Another Nigerian hoisting the country’s flag. Deji Akinwande, a Nigerian professor is set to receive the U.S government’s highest honor for scientists and engineers.

An associate professor in electrical and computer engineering and the Jack Kilby/Texas Instruments Endowed Faculty Fellow in Computer Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, he was selected for having research that is both innovative and beneficial to society.

He is considered one of the top researchers in the world in the areas of graphene, silicon electronics and 2-D nanomaterials for use in flexible electronics. Known for his groundbreaking research on nanomaterials, sensors, devices and flexible technology, in 2015, Akinwande created the first transistor out of silicene, the world’s thinnest silicon material, and he is continuing to advance the capabilities of computer chips and other electronics.

A statement released by the University of Texas, reads: “Deji Akinwande has been selected to receive a 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Obama, the United States government’s highest honor for scientists and engineers in the early stages of research. 

Prestigious awards under his belt include the Inaugural IEEE NANO “Geim and Novoselov Graphene Prize,” an  IEEE Early Career Award in Nanotechnology, a National Science Foundation Career Award, an Army Research Office Young Investigator award, a Young Investigator award from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.