Africana studies hosting visiting scholar

O. Akinlolu Ige, a leading African geochemist and archaeometrist, is serving a one-month appointment as a visiting research scholar in the Department of Africana Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Ige, who received his doctoral degree in geochemistry from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, completed most of his pre-doctoral laboratory work as a German Academic Exchange Scholar at the Ludwig Macmillan University in Munich. He has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Wurzburg, Cambridge University and University College London. Currently, Ige is professor of geochemistry and material science at Obafemi Awolowo University, where he served for six years as director of the Natural History Museum.

During his UNC Charlotte visit, Ige said he plans to complete a paper on the compositional analysis and technology of ancient glass beads in Nigeria.

“One of the largest collections of excavated and unfinished glass specimen from Africa is located in the Africana Studies Department,” stated Ige. “I also find the University library (J. Murrey Atkins Library) to be very comprehensive for the kinds of research I am interested in. And as a geochemist, I am intrigued and excited by the vast interdisciplinary interests of the Africana Studies Department. I was looking for a place where I can have conversations with colleagues about the chemistry and culture of glass, and this University offers me this rare opportunity.”

In addition to his glass research, Ige will work on petrographic analysis of tobacco pipes and traded ceramics from archaeological sites in West Africa, in collaboration with the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences.

During his UNC Charlotte visit, he is scheduled to give three lectures: “The Chemistry and Culture of Ancient Glass Technology in Nigeria,” “Geochemist as a Humanist: My Personal Journey in Interdisciplinary Research” and “Growing Up in Nigeria.”

Faculty, staff or students interested in discussing possible collaborations with Ige can email him at oige@uncc.edu.