Professor Belay Woldeyes: A Legacy as an Ethiopian Scholar

Professor Belay Woldeyes is a Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at Addis Ababa University (AAU), where his academic career began in 1980. As the sole Ethiopian co-founder and first Ethiopian Head of the nation’s pioneer Chemical Engineering Department, he laid the foundation for chemical engineering education in Ethiopia. During his tenure, he secured DAAD funding to establish state-of-the-art laboratories, developed curricula, expanded hands-on training, and facilitated international graduate scholarships for young Department members. He is also the author of two major academic textbooks: Chemical Reaction Engineering – Kinetics (Volume I) and Chemical Reaction Engineering – Reactor Design (Volume II).

Beyond academia, Professor Belay served as Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Director General of the Leather and Leather Products Technology Institute (LLPTI)—where he established pilot factories and pioneering training programs for Ethiopia and Africa—and served on the Board of Directors of Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (ASTU) alongside advisory roles for over ten government ministries. A founding member of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and co-founder of the Ethiopian Society of Chemical Engineers, he has advised over 25 graduate students and led pivotal national research in biomass refining into biofuels, bio-plastics, and fertilizers. In recognition of his enduring impact, he received AAU’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the AAiT Long and Outstanding Service Award, and the national Yebego Sew ("Good Person") Award.

“True scholarship is measured not merely by what one discovers alone, but by the laboratories built, the curricula written, and the generations of young scholars empowered to carry a nation forward.”