Alfred Babatunde Soboyejo

Alfred Babatunde Olaiya Soboyejo was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 7, 1938. He was the first child of Alfred Babatunde Soboyejo (a primary school teacher at Ansar-ud-deen Alakoro) and Felicia Iyabode Soboyejo (a trader and a Princess of Oke Ona in Egba Land). Alfred’s father died when Alfred was 5 years old, while his mother died when he was 17 years old. Nevertheless, he was educated by the Anglican Church (scholarships) and family members that supported his education at the Holy Trinity Primary School in Ebute-Ero, Igbobi College (1951-1956) and King’s College Lagos (1957-1958). During his time in school, Alfred distinguished himself as an outstanding student and athlete (400 meters and mile runner). He also received the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Prize for Mathematics (named after Nigeria’s first Prime Minister) from King’s College Lagos, when Nigeria received its independence from the British.

Between 1959 and 1962, Alfred studied Civil Engineering at the Nigerian College of Arts and Sciences (now Ahmadu Bello University) in Zaria. He was one of the few students that completed the Bachelors Degree of London University (Awarded by the Nigerian College of Arts and Sciences) in three years. He was then awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue graduate studies at Stanford University between 1962 and 1965. At Stanford, he was awarded a Masters degree in Structural Engineering (1963), Engineers Degree in 1964 and a PhD in 1965. He was advised by Prof. Jack Benjamin, an expert in probabilistic methods applied to engineering. He also served as a teaching assistant to the world renowned Prof. Stephen Timoshenko, while working part-time for the consulting firm, Pregnoff and Matheu (Structural Engineers), before graduating Magna Summa Cum Laude with a PhD in engineering mechanics in 1965.

While at Stanford, Alfred married Anthonia Adesiyan Aileru (whom he met at the Nigerian College of Arts and Sciences) in 1964. Their first son (Winston Oluwole Soboyejo) was born in 1964. Upon completion of his PhD, Alfred moved back to Nigeria with his young family to take up a position as a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos in 1965. He also shared his University Quarters with his two siblings (Francis Olatunji Onipede and Hilda Subulola Onipede), whom he educated. In 1967, he started Soboyejo Associates, a firm of Consulting Engineers that leveraged his experience in Engineering Practice from Pregnoff and Matheu. The practice blossomed and is well recognized for its pioneering work on the design of tall structures in Lagos (UBA House, Great Nigeria Insurance and National Bank), Ibadan (Cocoa House), and the largest hospital in West Africa (1000 Bed Teaching Hospital at the Ahmadu Bello University).

Alfred also received a UNESCO Post-doctoral Fellowship that allowed him to travel to the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for Post-doctoral Research training in engineering. He also spent some time at the Ford Motor Company to gain some additional experience in Machine Design. Following his post-doctoral studies, Alfred returned to the University of Lagos, where he established a strong reputation as a Lecturer that combined theory with practice. He inspired a new generation of Nigerian Engineers, such as Prof. Ibidapo Obe, Engineer Francis Olatunji Onipede and Alhaji Fatai Arowolo. The former went on to become a distinguished mathematician, systems engineer and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, while the latter two went on to work for him at Soboyejo Associates, before establishing their own firm (Aron Nigeria Limited) in the 1980’s.

Alfred’s second son, Alfred Babatunde Oluwatosin Soboyejo, was born in 1968, while his first daughter, Maureen Mobolaji Soboyejo, was born in 1970, in the same year that he married Mrs. Folasade Soboyejo (nee Solanke), with whom he had four children: Susan Omoyemi Soboyejo (born in 1974); Abiodun Bolajoko Soboyejo (born in 1977); Margaret Adetokunbo Soboyejo (born in 1979), and Akintunde Soboyejo (born in 1980).

Alfred left the University of Lagos as a Senior Lecturer in the mid 1970’s. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, he also served as the Chairman of Top Breweries. He also developed very successful partnerships with engineering firms in England (Frederick Whyte and Associates), Belgium (Marc et Roba and Verdeyen et Moenert) and Nigeria (F. A. O. Phillips and Associates). He also extended his business interests to include large scale mechanized farming (Soboyejo Farms) and the oil and gas business (Afroil plc) in the 1980’s and 1990’s. His firm, Afroil plc, was also one of the first Nigerian oil and gas companies to be registered by the Nigerian stock exchange.

Following the death of Mrs. Folasade Soboyejo in 1988, Alfred married Princess (Olori) Bisi Gbadebo. He also returned back to the United States, where he worked briefly as a Consulting Engineer in St. Louis, MO, before moving to Columbus in 1995, to focus his efforts on research and teaching at The Ohio State University, where he worked closely with his son, Prof. Wole Soboyejo, on research on the reliability of aerospace structures. Alfred also worked as a Visiting Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU) (1995-1996) before his joint permanent appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE) and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at (OSU).

Alfred’s research at OSU was funded largely funded by the National Science Foundation and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). He was also supported by the NASA Lewis Research Center as a Summer Research Fellow, where he worked closely with Dr. Christos Chamis on damage in aerospace structures. In recognition for his contributions, Alfred was tenured and promoted to the rank of full professor at OSU. He was honored with Fellowships from the America Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Nigerian Academy of Science, and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.

During his time at OSU, Alfred was a dedicated teacher and researcher. He was well regarded as a patient teacher that took the time to explain difficult concepts in simple ways that made learning accessible to all students. He was also passionate about the teaching of probabilistic methods, engineering mechanics and design. Alfred served as a mentor to several undergraduate and graduate students that have gone on to make important contributions to the field of engineering. They include his PhD students (Prof. Kaustubh Bhalerao at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Prof. Anand Plapally (Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur) and Dr. Peter Malumba (Makerere University). Beyond his own students, Alfred was particularly passionate about supporting graduate students with his time, treasure and talent. He also funded an Award that recognizes excellent graduate students in the FABE Department at OSU.

Alfred was a generous person that quietly supported many people and organizations. He funded the stained glass windows at the Trinity Anglican Church in Iberekodo, Abeokuta, and the stained glass windows at the St. Peter’s Church in Ake, Abeokuta, which he also helped to design. He also facilitated the shipment of container loads of books to Ajayi Crowther University (formerly St. Andrews College, Oyo, where his father Alfred Babatunde Soboyejo, was trained as a teacher), and Augustine University in Ilara, Epe, in Nigeria. He also funded the construction of a new hostel for the School of Nursing at Crescent University.

Above all, Alfred was a loving father, grand-father and great grand-father. He was dedicated to all of his children, and he made sure that he invested in each and everyone of them, until they were independent and well established. He also doted over each and everyone of his grand children, who were always a source of joy and happiness to him in his latter years. He died in Columbus, Ohio, on the 31st of October at the age of 87. He is survived by seven children (Wole, Tosin, Maureen Mobolaji, Yemi, Abiodun, Margaret Adetokunbo, Akintunde Soboyejo), 1 adopted child (Adebanke Ogunlewe-Ebigbola), 20 grand children, and 4 great grandchildren.