Prof Johannes A. M. Awudza is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. He obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) (1980) and M.Phil. (1987) in chemistry from KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana and his Ph.D. in polymerization catalysis from the then University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), now part of the new unified University of Manchester, U.K., in 2000.

 He has been a faculty member at the Department of Chemistry, KNUST since 1986. He has held a number of positions at KNUST including Head of the Department of Chemistry, Member, College and Faculty Boards at the College of Science, Member of the University’s Academic Board and Chairman, University Safety Committee. He was instrumental in the establishment of the M.Phil. programme in polymer science and technology at KNUST. He has been a fellow of the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre of KNUST since its inception in the early 2000s. He is currently the chairman of KNUST’s Plastic Waste Management and Recycling Committee.

Prof Awudza is a chartered chemist, fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), UK and an affiliate member of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). He is the representative of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Ghana and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Pan-African Chemistry Network (PACN). He was instrumental in the establishment of the PACN hub at KNUST and chairs the committee which organizes annual international GC-MS and LC-MS training workshops at KNUST with support from the RSC and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Prof Awudza was one of the three Recipients of RSC’s (Royal Society of Chemistry, UK) prestigious Exceptional Service Awards for 2022. (http://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/2022-winners/professor-johannesawudza/#undefined)

He has been a consultant to the International Centre for Science and High Technology – United Nations Industrial Development Organization (ICS – UNIDO), Trieste, Italy on biofuels and chemicals from bio-based materials and carried out research on same at the University of Messina, Sicily, Italy. He was also a member of the teams that worked on the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) funded projects on street vended foods and the community development project “Boafo Ye Na”. In both of the last two projects his expertise in chemistry was utilised in the implementation of the projects.

Prof Awudza’s current research areas include catalysts for the development of renewable sources of energy including waste into energy, development of nano-materials for solar cells, catalysis for the development of next generation biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel), alternative materials for water treatment and plastic waste management.

He was an academic visitor to the School of Chemistry and School of Materials of the University of Manchester, UK, from 2007 to 2018, working with the late Prof Peter J. T. Tait on polymerization catalysis and Prof Paul O’Brien, FRS, CBE, on the development of nanomaterials for solar cells. He is currently the KNUST project leader for a consortium working on a DFID-Royal Society funded project on capacity building in the development of nanomaterials for solar cells. The consortium is made up of Dr David Lewis (previously the late Prof Paul O’Brien) of School of Materials, University of Manchester, UK, Prof Johannes A. M. Awudza (Department of Chemistry, KNUST), Prof Neerish Revaprasadu (Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand, South Africa) and Prof Peter Ndifon (Department of Chemistry, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon).

Prof Awudza’s teaching career has spanned over forty years. He has taught science from Form One to A-Level Chemistry in secondary school and first year undergraduate to PhD level in the university. He has supervised over 160 undergraduate (BSc) student projects, about 50 M.Phil. / MSc. students and 10 PhD student students and counting.

Key Roles in Chemistry

• Chairman of the PACN Hub in Ghana since 2015 and Chairs local organising committee of the successful annual international GC-MS training workshops in Ghana since 2015 and lately LC-MS training workshop with logistical and financial support from RSC and GSK, UK.
• Was a Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the First Commonwealth Chemistry Congress which was to have been held in Trinidad and Tobago from 18 to 21 May 2020, but postponed and held online from 18 to 21 May 2021 as a result of COVID-19. 
• Was Chairman of Local Organizing Committee for International Conference on Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy at the Amonoo-Neizer Conference Centre, KNUST, Kumasi, from 3rd to 5th June 2019. Was also a member of International Advisory Committee.
• Was one of two Ghanaian participants in an international gathering of experts put together by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, to discuss how chemistry can be used to foster friendship, partnership, scientific discovery and development in the Commonwealth of Nations. This meeting took place at the offices of the Royal Society of Chemistry in London in June 2018.
• Was Chairman of Local Organizing Committee for Pan African Chemistry Network (PACN) Congress on Sustainable Agriculture at Accra International Conference Centre from 7th to 9th November 2017. Was also a member of International Advisory Committee
• Was Chairman of Local Organizing Committee for Pan African Chemistry Network (PACN) Conference on Materials Chemistry at Amonoo-Neizer Conference Centre, KNUST, Kumasi, from 3rd to 5th October 2016. Was also a member of International Advisory Committee
• Was a member of the International Scientific Committee and the International Organizing Committee for the International Congress on Agricultural Productivity organized by the Pan African Chemistry Network (PACN) with support from the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and Syngenta (UK).  The Congress took place from 21 to 23 November, 2011 at Accra International Conference Centre and was part of the activities marking the International Year of Chemistry. Was part of a team of experts that worked on the final report of the Congress in London in February, 2012.
• Initiator and Chairman of organizing committee for an International Conference on Polymer Science and Technology organized for African Polymer Science and Technology Educators in Kumasi, Ghana, 16 to 18 April, 2012. This conference, with the theme “Polymer Education and Environmental Sustainability in Africa”, attracted speakers from Europe and Africa.
• Very versatile, with knowledge in many areas of the chemical sciences and hence teaches a wide range of chemistry-based course modules to students in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials engineering, biochemistry, food science and technology, physics, petrochemical engineering, petroleum engineering civil engineering (water and sanitation programme) and the School of Medical Sciences.
• Passionate about capacity building of the youth (supports the work of the Ghana Students Chemical Society: speaks at their conferences, offers advice to their leaders etc).
• Initiated the M.Phil. programme in polymer science and technology at KNUST and arranged for a collaboration between the School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, UK, and the Department of Chemistry, KNUST, Kumasi, for the initiation of the M.Phil. programme. Sought funding for this programme from the British Council’s Development Partnership in Higher Education (DELPHE) programme.
• Regular participant in the activities of the Pan Africa Chemistry Network and the Federation of African Societies of Chemistry (FASC).
• Has published over 70 papers in peer reviewed journals and has given over 40 presentations at both local and international conferences.

RECENT RESEARCH FUNDING RECEIVED

2015 – 2022: Played a key role in arranging for support from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK, through the Pan-African Chemistry Network (PACN) to organize a training workshop on practical applications and use of Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) for chemical analyses for scientists from West African Sub-region in 2015. Many staff from KNUST benefitted from this training programme. Based on the huge success of the first training programme, the RSC with support from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) supported the organization of international GC-MS training workshops in the Chemistry Department for the next five years with an amount of £21,000.00 per year. There was also an LC-MS training programme in May 2022. The Chemistry Department has also now been accredited to run such training programmes.

2015 – 2022: Royal Society-DFID Capacity Building Initiative: £1.25 million to implement a project on graduate training and ‘Developing Materials for Applications in Solar Cells’. This is being done within a consortium comprising of UK partner, Prof. Paul O’Brien, CBE, FRS, of the University of Manchester, Prof. Johannes A. M. Awudza of the Department of Chemistry, KNUST, Ghana, Prof. Neerish Revaprasadu of the University of Zululand, South Africa, and Prof. Peter Ndifon of the University of Yaounde, Cameroon.

2013: Royal Society-DFID Africa Capacity Building Initiative-Network Grant worth £25,000.00. This was used to build a network (comprising of UK partner, Prof. Paul O’Brien, CBE, FRS, of the University of Manchester, Prof. Johannes A. M. Awudza of Department of Chemistry, KNUST, Ghana, Prof. Neerish Revaprasadu of the University of Zululand, South Africa, and Prof. Peter Ndifon of the University of Yaounde, Cameroon) for graduate training in the institutions involved. After the development of the network, the network submitted a proposal for up to about £1.25 million (to the Royal Society-DFID Africa Capacity Building Initiative) for research and graduate training between the different institutions. The proposal has been approved and the project is ongoing (see above).

2010 – 2014 Royal Society Leverhulme Africa Award: £150,000. This was with Prof Paul O’Brien, CBE, FRS, Schools of Chemistry and of Materials, University of Manchester, for “Developing Internationally Competitive Research on Solar Cell Materials at KNUST”. This project supported three staff members of KNUST to receive their Ph.D. degrees, one person also graduated with a M.Phil. degree through this project. Two non-staff members spent at least six months each at the Schools of Chemistry and of Materials, to carry out part of their PhD research there with sponsorship from this project.

2009 – 2013 Development Partnership in Higher Education (DELPHE) funding: £55,000. This funding was from the DFID and facilitated by the British Council. The fund was used for the establishment of M.Phil. programme in Polymer Science and Technology at KNUST. This was also through collaboration with the School of Chemistry (University of Manchester). Through this project, an arrangement was made for one staff at Chemistry Department to receive a one year split-site Commonwealth Scholarship (worth over £30,000.00) to do part of her Ph.D. research at the University of Manchester, UK.

2011 – 2012 Energy Commission (Ghana) Award: To conduct research into “The Development of a Process for the Conversion of some Biomass Materials found in Ghana to Bioethanol”. This was worth GHC 60,000.00 (about $35,000.00 at the time of approval). Two students have received their M.Phil. degrees in Chemistry through this project.

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

2015 to date Member of International Advisory Board, Pan African Chemistry Network, (Participates in Annual Meetings in London which formulates policies for the PACN)

2010 to date Representative of Royal Society of Chemistry in Ghana

2009 to date Member of Pan African Chemistry Network

2000 to date Chartered Chemist  (CChem)

2015 to date Fellow –  Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), UK

2000 to 2015 Member – Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC), UK  

2005 to date Affiliate Member – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)

2003 – 2010 Member –African Technology Policy Studies Network–Ghana Chapter

1986 to date Member – Ghana Chemical Society

1986 to date  Member – Ghana Science Association

1981 – 1989 Member – Ghana Association of Science Teachers