Dr Dennis Ikpe is currently a research associate at AIMS South Africa. He was a Presidential Scholar at University of Michigan, conducting research on information-based models for pricing credit risky assets and the use of Webwork in designing undergraduate mathematics curriculum. He is a recipient of the prestigious Thuthuka grant (NRF Rating Funding Track for 2019-2021) by the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Before joining AIMS South Africa, Dr Ikpe was a an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, Department of Probability and Statistics, where he taught Statistical Methods and Probability theory to both undergraduate and graduate students. Dr Ikpe taught several courses as a senior lecturer in the Mathematical Sciences Department at the University of South Africa, including Numerical Analysis, Stochastic Analysis, Optimal Control and Financial Risk Management and serve as supervisor to honours students, Master’s and PhD students in the area of Financial Mathematics and Risk Management. Dr Ikpe worked as a quantitative analyst for Stanbic IBTC bank in Lagos, Nigeria. He was the founding director of Maths Edge, a flagship project at the University of South Africa aimed at demystifying and creating awareness on the real life applications of Mathematics to young students.

Dr Ikpe earned his PhD from University of Cape Town, a BSc. Honors in Mathematics from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, a Second BSc. Honors in Advanced Mathematics of Finance from University of Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, MSc. in Stochastic Analysis from University of South Africa, and a Cert. in Technologies and Design of Online Instructional Material from University of Maryland.