Chinedu is a PhD student at the Department of geography and environmental sustainability, University of Oklahoma (OU) with research interest in renewable energy development, energy and environmental justice and sustainability strategies. Specifically, Chinedu seeks to identify and respond to some of the barriers to adopting and utilizing renewable energy in Nigeria, using socio-geographical models and techniques. Before joining OU in 2021, Chinedu completed a Bachelor of Technology in Applied Ecology in Nigeria with a first-class (highest honors) and a master’s degree in Global Ecology and Conservation at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, on a Commonwealth scholarship sponsored by the Department for international development United Kingdom.
During Chinedu’s master's program, he volunteered as a young leader for the Scottish Wildlife Trust to help protect, conserve, and manage Scottish biodiversity, where he organized and participated in 9 educational campaigns across Scotland to educate high school pupils and undergraduates on the importance of conservation and ecosystem services. He was later awarded the volunteer of the year and sponsored for a climate change training at the University of Oxford by the Scottish government, where he developed an interest in applying renewable energy technologies to combat climate change and create energy independence and security, particularly in the global south.
Since joining OU, Chinedu has taken classes and training that have shaped his research skills. He has co-authored two quality publications in peer review journals, with two publications under review. One of his publications currently under review in "Geopolitics" is titled Energy Independence: Media Depictions of Renewable Energy Geopolitics and Energy Security and is aimed to examine how geopolitical considerations of the renewable energy transition are framed within U.S. news sources. Another paper in preparation is on environmental justice in renewable energy and the intersection with critical restoration geography. In this paper, Chinedu argued that the growing scale of renewable energy development has led to conflicts and environmental injustices and that an environmental justice framework is needed for identifying and assessing renewable energy project impacts, especially on local, poor, and marginalized communities. Chinedu is open for more research collaborations that seeks to better peace and developments.
