CBC News: Dr. Timi Ojo, Top 10 Future 40 under 40 Finalist

Dr. Timi Ojo was recently recognized for his critical work on soil moisture when CBC Manitoba recently announced its top 10 Future 40 under 40 finalists — a group of Manitobans giving back to make the province better for future generations.

His nominator was colleague Dr. Xiaopeng Gao in the Department of Soil Science, who shared the following details.

____

Timi immigrated from Nigeria to Winnipeg in 2009 and has demonstrated exceptional leadership and outstanding commitment to building Manitoba. While adjusting to a new city, he volunteered with the WRHA for the H1N1 clinic in the Fall of 2009. Timi was the president of the University of Manitoba’s Graduate Student Association and sat on the University’s Board of Governors.

He established the first automated soil moisture monitoring network in Manitoba during his postgraduate studies. Data from the sensors provided important information to flood forecasters during the 2011 flood, and his research has led to improving the accuracy of soil moisture determination.

Timi led the ground instrumentation when NASA conducted a validation experiment in Manitoba on the SMAP satellite which takes global soil moisture data. He started working with the province as the provincial agrometeorologist in 2015 and led the expansion of the Manitoba Ag Weather network from 46 stations to over 100 weather stations, providing timely information about weather impacts on agricultural production.

Currently the acting manager of Crop Production, Timi coordinates a prairie-wide initiative that uses weather data from over 500 stations to determine the risk of crop disease. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba where he co-supervises graduate students.

The year-end sing-along event that Timi started in his living room had over 150 participants last December and the event raised donations for Manitoba Harvest. As a children’s book author, Timi’s Manitoba-centric book “Jo’s Super Skates”, is based on his daughter’s skating adventure at the Forks.

___

Visit CBC News to read more about all of the finalists.