Engr. Prof. B. J. El-Yakubu, MNSE

Engr. Prof. Baba Jibril El-Yakubu is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Nigeria, and the current Director of Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC) at the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), where he is on sabbatical leave. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, in 2002, with a doctoral thesis on Catalytic Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane. He also holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia (1996), and a B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria (1992). Professor El-Yakubu has held several academic and leadership positions, including PTDF-Chair Professor (2017–2025) and Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at ABU (2017–2019). He established and headed the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Bayero University, Kano (2015–2017). Earlier in his career, he served at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, and King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. He has attended several training courses, including academic leadership and OBE Accreditation at the ABET Symposium and Training Workshops, Oregon, USA (2013). He later led his team to a successful ABET accreditation of the Chemical Engineering Program, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. The programs at the College were among the first to be accredited by ABET (2006–2008) in the Arabian Gulf. He has shared his experiences at several seminars and workshops, including a presentation titled “OBE Implementation in Engineering Programs: Challenges and Opportunities” at the 6th International Forum on Engineering Education (IFEE), Kuala Lumpur (2012). He later co-authored an article, “A Sustainable Process for Continuous Program Improvement Towards Accreditation” (Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 102, 352–360, 2013). In addition, he has published more than 110 articles in international journals and holds five registered patents. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Journal of Engineering (2019–2023). His current h-index is 35, and his i10-index is 69. He has been deeply involved in accreditation, outcome-based education (OBE), and quality assurance in engineering education in Nigeria. Since 2018, he has served as a resource person for COREN on OBE implementation, leading numerous training workshops to align Nigerian engineering programs with Washington Accord standards. He has also been a panel leader and evaluator for both COREN and the National Universities Commission. His research spans renewable bioethanol as automobile fuel, enhanced heavy crude oil recovery, catalytic and adsorptive wastewater treatment, and engineering education reform. He has attracted significant research funding, including projects sponsored by PTDF and TETFund, such as the development of zeolite catalysts for aromatization of alkanes and enhanced recovery of Nigerian petroleum using green solvents. He has also consulted for NNPC Ltd and Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) on bioethanol feasibility studies in Nigeria. Professor El-Yakubu has supervised more than thirty graduate students, with recent works focusing on deep eutectic solvents for oil recovery and advanced sorbent materials for oil-water separation. He teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, ranging from Process Design and Petroleum Refining to Renewable Energy and Biorefinery. He has received national recognition for his contributions to engineering and education, including serving as a member and later briefly as Chairman of the Engineering/Technology Committee of Assessors for the Nigerian National Merit Award (2023). He was also a member of the Nigerian National Energy Working Committee for Vision 2020.