Visiting Fulbright scholar makes strides in disaster prevention research
Eastern North Carolina’s history with natural disasters helped draw a Fulbright research scholar to East Carolina University this semester.
Victor Oladokun is a professor of industrial engineering from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Since beginning his visit with ECU’s Department of Geography in December, he’s been working on developing models that help communities that are prone to flood hazards and disasters.
Victor Oladokun has been at ECU this semester through the Fulbright Scholar program. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)
The Fulbright program is a flagship educational and cultural exchange program that allows students, professors and researchers to study abroad in many countries.
Oladokun chose to study at ECU because of the protocols that have been put in place due to natural disasters that have affected the area in the past.
“After Floyd in 1999, Greenville and, indeed, North Carolina have carried out a lot of flood risk management and resilience initiatives that offer research interests and ECU researchers are heavily involved in those research initiatives,” he said.
As an industrial engineer, his interest in geography began by trying to cross multi-disciplinary skills to his research. He began looking at bigger socio-economic and socio-ecological challenges that have been confronting Nigeria. Geography and urban planning gave him an outlet to expand his research.
Visiting Fulbright Research Scholars Victor Oladokun studies natural disasters.
Oladokun said ECU’s geography department has been wonderful hosting him and his family and he feels that the department itself is one big family.
“The department chair, Dr. Wasklewicz, Dr. Montz, and other faculty and staff have gone extra miles to make sure we are comfortable,” he said.
Aside from being a professor, Oladokun is also the author of the book, “Essentials of Career Success: A Career Guide for Young People.” The book is a counseling guide targeting high school students on how to make life and career decisions.
“Young people from Nigeria have tremendous talent, energy and drive that can positively transform our economy and society if we can just give them some directions and show them good role models,” he said.
When he returns to Nigeria, he plans to encourage and educate his students to show interest in hazard risk management and urban resilience research.
-by Bre Lewis, ECU News Services