Lola Fatoyinbo

Temilola Elisabeth (Lola) Fatoyinbo-Agueh is an ecologist who uses satellite-based remote sensing to study the biodiversity, biomass, and carbon sequestration of forests, particularly flooded forests such as mangroves in Africa.[1][2][3] After working for many years for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center, she is a MLK Visiting Scholar at the MIT Media Lab for 2025–2026.[1]

Early life, education, and career

Fatoyinbo is African American.[4] She grew up in the Ivory Coast and Benin,[5] moving frequently with her parents;[3] her father, Akintola Fatoyinbo,[6] was originally from Nigeria,[7] and worked for the World Bank and UNESCO, among other international agencies.[6]

She majored in biology at the University of Virginia, originally intending to go into medicine; she became interested in ecology through undergraduate fieldwork in the Bahamas.[8] After graduating in 2003, she continued at the University of Virginia for a 2008 Ph.D. in environmental sciences. Her doctoral dissertation, Growth, dynamics and distribution of mangrove forests in Mozambique, was supervised by Herman H. (Hank) Shugart.[9]

Next, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida, and then a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2008 until 2010. She joined the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at the Goddard Space Flight Center in 2010.[10]

Recognition

Fatoyinbo was a 2011 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, "recognized for exceptional achievement in merging scientific priorities with advanced technology to develop innovative remote-sensing instrumentation for carbon-cycle and ecosystems science".[11] In 2024, the Royal Geographical Society gave her their second annual annual Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographical Society Prize.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Scholar profile: Lola Fatoyinbo", MIT MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, retrieved 2026-02-26
  2. ^ NASA Researcher Nets First Measure of Africa's Coastal Forests, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, August 20, 2009, archived from the original on 2021-09-18
  3. ^ a b "Meet the NASA Scientist Who Uses Lasers to Study Forests", Nova, PBS, January 25, 2021, retrieved 2026-02-26
  4. ^ "Meet Lola Fatoyinbo, Research Scientist", My NASA data, NASA, retrieved 2026-02-26
  5. ^ "Woman At The Helm: Lola Fatoyinbo (PhD)", Inspiring Woman Africa, February 10, 2026, retrieved 2026-02-26
  6. ^ a b Adamolekun, 'Ladipo (December 4, 2023), "A death remembered: Akintola Fatoyinbo (1943-2002)", Premium Times, retrieved 2026-02-26
  7. ^ "Historique", African Education Journalism Award, ADEA: Association pour le développement de l'éducation en Afrique, retrieved 2026-02-26
  8. ^ "Temilola Fatoyinbo-Agueh: Winner of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers", Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia: 2011–12 Annual Report (PDF), University of Virginia, p. 13, retrieved 2026-02-26
  9. ^ Fatoyinbo, Temilola Elisabeth (2008), Growth, dynamics and distribution of mangrove forests in Mozambique (Ph.D. thesis), University of Virginia, ProQuest 304437425
  10. ^ "Temilola Fatoyinbo", ORCiD, retrieved 2026-02-26
  11. ^ NASA Goddard Scientist Receives Presidential Early Career Award, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, July 23, 2012, archived from the original on 2021-12-09
  12. ^ Dr Lola Fatoyinbo awarded Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographical Society Prize, Royal Geographical Society, April 8, 2024, retrieved 2026-02-26
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