Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Missouri University of Science and Technology, received B.Sc. in Geology and M.Sc. in Applied Geology from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly the University of Ife) in Nigeria and earned a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Cambridge. Dr. Oboh-Ikuenobe joined the Missouri S&T faculty in 1991, served as Interim Chair of the Department of Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering at S&T from Jan 2015-Jul 2017, and was Program Head of the Geology & Geophysics Program from 2006-2014. She has been the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering and Computing since 2020.

Dr. Oboh-Ikuenobe is a geoscientist specializing in palynology and sedimentology as a means of inferring biostratigraphy reconstructing paleoenvironments and paleoclimate. She has published extensively on palynology and geology of non-marine and marine Phanerozoic sequences in Africa, northern South America, U.S.A., Australia, Gulf of  Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, and has received several awards.

Dr. Oboh-Ikuenobe has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for her contributions to the advancement of palynology -- the study of organic-walled microfossils such as pollen and spores -- and her outstanding efforts in educating the next generation of Earth scientists. AAAS, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science globally, is the world’s largest general scientific society. She is also a fellow of the Geological Society of America and the Paleontological Society, and is a Past President of AASP- The Palynological Society.

In Rolla, Dr. Oboh-Ikuenobe was named Missouri S&T Woman of the Year in 2004 in recognition of her student mentoring efforts as well as her role in promoting science education to girls and young women in the local community and at university summer camps. She has won three Faculty Excellence Awards and three Outstanding Teaching Awards, and was inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame in 2022.

CREE Research Investigator

147 McNutt Hall

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Rolla, MO 65409

(573) 341-6946