CEAT student spotlight: Adeoluwa Gbolade's passion for fighting climate change shines in CIVE research

Friday, March 28, 2025

Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | tanner.holubar@okstate.edu

Adeoluwa Gbolade developed a desire to fight climate change while growing up in Ile-Ife, a city in southwestern Nigeria.   

He often saw flooding in his rural hometown, making him wonder what made it so prevalent. This made him determined to study sustainable infrastructure and lit the spark that drove him to fight climate change.  

“I am passionate about contributing to the fight against climate change,” Gbolade said. “Where I am from, we see a lot of flooding and so many different disasters, often due to climate change. So that has always been in the back of my mind that if I could contribute to this effort to fight climate change, it would be a great thing.”  

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, graduating in 2021. From there, he started his path toward his master’s degree at OSU in 2022 and began his Ph.D. track in 2024.  

Now a Ph.D. student in the  School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the  College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at  Oklahoma State University, Gbolade has become an expert in environmentally sustainable pavements.   

“My inspiration comes from my passion for sustainability and my fascination with pavement infrastructure,” Gbolade said. “I have always been interested in climate change mitigation and combining that with my love for pavements makes this research a perfect fit for me.” 

He researches under Dr. Deb Mishra, an associate professor in CIVE whose expertise includes pavement engineering, infrastructure materials, railroad engineering and transportation geotechnics.   

Gbolade’s interest in pavement infrastructure and admiration for Mishra’s experience led him to join the research group.   

“His extensive research and experience, spanning almost all aspects of transportation infrastructure, made him an ideal mentor for me,” Gbolade said.  

He is exposed to many things as part of Mishra’s research team. He presents research at conferences and takes part in field tests with a focus on advancing the science of the environmental sustainability of pavements.   

He has developed ways to quantify the environmental impacts of pavements and has explored alternative materials, pavement design methods and construction practices to reduce the environmental effects.   

He does this by performing life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, which quantify the impacts of pavements throughout their life, from their raw materials extraction to their end of life.  

“His primary area of expertise is in sustainability qualification or what we call life cycle assessment,” Mishra said. “Other than that, he has also been involved in several projects related to asphalt materials and flexible pavement analysis and design. So, you can say his generic field of research is in pavement engineering with a primary focus on LCA and pavement material characterization.”  

 Mishra said Gbolade always brings a positive attitude to the team and is always willing to help others and take on any challenge. Mishra also praised Gbolade’s humbleness and the respect he gives everyone, whether in a professional or personal setting.  

 “Ever since he joined my research group, he has become a very close friend to every student in the group as well as others that we work with,” Mishra said. “All our collaborators love him, and they have reached out to me multiple times asking when he would be available to join the workforce. Multiple companies have expressed interest in hiring him due to his excellent work, his positive attitude, and just the amount of hard work he puts into any task assigned to him. I can confidently say Ade will be an excellent addition to any team (professional or social) that can be imagined. He is just that special.”  

 Gbolade appreciates Mishra being very supportive, attentive, and always ready to help. 

 “He is always available to answer my questions, to review my work and give feedback,” Gbolade said. “He just never leaves you hanging. Even though he has immense knowledge about pavement engineering and sustainability, he always makes the students do the thinking themselves. ‘There is no idea that is stupid,’ he would say. I owe my success to his style of mentorship which gives students the ability to be individual thinkers and gives students a voice.”    

 Gbolade has earned multiple scholarships in his academic career. These include the Liao Fellowship from CIVE for the past two years; the Distinguished Graduate Fellowship; as well as a master’s scholarship from the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists.  

His career goal is to work as a sustainability engineer, where he can apply research to develop low-carbon solutions that enhance pavement infrastructure sustainability and fight climate change. 

“I hope to join an organization engaged in both research and consulting, allowing me to continue working in advancing the science of sustainability quantification while also directly helping organizations implement strategies to reduce their environmental impacts,” Gbolade said.  

Gbolade has made quite an impression on his peers and mentors. Mishra said he has proven to be a great ambassador for his home country of Nigeria and OSU.  

“Students like Ade prove to be excellent ambassadors of their schools as well as countries,” Mishra said. “Ade is from Nigeria, and I can confidently say that since he joined the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, our school has hired at least four other Nigerian students just based on Ade’s hard work, professionalism and high-quality research. This is particularly important for international students who come to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies. Every country or school needs ambassadors like Ade who will help elevate their names to new heights.”