Engr. Dr. Ijeh, Ikenna Chinazaekpere
Director, Centre for Adaptive Research and Fabrication
Engr. Dr. Ijeh, Ikenna Chinazaekpere is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering and the Director of the Centre for Adaptive Research and Fabrication (CARF) which houses the Digital Fabrication Laboratory (FABLAB) at Alex-Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
He holds a Ph.D. in Optics, Photonics, and Image Processing from École Centrale Marseille and Institut Fresnel, France, obtained in collaboration with McMaster University, Canada (2018-2021); an M.Sc. in Control and Instrumentation from the University of Derby, United Kingdom, where he graduated with Distinction (2015-2016); and a B.Eng. in Electrical Electronics Engineering from Caritas University, Enugu State, Nigeria, with Second Class Upper Honours (2007-2012).
Dr. Ijeh joined AE-FUNAI in 2014 as a Graduate Assistant and has since risen through the academic ranks to Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer II, Lecturer I, and currently Senior Lecturer. He was appointed Acting Director of CARF FABLAB in September 2023 and has served as substantive Director since June 2026.
His research centres on sustainable, low-environmental-impact technologies for monitoring and data transmission in the Internet of Underwater Things, optical wireless communication systems (channel and system modelling, digital twins, and artificial-intelligence-based signal optimisation), and embedded systems for autonomous vehicles. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers in these areas, published in outlets including the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, the Journal of Optical Communications and Networking, and Energy Science & Engineering, among others.
He has held several international fellowships and visiting positions, including Visiting Scholar under the MIT-Empowering the Teachers (MIT-ETT) Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2025), Visiting Researcher at Institut Fresnel, Marseille (2025), Guest Lecturer at École Centrale Méditerranée, Marseille (2025), and Visiting Researcher at the FOCAL Laboratory, McMaster University, Canada (2020). His scholarships and awards include the France Excellence (SSHN) grant, the France-Canada Research Fund, the City of Marseille doctoral scholarship, the Franco-FUNAI Ph.D. Scholarship, and the Ebonyi State Government Postgraduate Scholarship.
Dr. Ijeh is also the Founder of the Demonstrating Engineering Abstracts through Project-Based (DEAP-Based) Learning Model and of the Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Fabrication Academy (CARFA), initiatives reflecting his commitment to hands-on, project-based engineering education and youth capacity-building in emerging technologies.
He is a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Registered Engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), and a Member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). He was also a Working Group Member of the H2020 COST Action CA19111 - European Network on Future Generation Optical Wireless Communication Technologies (NEWFOCUS). He also serves as a reviewer for international journals and conferences, including Optics Express and the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.
As Director of CARF FABLAB, Dr. Ijeh leads the Centre's mandate to advance adaptive research, digital fabrication, and applied innovation at AE-FUNAI, bridging academic research with practical, technology-driven solutions for industry and community development.
