- Tejuosho was inducted into the National Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society for excellence in scholarship and leadership.
- He was the only inductee from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering this year.
- Originally from Nigeria, Tejuosho plans to continue a career in science and engineering research.
Recent chemical engineering doctorate graduate Taofeek Tejuosho, Ph.D., wrapped up his time at the University of Florida by being inducted into the National Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society (Bouchet Society).
Although he was unable to attend the ceremony in April at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, he received his award during UF’s Graduate School Awards Ceremony along with four other inductees from UF.
Tejuosho was selected from a highly competitive, university-wide pool of applicants after being nominated by his doctoral advisor, Janani Sampath, Ph.D., and Distinguished Professor Ranga Narayanan, Ph.D. He was the only awardee from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering this year.
Tejuosho has conducted research with the Sampath Computational Design of Soft Materials research group.
“Taofeek perfectly epitomizes the values that Dr. Bouchet lived by. In the time that I have known him, he has grown not just as a scholar through his insightful work in polymer simulations and data-driven materials design, but also as a leader through his dedicated mentorship of students at every level, from middle schoolers to incoming doctoral students, and his advocacy and service as the Inclusive Excellence Chair and Treasurer of GRACE, the graduate student body of UF ChemE,” Sampath said.
During his time at UF, he also received the Chemical Engineering Research Excellence Award, the Peer Mentoring Award and the Daniel R. King Memorial Scholarship from the Adhesion Society. He was also recognized as a UF Board of Education Fellow.
Originally from Nigeria, Tejuosho received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Lagos, where he also received the Professor William Harmon Ray Prize.
While at UF, he advanced STEM education by contributing to several programs, including the Student Science Training Program, the Women in Chemical Engineering Program, the Chemical Engineering Workshop for Teachers and the Florida STEM Symposium.
Tejuosho also interned at Dow Chemical Co. as an advanced-degree researcher. He plans to work as a scientist or research engineer while continuing to create innovations that improve the quality of life for all.
Bouchet — the award’s namesake — was a pioneering American physicist and educator who was the first African American to earn a doctorate from an American university. He earned his Ph.D. in physics from Yale in 1876 and was one of the first African Americans admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
The Bouchet Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes excellence in doctoral education. It seeks to develop a network of scholars who demonstrate the spirit of Bouchet’s commitment to academia. To that end, inductees should also bear his qualities of scholarship, leadership, character, service and advocacy for students.