Director of the Automation and Robotics Laboratory at the University. He became a full Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in 1992. As a researcher, he focused on three major topics: Computer Aided Design, Robotics and Computer Aided Engineering. Using the knowledge he gained from his research pursuits, he created the term geometric reasoning, the idea that most things we operate have a geometric configuration. He is also credited as one of the innovators of the E-design concept, where product design Engineers can work from remote locations collaboratively to design, assemble and test the same product, using the computer and internet/worldwide web.
He moved to the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1996 as ALCOA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Engineering. He subsequently was appointed the William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, where he also served as the Founding Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for e-Design – a five University-campus NSF Center of Excellence in e-design. He officially left the University and returned to Nigeria in 2007.
In 1993, Prof Nnaji took a leave of absence from the University and came back to Nigeria to serve as Federal Minister of Science and Technology. He founded Geometric Power, Nigeria's first indigenous-owned power development company in 2000. In 2010 he served as Special Adviser to the President on Power, and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power. He became Nigeria's Minister of Power in 2011, and resigned in August 2012.
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