OLAIFA, Kayode William olaifa_kayode@yahoo.com +2348069469525 Environmental pollution has always been a major challenge confronting Nigeria; a typical example is oil spillage in the Niger Delta region of the Nation. Although there are other forms of pollution, most especially in the urban centres, and this could easily be attributed to the high level of industrialization and urbanization. This menace, however, has in turn resulted into a variety of health related hazards, causes ecological imbalance such as climate change, global warming and loss of biodiversity. Agro-industrial processes are the major source of environmental wastes, some of which are biodegradable, while many others are non-biodegradable. However, these wastes when properly collected can be converted via microbiological processes, into biomaterials such as ethanol, or transformed into less toxic, biodegradable forms before being discharged into the environment. Generally, microorganisms are capable of doing this due to their ability to survive under a variety of conditions; utilize a variety of materials as energy source, and their ability to produce a variety of extra-cellular enzymes capable of degrading these waste substances. I am therefore writing on behalf of my application to pursue Master of Science degree in Environmental sciences at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dharam, Saudi Arabia, to help put an end to the menace of environmental pollution. Different microorganisms that are useful for industrial applications are still present in nature. Hence, there is therefore the need for more exploitation of strains of commercial value. Therefore, my area of research interest centres on the isolation and characterization (including use of molecular techniques) of microorganisms with biodegradability potential and of industrial application, fermentation studies including enzyme kinetics, and enhancement of this potential using genetic engineering (mutagenesis). I have always been interested in the use of green technology to solve environmental problems. I strongly believe that my undergraduate education at the department of Pure and Applied Biology, Microbiology option, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria has empowered me with the necessary foundation courses that will help me succeed in my post graduate studies. Some of these courses include Microbial physiology and metabolism, Microbial genetics, Basic Organic chemistry, Biotechnology, Environmental pollution, Environmental microbiology, Industrial microbiology, Industrial fermentation, all of which I made excellent grades. My goal is to earn M.sc. and PhD in Environmental science in the next five years, using green technology and the knowledge of environmental microbiology, and become a Professor in one of the most renowned university in the world. I also intend to close the gap between the academia and the industry through consistent partnership to help solve environmental problems using green technology. I hope I would be privileged to learn and work with great scholars at KFUPM, and be exposed to diverse modern and sophisticated equipment, facilities and computer software. Presently, I am preparing for my National Youth Service Corps.
