Dr Lasisi Salami Lawal is a visiting Associate Professor in academia and an Acting General Manager in the public sector, boasting over 23 years of experience spanning private practice, industry, and government roles. He leverages his professional expertise to bridge academia and industry, mainly focusing on enhancing the viability of emerging technologies. His specialities include Communications and Satellite Technologies, Communications Satellite Applications & Services, GNSS & SBAS Technologies, Space Science, Education & Technologies, and Satellite Project Management. Dr Lawal has led project teams in launching two communications satellites for Nigeria (NIGCOMSAT-1 and NIGCOMSAT-1R).
A passionate advocate for narrowing the digital divide in rural Africa, Dr Lawal also champions initiatives promoting digital and health inclusion and fostering a knowledge-based economy through space-based infrastructure. Currently serving as the Acting General Manager in the Directorate of Technical Services at NIGCOMSAT Ltd, he also holds positions as Head of the SATNAV Department and Project Manager for the adoption of Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) technology in Africa’s aviation sector. Dr. Lawal has facilitated real SBAS flight demonstrations across African nations, extending to sectors beyond aviation, such as maritime, survey, rail, civil engineering, public safety, and mass market applications.
Additionally, he serves as a visiting reader at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and is a visiting scholar at the University of Sussex, UK, and the GNSS Center of Wuhan University, China. With a patent to his credit and numerous paper publications in conference proceedings and journals, Dr. Lawal’s research focuses on GNSS, SBAS, Satellite Communications & Technologies, and the integration of wireless systems (terrestrial and space-based) to connect unserved and underserved communities in Africa. His work aims to promote digital inclusion, foster a knowledge economy, and advance universal Internet access goals set by African governments. Recognised for his contributions, Dr Lawal received the 2023 IET Global Impact-in-Society Award in the Healthy Lives Category for using telemedicine to drive digital health inclusion.