Afolagboye Lekan Olatayo holds a PhD in Geological Engineering from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr Afolagboye's PhD studies were funded by a research fellowship sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Dr Afolagboye's PhD research was on fracture and rock mechanics which culminated in a thesis titled "Crack Initiation and Coalescence in a Brittle Material with Non-Parallel Flaws under Uniaxial Compression". Dr Afolagboye's thesis focused on cracking mechanism and influence of geometrical parameters on the crack initiation, propagation and coalescence processes in rocks with non-parallel flaws. The work advances our understanding of the cracking process between non-parallel flaws and parallel flaws towards better understanding and prediction of the cracking and coalescence behavior of rock masses with natural fractures. During his PhD studies, Dr Afolagboye's published about six peer-reviewed articles in SCI journals and three peer reviewed articles from his PhD thesis.
As part of Dr Afolagboye's role as a research fellow at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Science, Dr Afolagboye worked on the China National Science Foundation Projects/Strategic Priority Research Program related to hydraulic fracturing in shale considering anisotropy and different fracturing fluids and study of the strength anisotropy along an exploration adit, prepared and editing manuscripts for publishing, gave monthly presentations to the research group on research progress and attended workshops on novel techniques in the field of hydraulic fracturing and geological engineering at large.
Prior to his PhD studies, Dr Afolagboye was a student at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria where he was awarded a Masters in Geology (Engineering Geology/Hydrogeology option). During his MSc studies, Dr Afolagboye's research focused on the mechanical stabilization of lateritic soil. This gives Dr Afolagboye a working knowledge that it is not enough to stabilize a lateritic soil to improve its properties but the durability of the stabilized soil is equally important in light of the extreme weather conditions experienced in Nigeria. From Dr Afolagboye MSc research, he published one peer-reviewed paper.
In addition, Dr Afolagboye's current employment as a Lecturer II in Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria has provided tremendous experience in working in a research environment. During his seven years of employment, he published peer reviewed articles on the evaluation of selected basement complex rocks from Ado-Ekiti, SW Nigeria, as source of road construction aggregates where it was revealed that not all the Precambrian basement rocks would yield aggregates that are satisfactory for use as road aggregates. However, their abundance and cheap availability of these rocks will continue to be a prominent factor in their utilization as road aggregates. In addition, Dr Afolagboye investigated the use of crushed shale from selected locations in Nigeria for landfill liners and the effect of a selected inorganic salt component of leachate (calcium chloride solution) on their hydraulic conductivities. Irrespective of the CaCl2 concentration, the hydraulic conductivity of the compacted shales was in the order of 10-7 cm/s but it is vital to note that the important permeability is the long-term value.