About

Research profile

I’m an Earth system scientist studying how the atmosphere, land surface, and terrestrial biosphere interact as a coupled system, and how that coupling shapes risk to agriculture, water resources, and ecosystems under a changing climate. I integrate regional-to-continental Earth system models (RegCM4, WRF, WRF-Hydro, and the Community Land Model), CMIP6 and CORDEX-CORE multi-model ensembles, statistical extremes analysis, and machine learning to study land–atmosphere–biosphere feedbacks and compound climate hazards across West Africa and the continental United States.

My work connects mechanistic Earth system modeling to concrete consequences for food systems, water resources, and ecosystem resilience — including impacts on species and natural systems beyond the human systems most directly studied. I’m building an independent research program centered on vegetation–climate coupling and compound extremes, with the goal of extending this integrated systems approach to new regions and research questions.

Research interests

A simple question drives me: how does our changing climate, especially its extremes, affect the way we live and work? To answer this, I use a combination of climate models, remote sensing, field observation, statistics, and machine learning. My goal is to cut through the complexity and provide clear, actionable insights that build resilience — from the food we grow and the air we breathe to the energy we use.

Key areas of expertise:

  • Climate modeling & analysis — Developing and analyzing simulations using regional models (WRF, RegCM4) and large ensembles (CMIP6, CORDEX-CORE) for robust geospatial diagnostics
  • Climate data science — Leveraging Python, R, and MATLAB, alongside geospatial tools (ArcGIS, ArcPy), for processing and analyzing large-scale atmospheric datasets
  • Applied climate impacts — Researching land–atmosphere interactions, climate–agriculture relationships, and building data-driven frameworks for environmental resilience

Career objective

I’m currently seeking a permanent position — in academia, industry, or the public sector — where I can put data analysis, Earth system modeling, and machine learning to work on problems that directly improve livelihoods, whether in established sectors like agriculture and water management or in emerging data-driven fields tackling climate and environmental risk. I’m drawn to roles where research translates quickly into decisions, tools, or policy that people actually use.

I’m a Nigerian citizen and I’m authorized to work in the United States.

Current position

Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Michigan State University (January 2024 – Present)

  • Lead research integrating climate and hydrological data for agricultural modeling at country, regional, and global scales using CMIP6 and CORDEX simulations
  • Apply machine learning (CNN, LSTM) and geospatial analytics to assess natural hazard impacts on food and environmental systems
  • Develop and maintain scalable data pipelines translating complex climate data into actionable insight for interdisciplinary teams
  • Convening Chair, AGU 2026 Session GC013: “AI-Ensemble Modeling of Weather Extremes on Agricultural Production Systems”
  • Co-convened AGU sessions on African hydrology and hydroclimatology for three consecutive years (AGU24, AGU25, AGU26)

Academic path

West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) — Akure, Nigeria Research Fellow & Co-Principal Investigator · January 2021 – December 2024

Co-led the BMBF-funded CONCERT project on greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation under climate and land-use change in West Africa, using a coupled WRF/WRF-Hydro Earth system model alongside eddy-covariance flux measurements. Taught postgraduate courses in statistical meteorology, hydrological modeling, and natural hazard assessment.

University of Warsaw, Institute of Geophysics — Warsaw, Poland Visiting Scientist / Technical Specialist · August 2021 – March 2022

Air quality assessment using field measurements, lidar remote sensing (ADR-PollyXT), and data-driven analytical approaches.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT — IMK-IFU) — Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Postdoctoral Research Scholar · September 2016 – September 2017

Produced high-resolution WRF (12 km) and CLM climate simulations for the WASCAL project. Key contributor to the WASCAL ensemble dataset published in Earth System Science Data.

(Full appointment history — including NASRDA, University of Cape Town, and early teaching roles at FUTA and Elizade University — is available in my CV or on ORCID.)

Education

  • Ph.D., Meteorology and Climate Science — Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria (2013–2016). Thesis: Investigating Land Cover Types for Mitigating Climate Change Impacts in West Africa. Funded by a BMBF Doctoral Scholarship.
  • M.Sc., Physics (Space Physics) — FUTA, Nigeria (2010–2012)
  • B.Tech. (Hons.), Meteorology — FUTA, Nigeria (2001–2006)

Current focus beyond research

  • Founder & Director, ASCENDE Network — a global, women-centered mentorship community connecting early-career climate scientists across Africa, Europe, and North America
  • Associate Editor, Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health (Springer Nature), 2025–present
  • Peer reviewer for International Journal of Climatology, Environmental Research Letters, GeoHealth, and several other journals

Elsewhere