Raising Three Children Across Three Continents

Abstract

In this chapter, Sadik discusses her career pathways, including her professoriate and her journeys that took her from Nigeria to Australia and finally to the United States while raising three children. This story presents a global perspective with details about the differences in STEM education in those countries, as well as examples of the cultural differences that impacts Chemistry training. Her international perspectives—coupled with what it means to be a woman and a member of the underrepresented minority in STEM, as well as the on-going challenges of balancing professional and personal life—present a unique and impactful story.

About the Author

Education and Professional Career

1985:

BSc Honors Chemistry, University of Lagos, Nigeria

1987:

MSc Chemistry, University of Lagos, Nigeria

1987–1989:

Science Teacher, Gbagada Grammar School, Lagos, Nigeria

1994:

PhD Chemistry, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

1994–1996:

National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, US Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV

1996–2002:

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton, NY

2002–2005:

Associate Professor of Chemistry, Binghamton University, SUNY, Binghamton, NY

2003:

Radcliffe Fellow, Harvard University, Boston, MA

2004–2016:

Director, Center for Advanced Sensors and Environmental Systems

2005–present:

Professor of Chemistry, Binghamton University, SUNY, Binghamton, NY

2012–present:

President and Co-founder, Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization

2016–present:

Director, Center for Research in Advanced Sensing Technologies and Environmental Sustainability (CREATES)

Honors and Awards (Selected)

2018:

Brian O’Connell Fellow, University of Western Cape, South Africa

2017:

Jefferson Science Fellow, State Department, Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs

2016:

Nigerian National Order of Merit Award for Science

2012:

Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering

2011:

Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities, SUNY

2010:

Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry

2005:

NSF Discovery Corps Senior Fellow

2004:

SUNY Research Recognition Award

2003:

Harpur College of Arts & Sciences’ Dean Distinguished Lecturer

2002:

Chancellor’s Outstanding Inventor Award, SUNY

2000–2001:

National Research Council Collaboration in Basic Science and Engineering Fellowship Award

2000–2001:

Harpur College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Research Semester Award, Binghamton University, SUNY

Wunmi’s research areas are in surface chemistry, chemical sensors and biosensors, and in their application to solving real-life problems in biological systems, energy, and the environment. She is promoting the responsible growth of nanotechnology around the world through research, education, and outreach.