Dr Elsie Effah Kaufmann next Guest Editor of Daily Graphic

The Quiz Mistress for the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Dr Elsie Effah Kaufmann, will be the next and final Guest Editor of the Daily Graphic, as she assumes the editorial role on October 14.

Dr Effah Kaufmann, a Senior Lecturer and Founding Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of Ghana, will be the final guest in the Guest Editor series initiated by the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) as part of its 70th anniversary celebration.

On the day, she will assume honorary responsibility for the Daily Graphic, leading the editorial team in all its activities.

Guest Editorial role

The quiz mistress  takes her turn after the Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, Mr Alhassan Andani; the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, and a former acting Editor of the Daily Graphic and former Minister of State, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, had assumed that role in that order since it began last May.

As guest editor, Dr Effah Kaufmann is expected to chair the editorial conference and see to the production of the paper on that day.

The occasion will be a platform for her to share her wealth of experience in her chosen profession.

Profile

Although she is a founder member and first Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ghana (2006–2012, 2014–2016), Dr Effah Kaufmann has become most popular in the public space for her role as the Quiz Mistress of the NSMQ, a role she has played since 2006.

As a researcher, she has undertaken works in Engineering Education, Design of scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, Characterisation of natural materials (e.g. cassava fibre) and Application of Biomedical Engineering concepts to addressing problems in the Ghanaian context, for example, the use of biomaterials in Ghana, and Engineering design.

The mother of two young adults was the recipient of the University of Ghana’s Best Teacher Award for the Sciences in 2009. 

Currently the President of the Ghana Society of Biomedical Engineers, Dr Effah Kaufmann was Research Supervisor at the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States, from May 1998 to June 2001, after being a teaching assistant at the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, United States.

Honours

Dr Effah Kaufmann, in 2018, was honoured with the  National Society of Black Engineers’ Golden Torch Award for International Academic Leadership in recognition of her excellence in support of academics at the international level and exhibition of a commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

She is also the recipient of the 2017 Impact Africa Summit Laureate for Education in Ghana.

The award recognised her “exceptional and continuous contribution to science education in Ghana and for being a role model and inspiration to many young girls, activities which are vital to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5”. 

In 2011 Dr Effah Kaufmann was awarded the prestigious International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation Fellowship.

Education

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering (BSE), a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) and a PhD in Bioengineering, all from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. 

After her graduate studies, she received her post-doctoral training at Rutgers University before joining the University of Ghana in 2001.

An old student of the Aburi Girls’ Senior High School, the NSMQ Mistress obtained her International Baccalaureate Diploma from the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales in 1988 before proceeding to obtain her university degrees.