Hakeem Oluseyi

Why Physics?

Scientists Are Super Cool
As a child growing up in small towns in Mississippi, Hakeem Oluseyi always thought that scientists were super cool. He loved reading science books and discovered Einstein’s work at age 11 when his mom brought home some books from the library for him. “It just knocked my socks off!” Hakeem says. “I did everything I could to get my head around this stuff.”

High School Physics
Hakeem’s interest in physics continued into high school, where he created a computer program that did relativity calculations. When his program won a prize in the state science fair, judges told him to become a physicist. Since Hakeem didn’t really know what physicists did, he dismissed the idea. But not long after high school graduation, Hakeem decided to major in physics in Tougaloo College, a small college in Mississippi.

Using Physics

Three Degrees Later
Now, three degrees in physics later, Hakeem is a super cool astrophysicist himself.

Hakeem did research for the first time at a summer program at the University of Georgia. He was pleasantly surprised by the freedom and responsibility he was given, and found that he fit well into the research community, even though he was one of only a few African Americans.

Working in Research
After finishing up with school, Hakeem did research on manufacturing computer chips and then worked on the Supernova Acceleration Probe (SNAP), a space-based telescope for observing supernovae. When it’s launched in 2013, SNAP will be able to observe thousands of supernovae a year, letting scientists investigate the “dark energy” that is believed to drive the accelerating expansion of the universe. Although this project was exciting, Hakeem decided that academics was the life for him—so now he’s back at school, this time teaching students physics at Alabama A&M University and Florida Institute of Technology. 

Advice for Students

Plug Possible Education Gaps
When Hakeem first started graduate school at Stanford University, he had to take classes to catch up and felt that he was in over his head. “It was extremely difficult,” Hakeem says.

Nevertheless, support from his research adviser and Hakeem’s positive attitude helped him earn his PhD in 1999.  Now, Hakeem reaches out to students himself, at home and all over the world.

Look for Role Models
Through an organization called Cosmos Education, Hakeem visited schools across sub-Saharan Africa to inspire young students with science demonstrations. Simply seeing successful scientists of African heritage like himself encourages the students, Hakeem says. Likewise, students in the U.S. find that Hakeem is easy to relate to because of his modest background and his approachable attitude.

Simply seeing a successful scientist of African heritage like himself encourages the students, Hakeem says. Likewise, students in the U.S. find that Hakeem is easy to relate to because of his modest background and his approachable attitude.

Looking for role models is good for students—and for those who help them. "That’s my life. I educate, I inspire, and I research. And I work too much,” Oluseyi says. “I have to pinch myself sometimes. I couldn’t be happier.”

Definitions

Relativity
The idea, introduced by Albert Einstein in 1915, that even though two observers traveling relative to each other may have different perceptions of time and space, the laws of nature are still uniform and certain properties always remain constant.

Supernova
An unstable star that explodes, giving off extremely bright light and vast amounts of energy.