Babajide Kolade, Ph.D., PE

Babajide (Jide) Kolade is the founder and technical director of Fitila Labs, where he leads research and product development.

Before founding Fitila, he was an Institute Fellow at the Gas Technology Institute, leading research that used AI and high-fidelity simulation for efficient energy production and for risk mitigation in LNG production and natural gas distribution. As Managing Member of Tobosa Energy, he built analytical engines that used big data and machine learning to predict the productivity and value of energy mineral leaseholds. At ConocoPhillips, as a Senior Engineer, he advanced steam generation and water treatment for oil sands production, developed numerical tools for forecasting reservoir souring, and was named on multiple patents.

He is an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He served as vice-chair of its mid-continent section, and as vice-chair and then chair of the standards subcommittee on verification, validation and uncertainty quantification of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He serves on the President's Council of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.

Jide earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, where he specialized in fluid dynamics and energy sciences and his doctoral work focused on turbulent separated flows, and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and Texas.