Soni Oyekan

Soni Olufemi Olubunmi Oyekan was a Nigerian-American chemical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, author, mentor and educator. Oyekan was the president and CEO of Prafis Energy Solutions, an oil refining and energy consulting company. During his career, he has been involved in both research and development and management at a number of major oil companies. He held patents and has made other contributions in the areas of chemical engineering, oil refining, and catalytic systems, including the publication of Catalytic Naphtha Reforming Process (2018).

Oyekan was both a Fellow and a Trustee of the AIChE, and has served on its Fuels and Petrochemicals Division and Minority Affairs Committees. Awards received include the William W. Grimes award from the AIChE and the Percy Lavon Julian Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). He was a mentor to many young professionals.

Early life and education Soni Oyekan was born in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria on 1 June 1946 and came to the United States to study in 1966.

His MS degree thesis title was on "The Stability of Low Tension Interfaces—Effects of layers of Discrete Dipoles and Charges". The title of his doctoral thesis was "An Infrared Spectroscopic Study of the Isomerization and Hydrogenation of Cyclic Olefins Over Zinc Oxide". He conducted his doctoral research studies under the tutelage of Professor Anthony L. Dent.

Honors and awards Oyekan has received several awards and recognition for his contributions in oil refining, chemical engineering and in the mentoring of engineers and technical personnel. He was a member of the AIChE Foundation Board of Trustees and was elected as a Fellow of the AIChE in 1999. and was honored with its Distinguished Service award in 2000. The Fuels and Petrochemicals Division honored him with its Distinguished Service award in 2002. Dr Soni Oyekan was named an Eminent Black Chemical Engineer at the AIChE Centennial Meeting in 2008. He was the recipient of the AIChE William W. Grimes award for excellence in chemical engineering and for the mentoring of under represented minority groups in 2008.

Soni Oyekan was the recipient of the 2009 Percy Lavon Julian Award. The Percy Julian award is the most prestigious honor given by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). The award recognizes and honors a recipient's scientific contributions and achievements, dedication to research, commitment to the educational development of others and passion for the chemistry profession.

Oyekan was also a member of the Foundation Board of Trustees of AIChE, and a member of Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi honor societies, and of the Yale Manuscript Society. He was listed in the 2000 13th edition of Who's Who Among African Americans.

He is a co-author of "Catalyst Regeneration and Continuous Reforming Issues" with P. K. Doolin and D. J. Zalewski, in Catalytic Naphtha Reforming (2004). Oyekan is the author of Catalytic Naphtha Reforming Process (2018).

Personal life Soni Oyekan married Priscilla Ann Parker on 6 June 1970. Priscilla Ann graduated in the first female graduating class at Yale University in 1973. Oyekan died on 18 September 2021.