Babajide Kolade, Ph.D.
Founder and Technical Director
Babajide (Jide) Kolade is the founder and technical director of Fitila Labs, an artificial intelligence and scientific computing company that develops solutions for the energy, climate and energy transition, and security and defense industries.
At Fitila, he leads the company’s mission to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions that address complex challenges across various sectors.
Prior to founding Fitila, Dr. Kolade was an Institute Fellow at Gas Technology Institute, where he led research in using AI and high-fidelity simulation tools for efficient energy production development and risk mitigation of LNG production and natural gas distribution. At Tobosa Energy, he served as Managing Member, leading the development of analytical engines using big data and machine learning to predict productivity and valuation of energy mineral leaseholds. During his tenure at ConocoPhillips, he was a Senior Engineer, advancing steam generation and water treatment technologies for oil sands production, developing numerical tools for reservoir souring forecasting, and earning multiple patents for his innovative work.
He is an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); he served as the vice chair of the mid-continent section, and the vice-chair and then chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification standards subcommittee. Jide currently serves on the President’s Council of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
Jide earned his Ph.D.in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, where he specialized in fluid dynamics and energy sciences; his doctoral work focused on turbulent separated flows. He also holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and Texas.
