KNUST honours eight personalities for invaluable services

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has honoured five distinguished Ghanaians for their invaluable contribution to the university and society at its 2017 Founders’ Day Special Congregation last Saturday.

They included Dr Thomas Mensah, credited with building the fastest Fibre Optics; Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and Prof. E.L. Anatsui, who graduated as the best student of the KNUST College of Arts in 1969.

The rest were Dr Leticia Eva Obeng, the first lady fellow and female president of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Kwame Sefa Kayi, host of the ‘Kokrokoo’ morning show on Peace FM
Three other personalities who had also rendered invaluable services to the university were recognised at the event. They were Mr Kingsley Adu, a Finance Officer, the late Registrar of the university, Mr Kobby Yebo-Okrah, and the immediate past Dean of Students, Dr Kofi Ohene Owusu Daaku.

The event climaxed the 10th R.P. Baffour Lectures which was on the theme: “Moving Ghana into the 21st Century through modern infrastructure development.”

The university conferred an honorary Doctor of Philosophy on the main speaker of the university’s 10th R.P. Baffour Memorial Lectures, Dr Thomas Mensah, for his international achievements in Fibre Optics and Nano technology.

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Dr Mensah is credited to have built the fastest Fibre Optics draw and coating process of 50 meters per second, and holds four patents for this effort.

He also has inventions in guided missile programmes; aerospace and communication products.

A founder member of the Emerging Technologies area for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Dr Mensah worked on specialised projects for NASA (superconductors for space communications), the US Army (Smart munitions Picatinny Arsenal) and US Department of Energy (Fibre optics sensors for highway traffic monitoring).

His current works include next generation MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) and Nano systems technology.

Dr K.K. Sarpong

Dr Sarpong was decorated with an honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters for his contribution to improving the fortunes of the several institutions he served.

The university was especially grateful for the contribution of the GNPC in helping over 100 female students each year with full scholarships to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programmes; his role in convincing the board of the Royal Bank, where he served as board chair, to establish a $350,000 annual award scheme for staff and students of Humanities and Social Sciences and his pivotal role in ensuring that a considerable number of students were picked for internship and national service at the Tema Oil Refinery where he was once the managing director.

Prof. Anatsui

Prof. Anatsui, for his part, received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the KNUST.

He graduated as the best student of the KNUST College of Arts in 1969. He is a founder member and fellow of the Forum of African Arts; fellow of the Pan African Survey of Artists and also a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement award winner.

Dr Eva Obeng

The university also conferred an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree on renowned and trailblasing scientist, Dr Leticia Eva Obeng, the first Ghanaian woman to graduate with a Bachelors degree and later a Doctorate degree in Science.

She was also the first lady fellow and female President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr Obeng was the first Female Director of the Regional Office of the United Nations Environmental Programme. She is the co-Founder and Director of the Institute of Aquatic Biology for the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Sefa Kayi

Award-winning journalist and host of the ‘Kokrokoo’ morning show on Peace FM, Kwame Sefa Kayi was also decorated with the honour of Distinguished Service, for using the power of the media to influence change and development in society.

His citation read; “Your ability to keep government and its machinery alive to their responsibilities is commendable. Your desire to enhance the lives of many and thus contribute to the development of the nation is unquestionable. As a public-spirited individual, you are also deeply involved in community initiatives that have had great impact on society. You are the founder and chairman of the Kokrokoo Charities Foundation – a non- governmental organisation – that is soliciting funding for the procurement of a hundred incubators for distribution to health facilities in the country.”

For their immense roles and contributions to KNUST, the longest -serving Finance Officer (29 years of service), Mr Adu, the late Registrar of the university, Mr Yebo-Okrah, and the immediate past Dean of Students, Dr Daaku, were each decorated with the honour of Distinguished Service.

In all, 2,192 students graduated from all the six colleges of the university’s post-graduate school, 50 of whom graduated with PhDs.