Frank Nwachukwu Ndili

Frank Nwachukwu Ndili (6 October 1934 – 13 February 2024) was the 1st Nigerian nuclear physicist and the 7th vice chancellor (president) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He served as Vice Chancellor (President) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka from 1980 until he was succeeded by professor Chimere Ikoku in 1985. He left the office after a long and controversial investigation by the panel of inquiry. However, he is believed to have been forthright even where his predecessor Umaru Shehu (1978–1979) threaded carefully. During Professor Ndili's Vice-Chancellorship, effort was undertaken for the first time to rebuild and refurbish the University of Nigeria following its devastation by the Nigerian Civil War. Ndili envisioned that the University would be destined for world-class status and designed a Master Plan to that effect. Today, the grand University entryway, the Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, the School of General Studies, and the Faculty of Arts Complex stand as testimony to his grand vision.

Early life and education Ndili was born on 6 October 1934 in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. He went to St. Patrick's College in Asaba from 1950-1954. He studied at the University of Ibadan from 1957-1961 where he graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) First Class in Physics. He was a Fellow of the British Institute of Physics (F.Inst.P), London, 1977 and won the Alberti Tomasini prize of the Italian Physical Society, Erice, Italy in 1965.

Career Ndili joined the University of Nigeria in 1971 and became Professor in 1974.