Prof. Marian Asantewaa Nkansah
Prof Marian Asantewaa Nkansah is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi-Ghana and Deputy Director of Students Affairs, KNUST.
Her research spans a wide range of areas in environmental chemistry including Discharge and remediation strategies for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Heavy metals dispersal, exposure and risk assessment in matrices such as water, dust, soil, sediments; Trend of heavy metals in food such as spices, tea, edible clay, street food, lipstick, exposure and risk; assessment; and Utilization of local materials as sorbents for environmental contaminant removal.
She was very early on in her career identified as one of thirty African women Scientists from eighteen countries across Africa who have excelled in various fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Her profile was compelling; that of a mid-career scientist, hard-working with demonstrable scientific excellence, leadership and outreach skills; a scientist engaged in community activities and also mentoring and tutoring science students. Her educational and professional credentials are impeccable.
She has supervised two PhDs, five Masters and fifty-three undergraduate students. In terms of Academic Scholarship, you have published collectively over 33 refereed journal articles and books. Her demonstrable leadership and innovative skills are quite evident in how she has successfully competed on a number of initiatives including the Fellowship of the Next Einstein Forum, executive member of the Global Young Academy, and Affiliate of both the World Academy of Sciences and the African Academy of Science.
She serve often as a resource person on several national and international workshops for capacity building of younger scientists. Your resilience and hard work have resulted in recognitions such as the inaugural recipient of the TWAS, F.M Al-Kharafi Prize in 2016, and presently a work package Leader of the SHEATHE PROJECT a DANIDA-funded collaborative project among others.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in Environmental Chemistry both from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Bergen in Norway. She is currently a senior lecturer in 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 member of the Global Young Academy. She is also a board member of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority.
In June 2017 Prof Marian Asantewaa Nkansah was part of the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting with top scientists around the globe that shared their views on the topic post-truth era. The 2020 Analytical Scientists power list names you among the top 10 scientists in Africa and the top 60 scientists around the world. In 2021, you were announced as an OWSD- Elsevier Foundation Awardee for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. This award seeks to recognize the achievements of researchers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
On account of your scholarship and the stellar contributions you are making in the field of environmental chemistry and for distinguishing yourself in her field, she was elected to Fellowship of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences on 16 June 2022.
