The Department of Physics and Industrial Physics recently held its 1st lecture series/induction ceremony with the theme “THE ROLE OF PHYSICS IN THE ACTUALIZATION OF THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION”. The ceremony, which was held at the Faculty of Physical Sciences Lecture Hall and lasted for two days, was preceded by the commissioning of the state-of-the-art equipment at the Advanced Physics Laboratory by the Ag. Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi.
In his welcome address, the Department’s head, Prof Donald N. Okolie, expressed gratitude to God for the gathering, especially for welcoming the first-year students. He assured them that they were in the right Department and that numerous job opportunities awaited them upon graduation. He thanked the Acting Vice-chancellor, Prof Carol Arinze-Umobi, the invited speakers/guests, the awardees, and the Professors for gracing the occasion.
Prof Okolie noted that the induction was different from previous ones as they decided to introduce an annual lecture series to give students deeper understanding of what studying Physics entails, of which he was hoping that after the ceremony, they will realize that Physics is applied in every field of human endeavour demonstrating it’s significance and broad applicability. He remarked that they had carefully selected the theme and subthemes of the lecture, featuring presentations by distinguished scholars and technocrats for their attentive listening.
Prof Okorie listed the different areas of specialisation in the Department and pointed out the introduction of two new options: Medical Physics and Phymetronics
Speaking at the event, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi, who was represented by Prof. A. O. C. Nwokoye, appreciated the Department for organising the first of the series. She was impressed that the Department was able to organise this and appreciated the Head of Department for taking the bull by the horns. Prof Arinze-Umobi encouraged them to make good use of the science lab, which was commissioned and to open it up to the students to be used as it was meant to be. Impressed by the theme, she highlighted the importance of the topics chosen, especially in today’s world, while urging the students to take lectures like this seriously because they will need the knowledge for their success and growth in school and after school.
Finally, she thanked the department for all they have been doing to contribute to the growth of the university, encouraging them to continue the good work, as they will be rewarded.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof G. Anene, while giving his opening remarks, thanked guests and participants for taking the time to come out. He acknowledged the presence of the Acting Vice-Chancellor, the Dean and the HoD, who took the initiative to set up this lecture series. Prof Anene thanked Prof Okpala, who coordinated the whole program and made everything go smoothly and all the professors who took time to come out. He invited everyone present to open their ears and minds and listen to the lecture.
The Commissioner of Education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, who was represented by Mr Chiekwe Chike in her address, thanked the organisers of the event as they made it possible for them to be there today. He noted that it was a welcome development and that it will pave the way for hard work in the faculty and the university at large, as education is one of the bedrocks of society, and every pillar of society is successful due to quality education.
She reiterated the rate at which things are happening in the society, she said that such will not be possible if people invest more in the education sector.
The lecture was opened with a presentation by Prof F. I. Ezema, FAS, a Professor of the University of Nigeria, on the “THE ROLE OF PHYSICS IN THE ACTUALIZATION OF THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: Challenges and Advances”, where he stated that the 4IR is applied all round, in agriculture, engineering, mechanical, nanomedicine and others and that physics is central to the 4IR’s infrastructure and innovation.
Dr Foster Ihejiofor, the Commissioner of Agriculture in Anambra state, who took the second lecture on the topic “THE ROLE OF PHYSICS & AI IN AGRICULTURE”, explained the essential physics concepts relevant to agriculture and how AI addresses agriculture challenges like predicting crop yields and detecting diseases in plants. He also highlighted the innovations in agricultural practices facilitated by physics and AI.
The third lecture of the day was given by Dr Elvin Ugonna Eziama of Algoma University, Ontario, Canada also gave his lecture on the topic “A Multilingual AI-powered Medical Chatbot with Graph Neural Networks for Drug Interaction Analysis in Resource-constrained Healthcare Settings” Engr. Ikenna David Oke from the Energy Research Centre, UNN, had the last lecture of the day.
The highlight of the occasion was the oath-taking by the first-year student and the cutting of the induction cake.