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By Damilola Fatunmise
There are some scientists who snag awards and then settle into a cozy routine at their institutions. Then, there are those who win, return to their work, and come back two years later with even more accomplishments. Dr. Lateefat Olanike Aselebe definitely falls into the latter group. On December 6, 2025, the Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA) honored her as the Most Exceptional Applied Mathematics and Technology Research Professional of the Year, marking the 11th edition of an event that has become a key indicator of technological progress in Nigeria over the past decade. Remarkably, she had also won in this same category back in 2023. The fact that she’s back and winning again speaks volumes.
NiTA, put together by Beta Media to celebrate excellence and innovation in technology, doesn’t just hand out awards for the sake of it. For Dr. Aselebe to step back onto the stage in 2025, this time being recognized as the “Most Exceptional” instead of the “Most Outstanding” really shows how much her profile has grown over the past two years. What started as a promising path in 2023 has transformed by 2025 into an impressive body of work that’s catching the eye of the international community, drawing in funding from abroad, and leading to publications on a global scale.
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The amount of research she has produced since 2023 is truly impressive. She’s published several papers in some of the top journals in the fields of mathematics and engineering sciences, such as the International Journal of Thermofluids, Results in Materials, the Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures journal, and the International Journal of Ambient Energy, just to name a few. Her research has evolved from initially focusing on the effects of magnetic fields on fluid flow to a much broader and richer exploration of hybrid nanofluids, these are specially engineered fluids that mix various nanoparticles to boost heat transfer efficiency. The implications of her work are substantial: it could lead to more efficient solar energy collection, enhanced thermal management systems, and improved industrial cooling, all of which are crucial for addressing Africa’s energy and development challenges.
The scope of her collaboration has really expanded lately. Her recent papers feature co-authors from various Nigerian institutions and even beyond, showcasing the impressive cross-institutional scientific network that she has been instrumental in building. One of her standout recent projects involves researching molybdenum disulfide and silicon dioxide composite nanofluids over stretching curved surfaces a highly specialized area of mathematical modeling that has significant implications for thermal engineering. Additionally, she has explored gold-blood nanofluid aggregates under magnetic and thermal radiation conditions, which could have important applications in biomedical engineering and cancer therapy research. These contributions are anything but routine; they highlight a scientist who is truly at the forefront of her field.
Funding has been driven by quality. Dr. Aselebe has successfully obtained research grants from the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia—this competitive international funding highlights how her work is viewed beyond Nigeria. She has showcased her research at various international and national conferences, including the 41st Annual Conference of the Nigerian Mathematical Society and an international conference and workshop focused on modeling and simulating complex systems at Obafemi Awolowo University.
Her teaching journey has evolved alongside her research endeavors. She continues to share her knowledge at the Federal School of Surveying in Oyo, where she teaches courses in calculus, algebra, differential equations, and advanced mathematics to both undergraduate and professional students. She’s also taken part in AI-focused training programs, broadening her skill set to include machine learning techniques that are becoming increasingly important for the data-rich, computationally intensive research she conducts. Now, her expertise covers Python, Mathematica, Maple, and supervised machine learning a diverse array of tools that places her at the dynamic crossroads of traditional mathematical analysis and modern computational science.
What the 2025 NiTA award truly celebrates is more than just two impressive years of work; it honours a career that has been crafted with remarkable clarity and intention. Dr. Aselebe aimed to be a dedicated applied mathematician tackling significant issues, deeply rooted in Nigerian scientific circles while also connecting with the global community. And she has achieved just that. Nigeria and indeed all of Africa could greatly benefit from many more individuals like her.
