Ibrahim Khalil Umar
Ibrahim Khalil Umar was a Nigerian scientist, physicist, and university administrator. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano from 1979 to 1986, becoming a prominent figure in Nigerian higher education and scientific research.
Education
Umar earned a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He went on to obtain a M.Sc. in Physics from Northern Illinois University, USA, and completed his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, in 1974.
Academic Career
In 1976, Umar became the first Nigerian academic in physics to teach at Bayero University, Kano. He later rose to the position of Vice-Chancellor, serving from 1979 to 1986.
In 1978, he was a member of the National Constitutional Assembly, which drafted the Constitution of Nigeria’s Second Republic.
Between 1994 and 1997, Umar served as Sole Administrator of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
National and International Roles
Umar represented Nigeria at the Executive Assembly of the World Energy Council from 1990. He was a member of the Nigerian delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference from 1989.
In 1989, he was appointed Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, and from 2000 to 2001, he served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the IAEA.
In 2004, he became Director of the Centre for Energy Research and Training, home to Nigeria’s first research nuclear reactor.
In 2007, he served on the International Advisory Committee for the International Workshop on Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development in Africa, held at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Death
On 30 January 2023, his son, Faruk Ibrahim Umar, announced his death.
Categories
- Nigerian physicists
- Nigerian academics
- Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities
- Energy researchers
- 2023 deaths