Cheick Modibo Diarra

Cheick Modibo Diarra (b. 1952, Nioro du Sahel) is a Malian astrophysicist.

Related Topics:
Nioro du Sahel - Mali - Astrophysicist

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After graduating high school in Mali, Cheick Modibo Diarra studied mathematics, physics, and analytic mechanics in Paris at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie, then aerospace engineering at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. He was recruited by Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he played a role in several NASA programs, including the Magellan probe to Venus, the Ulysses probe to the Sun, the Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter, and the Mars Observer and Mars Pathfinder. He later became the director of NASA's "Mars Exploration Program Education and Public Outreach."

Related Topics:
Mathematics - Physics - Paris - University of Pierre and Marie Curie - Aerospace engineering - Howard University - Washington, D.C. - Caltech - Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA - Magellan probe - Venus - Ulysses probe - Sun - Galileo spacecraft - Jupiter - Mars Observer - Mars Pathfinder

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In 1999, he obtained permission from NASA to work part-time in order to devote himself to education development in Africa, founding the Pathfinder Foundation. He took a futher sabbatical in 2002 to found a laboratory in Bamako, Mali for the development of solar energy. In 2000 and 2001 he also served as a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO.

Related Topics:
Africa - Bamako - Solar energy - UNESCO

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Cheick Modibo Diarra is currently present of the Virtual African University, based in Kenya.

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