Abel Idowu Olayinka

In September 2015, he was appointed as the 12th substantive Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan to succeed Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, a Nigerian Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics whose tenure ends on November 30, 2015. In 2013, while he was serving as Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, he was searched for the position of Vice Chancellor of the Osun State University but he declined the appointment. In a publication by The Nation Newspaper, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole described Professor Olayinka as the luckiest among the 13 contestants. He said “anybody who is privileged to be the VC is not the best, the brightest and the most intelligent, such a person is just the luckiest among the best.

In 2012, he was elected as fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, the apex academic organization in Nigeria. He was inducted into the academy, along with Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, the 11th substantive Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Mojeed Olayide Abass, a Nigerian Professor of Computer science at the University of Lagos and Professor Akinyinka Omigbodun, the President of the West African College of Surgeons and former Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

In 1994, he was appointed as member of the Editorial Board, Nigerian Journal of Science, a position he served for 6 years. He also served as Associate Editor, Journal of Mining and Geology between 1994 and 2004. In 2000, he was appointed as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, serving in this capacity till date. In 2001, he was appointed as Associate Editor of Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences. In 2008, he was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), an editorial position he held till 2010. Between March 2006 to March 2012, he was member of Council of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society and was Chairman of Awards Committee of the society between 2007 and 2012. He is a peer reviewer of European Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics/Near-Surface Geophysics.

He began his academic career on April 20, 1988 as Lecturer II at the University of Ibadan. He was promoted as lecturer grade I in 1991 and in 1994, he rose to the position of a Senior lecturer. On October 1, 1994, he became a professor of Applied Geophysics. Having served as Sub-dean of the Faculty of science between August 1, 1995 to July 31, 1997, he was appointed as Sub-dean, Postgraduate School. He held the position till July 31, 2001 and was immediately appointed as head of Geology department. On August 2002, he was appointed Dean of the Postgraduate School, a position he held till July 2006, the same year he was reappointed as head of the department of Geology. On February 2007, he was appointed Chairman, Senate Curriculum Committee. He held the position till July 2010. Prior to his appointment as the 12th substantive Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, he served as Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University between December 2010 to December 2014.

Abel Idowu Olayinka FAS (born February 16, 1958) is a Nigerian Professor of Applied geophysics. He is a former Deputy Vice Chancellor and the current Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. He is also the President of the West African Research and Innovation Management Association.

Professor Olayinka was born on February 16, 1958 at Odo-Ijesha, a town in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria. He had his elementary education at Bartholomew's Primary School at Odo-Ijesa and Ilesa Grammar School, where he obtained the WASC in 1975. He received a bachelor's degree in Geology from the University of Ibadan. Following the completion of the compulsory one year Youth Service at the Hydrogeology and Hydrology Department of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Port Harcourt in 1982, he worked briefly at Deptol Consultants as Geologist before he proceeded to the University of London where he received a master's degree in Geophysics in 1984, the same year he received a Membership Diploma of Imperial College in July 1984 before he bagged a scholarship award that earned him a doctoral degree in applied geophysics from the University of Birmingham. In April 1997, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Technical University, Braunschweig and in July 1997, he was Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at Technical University of Berlin. Since his appointment as Professor, he had supervised hundreds of undergraduate students, 66 master's degree students and 9 doctoral degree students. He had published over 50 scholarly articles in reputable academic journal as well as books and monograph.