Thomas R. Odhiambo

icipe was declared open for business in 1970, one of its objectives being the creation of motivated and highly talented ‘human capital’ in insect research and related areas of science, to enable Africa to sustain herself and to lead the entire pan-tropical world in this area of endeavour.

Upon his return to Kenya, Prof. Odhiambo, took up a position as a lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Nairobi. In 1967, he was approached by the Science journal to write a review on the status of science in Africa. In the article, Prof. Odhiambo observed that scientific research was urgently required in the then postcolonial Africa, to develop environmentally safe strategies to increase agricultural production, and to address prevalent tropical and vector borne diseases. He stressed that the science conducted in Africa should have at its heart the elevation of the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

He encouraged the younger generation of thinkers to venture into the fine arts, investigate its relation to history of life sciences and to go out and create global academies and research institutions using technology. His inspiring effect led to the re–emergence of accumulated indigenous knowledge and technology systems in the modern African world. He led visions on agricultural development in Africa by initiating effective scientific projects leading to advancement in growing indigenous crops and disseminating methods of insect control. Educated in Cambridge University, UK, Prof. Odhiambo completed a PhD in 1965 under the supervision of the guru of insect physiology, Vincent Wigglesworth, producing a ‘phenomenally productive’ thesis on the reproductive physiology of the desert locust, producing a series of 14 papers on the topic. He marked his arrival into the world of insect science through a sole-authored short communication in Nature journal titled, Metabolic effects of corpus allatum hormone, in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria.

Professor Thomas Risley Odhiambo (February 4, 1931 – May 26, 2003) was a Kenyan entomologist and environmental activist who directed research and scientific development in Africa.