Philip Emeagwali

Philip Emeagwali

Philip Emeagwali was born in Nigeria. His father, James Emeagwali, was a nurse's aid. Around the age of fourteen, a Nigerian civil war erupted and Philip joined the Biafran army. He fought in the war as a child soldier and survived the war. Emeagwali was reunited with his parents and he started to go to school, but he then had to drop out due to the lack of funds. Philip started to teach himself and obtained a degree in London. After that Philip came to the United States under a scholarship to further his studies.

Upon coming to the United States, Philip obtained degrees in various fields of study. In 1977 he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics, then received a master's degree in environmental engineering, and then a master's degree in applied mathematics. Philip Emeagwali is known for his works in pioneering the Internet, and he is labeled one of the Internet's fathers. The great contribution Philip brought was the development of over 65,000 processors that helps analyze petroleum fields and does massive calculations.

At the age of eight Philip would study with his father, answering multiple questions his father would ask. He had a set time limit to answer a question and he did so. This helped Philip to solve simple and moderate problems quickly.

Philip Emeagwali gained recognition for his help in the development of the supercomputer and Internet by our former President, Bill Clinton. In a televised speech Bill Clinton said that Philip “had a great mind” and was “an example of what Nigerians could achieve when given the opportunity.”

Philip Emeagwali

Since then, Philip married his wife, Dale Emeagwali, who obtained her PhD in microbiology. Emeagwali has joined a campaign to fight AIDS in Africa. He has accomplished so much in his lifetime, and he has overcome hurdles to become what he is today. He is an inspiration to anyone who wants to follow through with their own dreams.