B.A., M.A., PhD. (Makerere, Cambridge), FTWAS, FAAS, FANS, EPAS, FINSA.
Prof. Odhiambo was born in Mombasa in 1931. After his early education at the Alliance High School, Prof. Odhiambo proceeded to Makerere, and finally to Cambridge University where he obtained his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. He joined the University of Nairobi in 1965 where he taught Entomology for 10 years before taking an early retirement to devote his full research career at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). He is the founder of ICIPE and was its Director since its foundation in 1970. Prof. Odhiambo was a member of many national and international scientific societies. He was a Fellow of the Italian National Academy of Sciences (the “Academy of the Forty”), Fellow of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Vice President and Founder Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and President and Founder Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. He was the Chairman of The Kenya National Academy of Sciences (KNAS). Prof. Odhiambo published some 110 scientific papers and books, mainly in the field of Comparative Insect Endocrinology, and more specifically in the area of Hormonal Control of Insect Reproduction. Since early 1970s, he endeavoured to elucidate the sequence and regulation of insect behaviour and development phenomena. At the beginning of his career, he became an authority of the Taxonomy and Biogeography of Plant Bugs. Other than these significant scientific contributions, Prof. Odhiambo took special interest in scientific and industrial policy particularly as it affected the Third World and was instrumental in developing strategies for institutional development and research management. Prof. Odhiambo passed on in the year 2003 and is post-humously honored.