Temitayo “Tayo” Olowu
Degree: Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering
College: College of Engineering and Computing
As a young boy born in Lagos, Nigeria, Temitayo “Tayo” Olowu loved to take things apart and repair them. The son of a mechanical engineer, Tayo’s curiosity and ability came naturally, and when he considered future careers, everything pointed to engineering.
Before attending university, Tayo graduated from The Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, a highly regarded polytechnic in Nigeria. He then received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Benin. During his years there, he further developed his interest in renewable energy systems and smart grids and participated in research in multiple areas, including solar power. He also worked in the academic, manufacturing, communication, and renewable energy industries, helping develop government and private solar-powered projects.
He chose Florida International University to continue his graduate studies due to the university’s outstanding faculty and state-of-the-art research labs. At FIU, Tayo worked in the Energy, Power and Sustainability Intelligence (EPSi) lab under Arif Sarwat, Professor and director of the FPL-FIU Solar Research Center. Sarwat’s area of research is in artificial intelligence and machine learning applications for microgrid and the nation’s critical infrastructure of smart power grids.
While at FIU, to date, Tayo has authored and co-authored 44 technical papers that have been published or presented in renowned journals and conferences. He has led several FIU projects with FPL, finding solutions that more effectively integrate renewables into the grid. He also holds a patent for a controller that allows for the intelligent grid-interconnection of different energy resources and has several more patents pending. After graduation, he is joining one of the U.S. federal research labs.
Outside of academia, Tayo likes to spend time with his wife, Oluwamayokun, and their two young sons, Samuel and Elijah. He loves music, dancing and plays the piano. He’s also an avid fan of the British football club Arsenal.
By Elizabeth Calzadilla
Director, Marketing and Communications
College of Engineering & Computing