The College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI),
Mourns the Passing of
Professor Mynepalli K. C. Sridhar
Who Died on Wednesday November 23, 2022, in India
I received the very sad news of the passing of Professor Sridhar through a phone call from the Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, who happened to be his very first student trained on the Master of Public Health (Environmental Health). Professor Sridhar taught me as a medical student during our Preventive and Social Medicine posting now known as Community Medicine. I remember very vividly his excellent sessions on Environment Health.
Very sadly, Professor Sridhar lost his wife last year (2021) in Ibadan. He fell ill a few weeks after this loss and decided to return to his home country, India for treatment. He continued to keep in touch with his students and colleagues and just last month on 1 October 2022, he wrote to several of his colleagues, students and mentees:
“Some of the research areas which can be developed on water, sewage and others. Our work of 60s and 70s with the name of my supervisor Pillai, and his supervisor Fowler were also cited under sewage. It was one of the fundamental pieces of work on wastewater treatment; where they stopped I continued. That is one area most neglected in Nigerian Universities. Recently, one of my friends, a Professor from Chicago was looking for Nigerian work on sewage treatment. He was very disappointed. Even the little work we tried to develop, not published adequately….
Sridhar”
He sent me a very encouraging message when we commenced the CoMUI Learning from our Living Legends programme on 5th November 2022:
“Dear Madam: Congratulations for the novel idea. It is very good for younger generation to learn. I shall send a few lines which someone can read on my behalf. Regards. Sridhar”
Professor Sridhar will be missed by the CoMUI Community. May God comfort his daughters and all who loved and cared for him.
The Dean of Public Health has sent me this tribute in honour of his teacher and mentor. I invite us to read about this great man. His legacies in the field of Environmental Health Sciences live on through his mentees and students
Olayinka Omigbodun
Professor of Psychiatry & Provost
Professor Mynepalli K. C. Sridhar (8th December 1942 - 23rd November 2022)
With heavy hearts we announce the demise of Professor M.K.C Sridhar, an erudite Professor, an academic icon, teacher of teachers and a great mentor who passed on Wednesday 23rd November in India.
Professor Mynepalli K. C. Sridhar was born on 8th December 1942 in India. He obtained his Academic degrees from Andhra University (BSc) Waltair, MS University of Baroda (MSc), and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (PhD), all in India.
He joined the University of Ibadan in 1977 as Lecturer II and rose to the rank of a full Professor in 1987. He was the unit Head of Environmental Health in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine (1983-1986). Between June 1989 - December 1995, he served as Director, Ibarapa Community and Primary HealthCare Programme, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine and as Research Director, Environmental Sciences and Biotechnology, Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training (IAMRAT), College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, from 1992 to September 30, 2008.
He served as Professor, and Head of Environmental Health Unit in the Department of Epidemiology, Medical Statistics and Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria until 2008 when he retired from the University of Ibadan. He continued serving the University in contract capacity from 2012 to 2021. He was also a consultant to UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, several NGOs as well as Government bodies and agencies. He has trained well over 300 students in Environmental Health and related fields including environmental and biomedical engineering.
He has published well over 400 scientific papers in international journals, books, and technical reports and has 12 patents to his credit. Prof Sridhar established the Renewable Resources Centre (RCC) at University of Ibadan with several pilot scale, demonstration and turnkey projects on waste to wealth and waste to energy. These include organic fertilizer, plastics recycling, biogas, smokeless charcoal/biochar and several other innovative processes in resource recovery and utilization which benefit communities.
From 1989 to 1990, Professor Sridhar was a recipient of several national and international awards. His biographical sketch was published in Marquis Who's Who in the World for outstanding contributions in the field of Environmental Health. Along with three other colleagues, he won a Nigerian National Merit Award, Ministry of Science and Technology, “for developing Organo-mineral fertilizer pellets for Technological development and self-sufficiency in the country”. He is a member of several prestigious professional organizations including Fellow of the Royal Society of Health, Fellow of Institute of Waste Management of Nigeria and Fellow of The Environmental Health Scientist Association of Nigeria. He had served as the technical Director of the NGO, Nigeria Network for Awareness on Environmental Health and as an editor to several journals including the African Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (AJEHS) where he served as the Pioneer Editor-in-Chief. Professor Sridhar is survived by his three daughters Srilatha, Palavi and Prethi. Professor Sridhar touched many lives and impacted positively on many communities within and outside Nigeria. He contributed immensely to the field of environmental health and to the growth of the department of Environmental health sciences particularly. We will sorely miss him.
Adieu Prof.
Professor Godson R.E.E. Ana
Dean, Faculty of Public Health
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan