Marian Asantewah Nkansah FGA is a Ghanaian environmental chemist. Her research work focuses on finding solutions to environmental problems associated with levels and fate of toxic substances such as heavy/trace metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in food, water, soil, rocks, sediments and other environmental samples. She also researches on the interaction of these pollutants with each other in the environment. In 2016, together with some scientists from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, she led a research which led to the confirmation that edible white clay poses potential cancer risk.[1][2] In 2016, she became the first scientist to win the Fayzah M. Al-Kharafi Prize, an annual award that recognises exceptional women scientists from scientifically and technologically lagging countries.[3] She and Collins Obuah, another scientist from the University of Ghana, were the two scientist selected to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting in 2017.[4] In 2021, she was among five women recipients in developing countries of the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards. She received the 2022 Africa Role Model Overall Female Personality Award, and was inducted as a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences the same year.
Marian Asantewah Nkansah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Education | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology University of Bergen |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology |
Early life and education
editNkansah was born in Ghana to Mary and Joseph Nkansah, both educationists. She had her primary and secondary school education at St. Anthony's Experimental School, Nkawkaw and the St. Roses Senior High School at Akwatia, respectively and all in the Eastern Region of Ghana. She then furthered at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where she acquired a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in Environmental Chemistry. She holds a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Bergen in Norway.[5][6][7]
Career
editShe is an Associate Professor at the Chemistry department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where she teaches Practical Chemistry, Nuclear/Radiochemistry, Chemistry and Society, and Petroleum Chemistry. She is a past warden of Africa Hall of Residence and the Deputy Director of Student Affairs in charge of Welfare at KNUST. She serves on the Executive Committee of the International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development. Nkansah is a former executive member and alumna of the Global Young Academy. She is also a board member of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority and Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. [6][8][9]
Awards and recognition
editNkansah has been recognised and awarded for her work including:[10][5][6][7]
- Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences
- Featured in the first-ever book on African Women in Science
- Next Einstein Forum Fellow
- 2016 - Winner of the Fayzah M. Al-Kharafi Prize
- 2017 - Selected to attend Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting
- 2017 - Selection to the Global Young Academy
References
edit- ^ "White clay poses cancer risk - Researchers". Myjoyonline. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ "White clay poses cancer risk - Researchers | Health News 2019-03-12". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ "Ghanaian researcher wins first Al-Kharafi Prize | General News 2016-11-16". GhanaWeb. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ "Two Ghanaian scientists selected for prestigious Nobel Laureates meeting". pulse ghana. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ a b "Nkansah, Marian Asantewah". TWAS. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ a b c "NEF Fellow - Marian Asantewah Nkansah". Next Einstein Forum. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ a b "Marian Asantewah Nkansah". IUPAC 100. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ "Marian Asantewah Nkansah". sheathe. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ "Marian Asantewah Nkansah's Profile |". Global Young Academy. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ^ "Nkansah Marian Asantewah | The AAS". aasciences africa. Retrieved 2019-10-15.