Michael Lobo is an Indian writer, and genealogist. He is the author of three self-published books on the Mangalorean Catholic community.
Birth and family
Michael Lobo was born on 12 September 1953 in Mangalore, India to Maisie Lobo (née Fernandes) and Camillo Lobo, both of Mangalorean Catholic origin. Michael's father, Camillo Lobo (1907-71), was an engineering graduate of Imperial College, London, who later joined the British-Indian army, and served with distinction in Egypt and Italy during World War II. Michael's paternal great-great grandfather Lawrence Lobo Prabhu (1805-83), was a distinguished jurist of his time, and the donor of the site of St Aloysius College, Mangalore. Michael's mother, Maisie Fernandes (1919-94), belonged to the Tonse Fernandes Prabhu family, who migrated from Divarde, Goa, to Kallianpur, in 1740. Her father, Stephen Fernandes (1885-1957), retired as City Magistrate, Poona, and her brother, Praxy Fernandes (1926-2001), attained distinction, as Finance Secretary, Government of India.1
Education
Lobo studied at Montfort High School in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu.1 He graduated from St. Aloysius College (Mangalore), specializing in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, and passed with First class grade. In 1982, he earned a Ph.D in aerodynamics mathematics from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, receiving the 1983 Young Scientist Award from Indian National Science Academy.
Career
In 1984, Lobo moved to England where he entered the Cranfield Institute of Technology on a Commonwealth Scholarship, eventually becoming a faculty member. While employed there, Lobo authored papers on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), including Time Marching - A Step-by-step Guide to a Flow Solver (Ashgate Press, 1997). Lobo has said that in his spare time he compiled a 1000-page dictionary of English words derived from Classical Greek and wrote a book on the origins of popular Rock'n'roll songs, but neither was published. Lobo returned to Mangalore in 1993, stating he moved back because of "personal crises". After returning, Lobo pursued a personal project to write the history and genealogy of Catholic families in Mangalore. He has self-published three titles on the subject: Mangaloreans Worldwide - An International Directory (1999), Distinguished Mangalorean Catholics 1800-2000 - A Historico-Biographical Survey of the Mangalorean Catholic Community (2000), and The Mangalorean Catholic Community - A Professional History / Directory (2002). He stated that he hoped to compile the work into an encylopedia on the subject.
Sources
1. Richie Lasrado. "Dr. Michael Lobo: Probing family roots and history". Daijiworld Media.
2. Curriculum Vitae – Dr Michael Lobo, "II. Educational Qualifications"
