Prof Martin O Onani is a Full Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Nanochemistry at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), Cape Town, South Africa. He is the Head of the Inorganic Division at the Department and holds a C3 NRF scholarly rating of South Africa.
Prof Onani has published over 85 papers in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals. He is a holder of the SACI SASOL postgraduate medal for innovative PhD work, which produced ordered crystal structures of polymethylene bridged transition metal complexes for the first time since the time of Michael Bruce for this type of work in the early 60s. Prof Onani has graduated several PhD, MSc and honours students at UWC.
His research work is in the area of both inorganic and nanochemistry targeting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes, cancer and Catalysis in South Africa. Prof Onani is the Designated Chemist for the DST/Mintek NIC Bio labels Platform, which is tasked with the development of diagnostic and therapeutic nanotechnology-based systems. This is a South African national initiative in nanotechnology that started over 10 years ago.
Prof Onani previously served as a Lecturer at both the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya and the Walter Sisulu University of Technology and Science (WSU), South Africa. He holds a BSc (Hons) from Kenyatta University, Kenya, an MSc from Kenyatta University and PhD in the then University of Natal, South Africa.
Prof Onani is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), South African Chemical Institute (SACI), African Academy of Sciences (FAAS), and Catalysis Society of South Africa (CATSA). He has published well over 80 peer-reviewed articles and shared his work in both local and international conferences. He is also a Special Reviewer of several journals in Elsevier and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Prof Onani is an Adjunct Professor at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kenya. His future wish is to develop a bullet drug for TB.
