Born on 19 June 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria, Omowunmi Sadik is an award-winning chemist and inventor. After earning her BS and MS in chemistry at the University of Lagos, she won a scholarship to pursue her PhD at Wollongong University in Australia. Following completion of her doctorate in 1994, Sadik spent two years working at the US Environmental Protection Agency. In 1996 she joined the faculty at SUNY Binghamton, where in 2005 she became a full professor and was appointed director of the Center for Advanced Sensors and Environmental Systems. Sadik’s research focuses on surface chemistry and chemical and biological sensors. Among her innovations are microelectrode biosensors that can detect bombs. She has authored more than 160 scientific papers, holds five US patents, and cofounded the nonprofit Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization, which promotes the responsible use of nanoparticles in technology. Sadik was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2010 and of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2012. In 2016 Sadik became the first female scientist to receive the Nigerian National Order of Merit, Nigeria’s highest academic award. (Photo credit: Science History Institute, CC BY-SA 3.0)
