US-Based Nigerian Engineer Uses Nanotechnology to Tackle Wastewater Challenges in West Virginia

Fadekemi Ajakaiye 

Nigerian-born chemical engineer and environmental health specialist, Nko Okina Solomon, is quietly making strides in wastewater treatment in West Virginia, through her innovative use of nanotechnology. While much of her work focuses on scientific research, it’s the challenges she faced early in her career, and the lessons learnt, that continue to drive her mission today.

In a conversation with Thisday, Nko reflects on her early experiences as an intern at Marshall University. “Starting out as an intern was tough. I was managing hazardous materials and making sure we followed every regulation,” she says. “It felt like a crash course in environmental health, but it gave me the foundation I needed.”

Her second internship at Geiger Brothers, an industrial environmental health and safety company, offered a different set of challenges but only reinforced her determination to find better ways of addressing environmental hazards. “At Geiger Brothers, I found myself dealing with some pretty serious issues—air pollution, water contamination, and the constant risk of hazardous materials leaking into public spaces,” she explains. “It was tough, but it was also an eye-opener. I realized we were always reacting to problems, cleaning up spills, managing contamination after the fact. I thought, why aren’t we focusing on preventing these problems before they happen? That’s when I started to think differently about environmental health.”

It was during this period that Nko first began to explore the potential of nanotechnology as a tool for proactive environmental protection. “I wanted to find ways to address pollution before it became a crisis. Nanotechnology offered the potential to do just that—I had worked on Nanoparticles as a detoxifier for wastewater as my project before graduating, so I decided on using materials at the nano-scale to detect and eliminate toxins before they even have a chance to harm people or the environment. It was a revelation” Nko says. “it is what I currently champion at Marshall university, Huntington, west virginia and also what has driven my research till date”. 

The idea of using nanotechnology for proactive environmental health wasn’t just theoretical for Nko. Her experiences working on major environmental projects in Nigeria, including her work with Chiffy Limited and Total E&P, solidified her belief in the power of prevention. One of her most significant projects was cleaning up an oil spill in the Obite community of Port Harcourt. The spill had devastated large tracts of farmland, rendering the land unfit for farming. Nko led a team in a comprehensive rehabilitation project that gradually returned the soil to its original state. “Cleaning up that oil spill in Obite was tough. The land had been destroyed, and the farmers had nowhere to go. But seeing the land slowly come back to life, watching those farmers start planting crops again, that was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” she recalls.

Another major project Nko worked on was the installation of a wastewater treatment plant in Obagi, a nearby community also facing water contamination. “In Obagi, the water sources were heavily polluted, and the community had no access to clean water,” she says. “We had to make sure the treatment plant met health and safety standards, so we did a lot of testing to ensure the water was safe for consumption. It wasn’t just about building the plant; it was about making sure that every single test passed and the water was actually clean.”

Nko’s work in both Nigeria and the U.S. continues to focus on developing sustainable, long-term solutions to environmental problems. Her research on nanotechnology and water treatment has been published in several academic journals, and her findings are now accessible on Google Scholar for other researchers in the field. 

Shifting from reacting to environmental disasters to finding ways to prevent them has shaped not just her career, but her vision for the future of environmental health. “The key to environmental health is prevention,” she explains. “We can’t keep waiting for pollution to happen and then clean it up. We need to address these issues head-on before they even reach a point where they can harm people. That’s what drives me every day.”

Her journey—from struggling with the challenges of her early internships to developing cutting-edge technologies to treat wastewater—shows the power of persistence and innovation in solving complex global problems. “When I look back on my journey, I can honestly say it’s been about finding ways to make a lasting impact, whether it’s through nanotechnology, cleaner water, or better environmental practices. We have the tools to make a difference, and I’m committed to using them to help protect communities,” she says.