Science World Celebrates Professor Sunday Jonah

Science World celebrates Professor Sunday Jonah, Director and Research Professor, Centre for Energy Research and Training, CERT, in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, on his emerging the most cited staff of the university for 2023.

Sunday Jonah as Professor of Nuclear Physics in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Research Reactor Professor led the team that successfully converted Nigeria’s only nuclear research reactor, NIRR-1, from using weapon-grade Highly Enriched Uranium, HEU (70.2 per cent), to Low Enriched Uranium (13 per cent) in 2018.

The Highly Enriched fissile Uranium-235 nuclear fuel was sent back to the manufacturers in China, thereby closing the inventory.

It was replaced with Low Enriched Uranium, which is not of nuclear-grade, also from China.

The government of USA paid for the entire exercise as part of its efforts to reduce global threats from possible nuclear terrorism under Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Co-ordinator for Threat Reduction Programmes, US Department of State.

Professor Sunday Jonah was formerly the Reactor Manager of NIRR-1 (2007 – 2011) before rising to become Director of CERT, Zaria, in November, 2021.

NIRR-1 in CERT has been running without accident or incident since it went critical on 30 September, 2004.

Professor Jonah obtained a PhD in Nuclear Physics in 1995; has over 76 publications and 678 citations.

He served as Consultant to IAEA and Visiting Scholar to Argonne National Laboratory and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy.

On 26 July, 2022 he was appointed Senior Member of the prestigious Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, INMM, 

This, the institute’s President, Susan Pepper, said is in recognition of his special service and qualifications.

He is the first and only Nigerian to be so appointed.