Philip Emeagwali
Encyclopedia
Philip Emeagwali is a Nigerian -born engineer
and computer scientist
/geologist
who was one of two winners of the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize
, a prize from the IEEE, for his use of a Connection Machine
supercomputer
to help analyze petroleum fields.
, Nigeria on 23 August 1954. His early schooling was suspended in 1967 due to the Nigerian-Biafran war. When he turned fourteen, he served in the Biafran army. After the war he completed a high-school equivalency through self-study. He travelled to the United States to study under a scholarship after taking a correspondence course at the University of London. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Oregon State University
in 1977. He worked as a civil engineer at the Bureau of Land Reclamation in Wyoming during this period. He later moved to Washington DC, receiving in 1986 a master's degree from George Washington University
in ocean and marine engineering, and a second master's in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland
.
, based on an application of the CM-2
massively-parallel computer for oil-reservoir modeling. He won in the "price/performance" category, with a performance figure of 400 Mflops
/$1M, corresponding to an absolute performance of 3.1 Gflops. The other recipient of the award, who won in the "peak performance" category for a similar application of the CM-2 to oil-related seismic data processing, actually had a price-performance figure of 500 Mflops/$1M and an absolute performance of 6.0 Gflops, but the judges decided not to award both prizes to the same team. Emeagwali's simulation was the first program to apply a pseudo-time approach to reservoir modeling.
Apart from the prize itself, there is no evidence that Emeagwali's work was ever accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed
scientific literature, nor that it had any other lasting impact on the field of high-performance computing
or the development of the Internet
. Neither does he hold any recognized patent
s for his results. (He does, however, own a US trademark
for his website name, "EMEAGWALI.COM".) Nevertheless, Emeagwali was voted the "35th-greatest African (and greatest African scientist) of all time" in a survey by New African
magazine. His achievements were quoted in a speech by Bill Clinton
as an example of what Nigerians could achieve when given the opportunity. He is also a frequent feature of Black History Month
articles in the popular press.
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
/geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
who was one of two winners of the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize
Gordon Bell Prize
The Gordon Bell Prizes are a set of awards awarded by the Association for Computing Machinery in conjunction with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers each year at the Supercomputing Conference to recognize outstanding achievement in high-performance computing applications...
, a prize from the IEEE, for his use of a Connection Machine
Connection Machine
The Connection Machine was a series of supercomputers that grew out of Danny Hillis' research in the early 1980s at MIT on alternatives to the traditional von Neumann architecture of computation...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
to help analyze petroleum fields.
Biography
Emeagwali was born in AkureAkure
Akure is a city in the southwestern region of Nigeria, and is the largest city and capital of Ondo State. The city has a population of approximately 387,087...
, Nigeria on 23 August 1954. His early schooling was suspended in 1967 due to the Nigerian-Biafran war. When he turned fourteen, he served in the Biafran army. After the war he completed a high-school equivalency through self-study. He travelled to the United States to study under a scholarship after taking a correspondence course at the University of London. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
in 1977. He worked as a civil engineer at the Bureau of Land Reclamation in Wyoming during this period. He later moved to Washington DC, receiving in 1986 a master's degree from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in ocean and marine engineering, and a second master's in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
.
Awards
Emeagwali received a $1,000 1989 Gordon Bell PrizeGordon Bell Prize
The Gordon Bell Prizes are a set of awards awarded by the Association for Computing Machinery in conjunction with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers each year at the Supercomputing Conference to recognize outstanding achievement in high-performance computing applications...
, based on an application of the CM-2
Connection Machine
The Connection Machine was a series of supercomputers that grew out of Danny Hillis' research in the early 1980s at MIT on alternatives to the traditional von Neumann architecture of computation...
massively-parallel computer for oil-reservoir modeling. He won in the "price/performance" category, with a performance figure of 400 Mflops
FLOPS
In computing, FLOPS is a measure of a computer's performance, especially in fields of scientific calculations that make heavy use of floating-point calculations, similar to the older, simpler, instructions per second...
/$1M, corresponding to an absolute performance of 3.1 Gflops. The other recipient of the award, who won in the "peak performance" category for a similar application of the CM-2 to oil-related seismic data processing, actually had a price-performance figure of 500 Mflops/$1M and an absolute performance of 6.0 Gflops, but the judges decided not to award both prizes to the same team. Emeagwali's simulation was the first program to apply a pseudo-time approach to reservoir modeling.
Apart from the prize itself, there is no evidence that Emeagwali's work was ever accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
scientific literature, nor that it had any other lasting impact on the field of high-performance computing
High-performance computing
High-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
or the development of the Internet
History of the Internet
The history of the Internet starts in the 1950s and 1960s with the development of computers. This began with point-to-point communication between mainframe computers and terminals, expanded to point-to-point connections between computers and then early research into packet switching...
. Neither does he hold any recognized patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s for his results. (He does, however, own a US trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
for his website name, "EMEAGWALI.COM".) Nevertheless, Emeagwali was voted the "35th-greatest African (and greatest African scientist) of all time" in a survey by New African
New African
New African is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora...
magazine. His achievements were quoted in a speech by Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
as an example of what Nigerians could achieve when given the opportunity. He is also a frequent feature of Black History Month
Black History Month
Black History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
articles in the popular press.
Court case and the denial of degree
Emeagwali studied for a Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan from 1987 through 1991. His thesis was not accepted by a committee of internal and external examiners and thus he was not awarded the degree. Emeagwali filed a court challenge, stating that the decision was a violation of his civil rights and that the university had discriminated against him in several ways because of his race. The court challenge was dismissed, as was an appeal to the Michigan state Court of Appeals.Disparaging Media Comment
A news editorial published on October 18, 2010 by Sahara Reporters, a news agency, refuted all claims by Philip Emeagwali to his claimed success. The newspaper gave evidential and incisive details as to why he could never have achieved all self-described feats, including being the 'Father of the Internet'External links
- emeagwali.com - Emeagwali's personal website.
- Digital Giants: Philip Emeagwali (BBC)
- Biography of Emeagwali from IEEE
- "Self-Promotion and Self-Authentication: the Abuse of Cyber Pseudo-Anonymity. Part II: 'Father of the Internet'", BiafraNigeriaWorld, November 2003 - an article that highly critically examines Emeagwali's claims, describing them as "disingenuous"