Nollywood actor bags PhD in meteorology | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
21st December 2019
A popular actor in Nollywood, Eniola Olaniyan on Saturday, 21st December, 2019 bagged a PhD in Meteorology and Climate Science at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA).
Dr Olaniyan who is largely known in the Yoruba sub-genre of Nigeria’s film industry has by the feat demonstrated that versatility in various fields is not impossible.
Beyond acting, Olaniyan has been a staff member of the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) since 1989.
He is currently a senior Numerical Weather Prediction Scientist there.
He recently took a break from acting following his relocation from Lagos to Abuja for work.
At NiMet, he along with three other researchers recently won a research grant from the United Kingdom Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) to African Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques (SWIFT).
The research, which is intended to improve the existing specialty and accuracy of NiMet forecast.
The other experts from NiMet are Mr Ibrahim Ishiyaku, Aeronautical Meteorologist, Dr Mansur Matazu, a Meteorologist/Climatologist, and Dr Kamoru Lawal, a Specialist in Atmospheric Science.
The staff are participating in an International Research Project with Global Consortiums over a four-year programme by joining the team of 25 UK and 45 African Atmospheric scientists, Social scientists and Operational forecasters who would undertake fundamental scientific research into the physics of tropical weather systems, evaluation and presentation of complex model, satellite data, communications and exploitation of forecasts.
According to NiMet, the project which would have direct impact on aviation, agriculture, energy, water resources, health and emergency response.
EduCeleb.com gathered that Olaniyan had initially studied for a bachelor’s degree in meteorology at FUTA where he graduated in 1999.
He proceeded to the University of Lagos for an  MSc in Geography with a major in Climatology.
His PhD research at FUTA focused on the use of sub-seasonal to seasonal forecast and its application in health.
He is also a senior associate at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy.