Mr. Cyprian Emeka Uzoh, CTO, Emeka Tech Inc., USA, has been named as Nigeria’s Diaspora Professional of the Year 2023 by The Top10, a high-flying Nigerian profiling magazine based in Lagos.
According to Uzoh’s citation published in the latest edition of the magazine dedicated to its Man of the Year and Annual Excellence Awards, his selection was “in recognition of his prolific inventions, development and implementation of innovations that have affected lives in so many ways by providing solutions to current and future troublesome and complex problems worldwide.”
The Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Tony Iji, in his column, described Uzoh as a “globally recognized professional of Nigerian origin.. an innovator and prolific inventor.”
Uzoh will be conferred with the prestigious honour during the magazine’s Man of the Year and Annual Excellence Awards ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital, on Sunday, November 19.
Uzoh is one of the prominent scientists and engineers in the field of semiconductor technology who has invented, developed and implemented innovations that have affected lives in so many ways.
The innovator and prolific inventor who is based in the United States, hails from Ojoto, the headquarters of Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State. He attended Ebenezer Primary School in Ibadan; graduated from Christ The King College, Onitsha, in 1971; and from University of Wisconsin – Madison, in 1978 where he studied metallurgical engineering. He pursued his graduate education in Materials Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. His entire graduate education was funded by NASA and the Airforce Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
At Rensselaer, he was recruited by IBM T. J. Watson Laboratory to conduct research initially on X-ray Lithography and on high performance chip interconnection technologies.
In 2006, he and his colleagues at IBM Research were awarded the “Inventor of the Year 2006” for their patent USPTO 6709562 “Method of Making Electroplated Interconnection Structures on Integrated Circuit Chips” by New York Intellectual Property Association. Together, they have an impressive portfolio of 360 Utility patents in the United States and more than 700 worldwide. Mr. Uzoh’s significant contributions continue to shape the future of the tech industry and human lives.
After leaving IBM, he moved to the Silicon Valley in California where he continued his work and roles in advancing the frontier of science and technology. He was the Vice-President of Research at NuTool Inc. before NuTool was acquired by ASMI Inc. After ASMl, he joined Tessera, now Adeia, where he is working on foundational technologies to solve some of today’s and tomorrow’s troublesome and complex problems.
Prime Business Africa reports that Mr. Uzoh is ‘gazetted’ in the US’ records of “Prolific Inventors” with 328 patents to his credit. He is described as a genius of computing for having revolutionalised the technology world through his inventions. He has co-written more than 40 publications. He was appointed inventor of the year in 2006 for his patent on the manufacturing process of an electrolytic interconnection structure on a chip of integrated circuit (USPTO 6.709.562), which became one of the most important patents in studying the science and technology of the field of semiconductors.
Mr. Uzoh was among the brains behind the blood oxygen app, after spending five years in Silicon Valley. Apple said that measurements taken with the blood oxygen app is “for general fitness and wellness purposes.”
Uzoh’s company, EmekaTech, Inc., a biotech start-up based in Santa Clara, California, is an early stage, innovative biotechnology company, keenly focusing on developing and marketing environmentally responsible and sustainable products.
Mr. Uzoh and his wife, Mary, whose union has been blessed with three children – Nneka, Amaka, and Nwakaego – live in San Jose, California.
