Dr. Doodo-Arhin (August 2016 - December 2016)

Dr. David Dodoo-Arhin is currently a senior Lecturer at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Ghana and the immediate past Ag. Director of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST): An Institute in the University of Ghana which serves as a platform for the transfer of knowledge, technology and innovation developed at the University to industry and communities.He was appointed a lecturer in 2011, Senior Lecturer (2014) and the Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (2014 to 2016) and the Ag. Director of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology of the University of Ghana from 1st August 2016-31st December 2016.
In 2011, he undertook a postdoctoral research fellowship in Graphene for Photovoltaic applications at the Institute of Applied Materials in the Department of Physics at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In 2013, Dr. Dodoo-Arhin was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research in Graphene based dye sensitized solar cells with the Nanomaterials and Spectroscopy group (Cambridge Graphene Centre) at the University of Cambridge- UK in collaboration with Dr. Tawfique Hasan under the Cambridge Africa Partnership for Research Excellence (CAPREx) programme. In 2014 he continued his research collaboration at the Nanoscience Centre of the Cambridge University, UK. In 2016, he undertook a research visit to the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde under the royal society organic photovoltaics capacity building programme.In February 2017, he was awarded a fellow of the Africa Science Leadership programme: a new initiative of the University of Pretoria and the Global Young Academy, with the aim of growing mid-career African academics in the areas of thought leadership, team management and research development, with the intention of enabling them to contribute to the development of a new paradigm for science in Africa, focused on its contribution to solving the complex issues facing both Africa and the global community. Recently, he has been selected as a fellow of the Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP).The release that accompanied the award noted that this is a significant achievement considering that there was a large number of “strong applications from across the continent, and following two rounds of assessment by an international panel and the ASLP management team”.  In all, 22 fellows were selected out of 300 applicants.  Dr. Dodoo-Arhin’s will be part of a ground breaking training programme scheduled to take place in Pretoria, South Africa.

Prof. Boateng Onwona-Agyeman (February 2016-July 2016)

Currently the Dean of School of Engineering Sciences, Prof. Boateng Onwona-Agyeman in 1994 and was awarded the Japanese Government Scholarship to study the MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Physics (Experimental Condensed Matter Physics) and Materials Science & Engineering respectively from 1997 to 2002. He was offered a Postdoctoral position with Shizuoka National University in Japan from 2003 to 2005. He was then employed as a Scientist with the SPD Lab, Inc. in Japan from 2005 to 2007 where he worked on the development of large‐area dye‐sensitized solar cells.In 2007, he was recruited to join a team of scientists and engineers (collaboration between Japanese Govt, FCC Company and Honda Motors) to develop porous‐structured catalyst paper for controlling exhaust gas emissions from small internal combustion engines and for hydrogen production using methane steam reformation. From 2009 to 2012, he worked as Research Associate and Assistant Professor at Kyushu Institute of Technology and Kyushu University respectively in Japan before joining University of Ghana in 2013. He has research interests in ;thin solid films preparation by physical vapour/vapor deposition (PVD) methods (radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering and thermal evaporation), chemical vapour deposition (CVD) techniques [metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD)], solution growth methods (spray pyrolysis, spin coating). Electrical, structural and optical (luminescent materials) properties of wide bandgap semiconductor thin films. Growth of thin-solid films e.g. Copper, Indium, Gallium and Selenide (CIGS), cuprous oxide (Cu2O) thin films as absorber material for solid-state solar cell. Preparation and characterization of meso-porous oxide semiconductor materials as absorber in dye-sensitized solar cell,Catalyst materials for purifying exhaust gas emissions from small engines and hydrogen production.

Prof. Samuel Sackey (May 2012-January 2016)

Prof. Samuel Sackey is a Professor in Biochemistry and was the first acting director of the Institute. He campanioned the pioneering of the Institute and facilitated its operation for more than three years.