BIOGRAPHY

Prof. Joseph Oppong Akowuah is the newly appointed Director of the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre at KNUST. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. His research focuses on post-harvest engineering, stored grain protection, techno-economic analysis, and design and development of low-capacity drying systems utilizing renewable energy sources (solar and biomass) for grain handling and processing to mitigate post-harvest loss and food waste in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has over 15 years of experience in teaching, research, and extension work and is involved in various collaborative research and extension works with local and international experts in the area of postharvest loss and
stored-product management. He has collaborated on various extension works involving field demonstration and training and has worked with post-harvest experts to provide training to over 1000 beneficiaries involving farmers, grain aggregators, extension agents, warehouse operators, and other stakeholders in the grain and legume value-chains on post-harvest loss mitigation in Ghana.  He is one of KNUST’s Co-PI working with the Consortium for Innovation in Post-harvest Loss and Food Waste Reduction, a Rockefeller Foundation and Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research founded project which aims to promote research, outreach, and capacity building to increase the quality and quantity of food and nutrition in the world. He was also worked with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-harvest Loss of maize in Ghana. Being student-centered, Prof. Akowuah also serves as one of the pioneer faculty advisors to the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) KNUST chapter, and working with the Iowa State University Chapter of EWB, he has been mentoring and providing technical support to students in both chapters to implement a couple of community-based engineering projects at the Ullo Traditional Area in the Upper West Region of Ghana. He has also mentored and supported two student start-up companies in Ghana, Sesi Technologies Limited and G2Josh Evergreen Company Limited.  Prof. Akowuah is a registered professional engineer and has consulted for several local and international organisations to provide training and technical assistance on various projects.

QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD. Food and Postharvest Engineering, November 2022, (KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana)
• MSc. Food and Postharvest Engineering, June 2006 (KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana)
• BSc. Agricultural Engineering, June 2003, (KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1. Member of Steering Committee, Net-Metered Solar PV Project, Ghana
2. Technical Committee Member, 4th All Africa Postharvest Congress and Exhibition (AAPHCE),
3. Co-lead, Pillar 3, Capacity building and workforce development of the Alliance for Modernizing African Agri-Food System (AMAA), part of the ASABE global engagement initiative.                                                                                           
4. Technical Advisor, Sesi Technologies Limited, Assembling and Manufacturing of GrainMate Moisture Meters in Ghana
5. Volunteer, Volunteer Village, Engineers Without Borders, USA,
6. Co-lead, Consortium for Innovation in Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste Reduction – Global Project
7. Reviewer, Several International Journals

FIELDS OF SPECIALTY

Post-harvest engineering, Stored grain protection, Bioenergy technologies application.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

1. George Obeng-Akrofi, Dirk E. Maier, Wendy S. White, Joseph O. Akowuah, Ricardo Bartosik, Leandro Cardoso (2023). Effectiveness of hermetic bag storage technology to preserve physical quality attributes of shea nuts. Journal of Stored Products Research. Volume 101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2023.102086.
2. Emmanuel Arthur, George Obeng-Akrofi, Edward A. Awafo, and Joseph O. Akowuah, (2023). Comparative assessment of three storage methods for preserving maize grain to enhance food security post COVID-19. Scientific African, Volume 19, e01582, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2023.e01582.
3. Obeng-Akrofi, G., Akowuah, J. O., Maier, D. E., and Addo, A. (2022). Selection of an Appropriate Biomass Burner for Drying Maize in a Crossflow Column Dryer Using an Analytic Hierarchy Process. Journal of Applied Agricultural Science and Technology, 6(2), 107-119. https://doi.org/10.55043/jaast.v6i2.63
4. Francis Amoah, Emmanuel Yaovi Hunnuor Bobobee, Ahmad Addo, Joseph Ofei Darko and Joseph Oppong Akowuah, (2022). A review of mechanical cassava peeling and its adoption by processors. Journal of the Ghana Institution of Engineering 22:4, https://doi.org/10.56049/jghie.v22i1.37
5. Arthur E., Akowuah J.O. and Obeng-Akrofi G. (2022). Assessment of the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICs) Bag for Maize Storage in Ghana. Afr. J. Food Agric. Nutr. Dev. 2022; 22(6): 20596-20608, https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.111.22035
6. Amoah F, Akowuah J.O. and Bobobee E.Y.H (2022). The Need for Adoption of Improved Technologies to Address Challenges in Small-Scale Cassava Processing in Ghana. Afr. J. Food Agric. Nutr. Dev. 2022; 22(6): 20609-20622 https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.111.22060
7. Akowuah, J.O., Bart-Plange A., Dzisi K.A. (2021): Thin layer mathematical modelling of white maize in a mobile solar-biomass hybrid dryer. Res. Agr. Eng., 67: 74–83, https://doi.org/10.17221/56/2020-RAE. 
8. Akowuah, J.O., Boateng, H.A., Obeng-Akrofi, G. and Maier, D.E. 2021. Performance evaluation of a flatbed maize dryer with a biomass heat source. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(2): 37-41, https://doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v11i2.57253.
9. Obeng-Akrofi, G.; Akowuah, J.O.; Maier, D.E.; Addo, A. Techno-Economic Analysis of a Crossflow Column Dryer for Maize Drying in Ghana. Agriculture 2021, 11,568. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11060568.                                        
10. Nyarko, S.K.; Akyereko, Y.G.; Akowuah, J.O.; Wireko-Manu, F.D. Comparative Studies on Grain Quality and Pesticide Residues in Maize Stored in Hermetic and Polypropylene Storage Bags. Agriculture 2021, 11, 772. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11080772
11. Isaac Osei, Joseph O. Akowuah and Francis Kemausuor (2016). Techno-Economic Models for Optimised Utilisation of Jatropha curcas Linnaeus under an Out-Grower Farming Scheme in Ghana. Resources 2016, 5, 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources5040038.
12. Osei, I., Kemausuor, F., Commeh, M.K., Akowuah, J.O., Owusu-Takyi, L. (2020). Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of Non-Continuous Inverted Downdraft Gasifier Stove Utilizing Rice husk as feedstock. Scientific African. 1;8:e00414.
13.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00414.
14. Jonathan Ampah, Joseph Xavier Francisco Ribeiro, Kwabena Asiedu Bugyei, Francis Kumi, Joseph Oppong Akowuah, Hayford Ofori, Catherine Otchere (2021). Status, challenges and prospects of food processing equipment fabricators in Ghana. Scientific African 12 (2021) e00843. ISSN 2468-2276, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2021.e00843
15. Bosomtwe, A., Danso, J. K, Osekre, E.A., Opit, G.P., Mbata, G., Armstrong, P., Arthur, F.H., Campbell, J., Manu, N., McNeill, S.G., Akowuah, J.O. (2019). Effectiveness of the solar biomass hybrid dryer for drying and disinfestation of maize. Journal of Stored Products Research, 83:66-72, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2019.05.011.
16. Armah, K.A., Akowuah, J.O., Obeng-Akrofi, G. and McNeill, S.G. (2021). Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process in Selection of an Appropriate Drying Platform for Maize Drying in a Solar Bubble Dryer. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 11, 157-175. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojapps.2021.111011.