[6] Olabisi proceeded to the University of California, Berkeley where he earned MS degree in chemical engineering in 1971 with a thesis entitled "Secondary and Primary Normal Stresses, Hole Error, and Reservoir Edge Effects in Cone-and-Plate Flow of Polymer Solutions", whose results were published in an article[11] with the same title.

He furthered his studies and earned a PhD degree in macromolecular science and engineering at Case-Western Reserve University in 1973, with a dissertation entitled Pressure-volume-temperature properties of amorphous and crystallizable polymers and oligomers (which is cited in an associated journal article)[12] under the tutelage of Robert Simha.

[18][19] As part of the industry-university interaction with Polytechnic Institute of New York, Olabisi was appointed adjunct professor of chemical engineering to teach a graduate-level course based on his book, Polymer-Polymer Miscibility[20] that provided some basis for research projects on plastics materials conservation.

Following the impact of 1973 oil crisis, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was established (1977) and, in the same year, Nigeria joined OPEC as the 11th member country.

A fully-fledged petrochemical complex was in operation in Nigeria in the early 1980s when Olabisi was appointed a professor of chemical engineering, University of Lagos.

By 1988, the devaluation of the Naira forced an economic quandary on Nigeria[29] and Olabisi was appointed the managing director, UNILAG Consult, University of Lagos.

He also initiated activities on Baseline Ecological Studies of the Niger Delta Basin; Soil Maps of Nigeria; and assisting the government's ongoing Delivery of Technical Aid to Equatorial Guinea.

As a visiting consultant with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the summer of 1990, Olabisi had an Energy Systems Invention Disclosure (ESID No.

917-X: Alternative Low-Toxicity Monomeric Gel Casting Methodology for Molding Ceramic Powders for High-Heat Engine Components relating to the program,[30] which involved the use of a variety of water-soluble monomers.

[34][35][36] The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sponsored a research project DTPH56-08-T-000012 at Corrpro (a subsidiary of Aegion).

His contributions to the Internal Corrosion Monitoring Services (ICMS) Project of Kuwait Oil Company included a publication on Black Powder in Export Gas Lines[41] as well as others.