One on One with the Next Einstein

Born James Edward Plummer, Jr. in New Orleans in 1976, Hakeem Oluseyi moved from one state to another each year with his single mother starting at just four years old. By the time he was 12, he had lived in some of the toughest inner cities in the southern part of the United States. In order to keep him out of trouble, Oluseyi’s mother sent him to rural Mississippi to live with his father during middle school and high school.

After discovering a fascination with physics and the bigger questions from a young age, Oluseyi wanted to know more. Although rural life didn’t keep him from acting up, he did spend his free time dabbling in science experiments. This fueled his curiosity to discover more answers to life’s complex questions. Despite a clear passion for learning how the universe works, it would take years for Oluseyi to find the path to his true self.

Oluseyi’s story isn’t cut and dry. Although his high school observed him as valedictorian, he felt lost and misguided arriving at university and soon dropped out of Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. According to Oluseyi, there was a constant pull to be back on the streets within him. Dejected, he took a job as a hotel janitor but continued to feel drawn to be back in the world of education and science, in particular.

In spite of his failures, Oluseyi decided to buckle down and try college again. Tougaloo College once again called and this time, he was not about to lose out on a chance to be awarded with a degree. Never a fan of math, Oluseyi decided to do things his way this time around and he majored in math in order to master it. From barely making Cs his first time around, he wound up acing his classes and received his degree.

Oluseyi’s turning point came when he met three African American physics students from Harvard and MIT in 1986. By chance, they invited him to a graduate school recruiting conference in Washington, D.C. There, Stanford’s Ph.D. physics program recruited him. This was one of the defining moments of his life as prior to this event, Oluseyi says that he never knew the world could have such a thing as a Black scientist.

Stanford, however, was tough on Oluseyi. He didn’t fit in. At that time Stanford University had only two Black professors across its math and science departments. Oluseyi soon reverted to his old ways and found comfort in neighboring East Palo Alto, infamous at the time for the being the murder capital of the country. Once again, he was on the road to failure. He was told he would fail after dismal results from his initial Ph.D. presentations. However, he managed to once again beat the odds. He found an enthusiastic mentor in his doctoral advisor, Art Walker, and this was his turning point.

on The Carlos Watson Show!

“If you have the intention, you’re going to get the right actions, you’re going to get the right outcome,” Oluseyi says on getting up and trying again after a failure. It was around this time that Oluseyi decided to change his name to reflect his challenging journey. He chose the name, Hakeem, meaning “wise.” For his middle name, he decided on “Muata,” which translates to “He who seeks truth.” Finally, for his last name, he found comfort in the name “Oluseyi,” which means “God has done this.” Destiny, albeit unconventional, was within reach.

“I always tell my students, as long as you’ve done anything, you’ve done something”, Oluseyi candidly explains, when it comes to failing and learning life lessons. He goes on to say that in fact, the outcome is already determined if you are still here, still persevering. Feelings like discomfort, dejection and disappointment are all part of the process according to Oluseyi.

Growing up, Oluseyi didn’t have anyone to whom he could look for advice and motivation. He believed the cultural messages all around him which said there was no place for him in the classroom. Most of his peers didn’t finish high school, let alone pursue college and beyond. Once he realized that he belonged in the world of science, he didn’t stop there.

It was at Stanford that Oluseyi discovered he had a knack for writing – and for teaching. After working for a few years in the late 1990s in the semiconductor industry, he once again felt the need to return to the classroom. Today he is a Visiting Robinson Professor at George Mason University. Oluseyi is famous in his field for contributions on the transfer of mass and energy through the sun's atmosphere. He is also the brains behind the One Telescope Project non-profit, which aims to put at least one research telescope in every country in the southern hemisphere.

Oluseyi is finding fame these days in the most unexpected ways. In 2013, he joined National Geographic’s popular show How to Survive the End of the World, in which Oluseyi narrated potential doomsday scenarios. In the fall of 2021, he landed a spot as one of the three judges on Netflix’s runaway hit “Baking Impossible.” The show features competition in a combination of two unlikely fields: baking and engineering, which spawned the catchphrase “bakineering.” Oluseyi’s cheerful spirit and technical savvy have made him a household name. He was thrilled when Oprah and Robert DeNiro decided to turn his book, A Quantum Life, into a movie based on his life. It’s anticipated that the project will either turn into a series or movie, he told OZY.

Despite such success, Oluseyi remains approachable and warm. He has earned a broad fan base thanks to his compassionate yet outspoken voice, and he has made it his life’s work to encourage young people in science, particularly in underserved communities. Yet Oluseyi says he is the one who is learning. He is passionate about sharing his love of science across Africa, and in a recent reflection about his tim in Soweto, South Africa, he said, “Everywhere we go, these kids are blowing me away with their scientific knowledge and attitude.”

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