Samuel Achilefu is an inventor of infrared goggles that enable surgeons to detect and see cancer cells. Born in Northern Nigeria in 1963, Achilefu, as a four-year-old boy, fled his home, Idah, now in Kogi State, for his village, Osaa-Ukwu, in the then Eastern Region, present-day Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with his parents on the eve of the Nigeria-Biafra War in 1967. He was fortunate to be one of five students to win a French government scholarship to attend graduate school in France, where he received a PhD in molecular and materials chemistry at the University of Nancy, France. He wrote his thesis in French. Achilefu had his post-doctoral studies at Oxford University, training on the “interface between chemistry and haematology, working on developing blood substitutes.” In 1993, the Nigerian genius arrived in St. Louis to become the first full-time staff member of the Discovery Research Department at Mallinckrodt Medical Inc. Samuel Achilefu, who is now a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, designed high-tech goggles to help surgeons see cancer cells, which are notoriously difficult to see, during surgical procedures. The cells glow blue when viewed through the eyewear, helping to ensure that no stray tumour cells are left behind during surgery. Dr Samuel Achilefu is an expert in the molecular imaging of human diseases, utilising multimodal imaging methods to address imaging challenges, focusing on optical imaging platforms. His current research interests include image-guided cancer surgery, portable imaging devices, and nanotechnology. Through a multidisciplinary team of investigators, he has guided multiple research endeavours from concept to clinic. Samuel Achilefu is an inventor of 67 U.S. patents, has published over 300 scientific papers, and received over 30 local, national, and international honours and awards for research excellence. He has been married to his wife, Nnnena, for 30 years. They have a 28-year-old daughter, Chisara, and a 25-year-old son, Kelechi. #historyville