Ollie Folayan
Ollie Folayan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oluwole Olawale Folayan October 7, 1974 |
| Occupations | Chemical Engineer, Academic |
| Employer | Costain Group |
| Awards | Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE) (2018) Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) (2023) Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) (2025) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Sheffield (BEng) University of Leeds (PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Dundee |
Oluwole Olawale Folayan MBE FREng FIChemE is a British chartered engineer and academic. He serves as Head of Process Engineering at Costain Group and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Dundee. He co-founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK), a non-profit organisation.
Folayan also serves as Deputy President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).[1]
Education
Folayan graduated from the University of Sheffield in 1999 with a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Chemical Process Engineering with Fuel Technology.[2] He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Fuels and Combustion from the University of Leeds in 2002.[3]
Career
Engineering
Folayan began his career as a research assistant at the Energy Research and Resources Institute at the University of Leeds before holding process engineering roles at international firms including Bechtel, SNC-Lavalin, Foster Wheeler, and Petrofac.[1] He later worked at TOTAL E&P UK on offshore gas projects and subsequently held senior engineering leadership roles at Optimus Plus Aberdeen and Costain Group.[4][5]
Academic
Folayan has held an Honorary Professorship at the School of Science and Engineering at the University of Dundee since 2024.[6] He previously held a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professorship from 2021 to 2024.[7]
Advocacy
In 2007, Folayan co-founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) with his sister, Nike Folayan. The organization addresses the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in the engineering workforce.[8][9]
He is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion steering group of the Royal Academy of Engineering.[10]
Honors and awards
- 2018: Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE)[11]
- 2021: Recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Award by the Institution of Chemical Engineers
- 2023: Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to diversity and inclusion in engineering.[12]
- 2023: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, University of Dundee[13]
- 2025: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng)[14]
References
- ^ a b "Board of Trustees - Ollie Folayan". IChemE.
- ^ "The Boardroom - Meet the speakers 2023". University of Sheffield. 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Who studied here?". University of Leeds.
- ^ Thomas, Allister (22 October 2021). "Diversity celebrated at AFBE-UK awards". Energy Voice.
- ^ "Black History Month: engineers you should know". QMUL School of Engineering and Materials Science.
- ^ "Ollie Folayan". University of Dundee.
- ^ "Dr Ollie Folayan". Raeng.org.uk.
- ^ "Engineer aims to inspire children from minority backgrounds with STEM campaign". The Herald. 10 June 2019.
- ^ Britton, Ruaraidh (31 December 2022). "Aberdeen businessman and diversity champion awarded MBE". Aberdeen Live.
- ^ "Equity Diversity Inclusion Committee". Royal Academy of Engineering.
- ^ "IChemE Fellow recognised in 2023 New Year Honours List". IChemE.
- ^ Wilson, Kelly (30 December 2022). "New Years Honours: Aberdeen man made MBE for diversity and inclusion work". Press and Journal.
- ^ "Honorary Degrees". University of Dundee.
- ^ "Dr Ollie Folayan MBE FREng". Royal Academy of Engineering.