Aondona Paul Ihom was born during the Nigerian Civil war to Engr. & Mrs Philip Awua Ihom of Mbagen in Benue State of Nigeria. He did his primary and secondary school in different schools; this was because the father was a civil servant and was often on transfers. He got his first degree, B.ENG (Materials and Metallurgical Engineering) in 1991 from the University of Jos, Jos. His M.Eng Degree in Mechanical Engineering was from the University of Agriculture, Makurdi in 2001; thereafter he proceeded to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi where he bagged the Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering (Foundry Engineering) in 2009.
His quest to acquire excellent business management skills took him to Imo State University, Owerri where he obtained PGDM and MBA in Management. Dr Ihom started his working career in Akwa Ibom state in 1991 as a youth corper at Adiabong Girls Secondary School at Ikot Imoh in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. After the service he worked at Mkar University as a Graduate Assistant and other places before leaving for the National Metallurgical Development Centre, Jos in 1997 where he remained until his appointment in 2012 with the University of Uyo. Prof. Ihom rose to the rank of Chief Metallurgical Engineer in the research sector. During the course of his work he has received so many training courses at home and abroad. Prof. A.P. Ihom was Head of Foundry and Heat Treatment Section at the National Metallurgical Development Center, Jos for many years, during the course of this period he was sent on industrial training in Japan to do industrial training course on how to produce durable machines and materials for industrial applications. Over the years Prof. A.P. Ihom has been involved with design and Production of Agricultural machines and other industrial machines like melon peeling machine and 3D Printing machine which cuts across additive manufacturing and advanced technology. At the community level; Prof. Ihom being a gregarious person was fully involved in the development of his community Hwollaza village, Bassa Local government in Plateau State, where he led the people as community development Chairman for many years. As a committed Christian Prof. Ihom held the position of Deacon and church Treasurer in the Assemblies of God Church, Hwollaza, Jos, for so many years and he was also men’s President for a long time. He is a member of several professional bodies and a registered engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). Prof. Ihom was the PRO of Nigerian Society of Engineers Jos branch, the Assistant Secretary and then the Secretary for many years. He also served as the Secretary and then the National Vice President of the Nigerian Metallurgical Society. He has been involved in the organization of so many professional conferences. In 2011 he was awarded the Fellow of the Nigerian Metallurgical Society for his contributions to the field of Metallurgical and Materials engineering. He was a consultant to Nigeria Environmental Standard Regulatory and Enforcement Agency, Abuja. He has attended so many local and international conferences; has vast experience, and over 100 publications in journals and professional proceedings of conferences, locally and internationally. He is also the author of several books. He is an alumnus of JICA. He worked in the research sector for fifteen (15) years before joining the services of University of Uyo. In University of Uyo, He was made an Associate Professor in 2015, and Full Professor in 2018. Prof. Ihom has held responsibilities like the Departmental Postgraduate coordinator, Faculty of Engineering, PGS Board representative, Faculty of Engineering PG Coordinator, Acting Head of Department, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Vice Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Acting Dean, Faculty of Engineering, and a member of several committees in the Faculty. He is an Editor and a reviewer with many journals all over the world. He also served as the Managing Editor of Journal of Research and Innovations in Engineering (JORIE), a Faculty of Engineering journal in University of Uyo for four years. He is happily married with many children.