Prof. Bart Nnaji

Bartholomew Nnaji is a Nigerian scientist, innovator, and one of the inventors of the E-Design concept. He was born in Enugu State and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics at St John's University, and then proceeded to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for post-graduate studies.

He joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1983. After a few years, he became the director and a founder of the Automation and Robotics Laboratory at the University. He was made a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in 1992. As a researcher, he focused on three major topics: Computer-Aided Design, Robotics and Computer Aided Engineering. Using the knowledge he gained from his research pursuits, he created the term geometric reasoning, the idea that most things we operate has a geometric configuration. He is also credited as one of the innovators of the E-design concept.

He is also the founder of the first indigenous-owned power-generating company in Nigeria and was also a former minister for Science and Technology in the country.