Kwadwo Osseo-Asare, professor of metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and professor of geo-environmental engineering in the Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, was recently named a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a group of senior professionals in academia, business and government who are among the world's most accomplished engineers. Osseo-Asare was cited for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of interfacial phenomena in leaching and solvent extraction.
The more than 2,000 peer-elected members and foreign associates of academy provide leadership and expertise for numerous projects focused on the relationship between engineering, technology and quality of life. Election to the academy is considered the highest professional honor an engineer can attain.
Osseo-Asare received his bachelor of science, his master of science and doctoral degree in materials science and engineering from the University of California (Berkeley) in 1970, 1972 and 1975, respectively. Osseo-Asare joined the faculty at Penn State in 1976 where he was promoted to professor in 1984 and served as chair of the Metals Science and Engineering Program from 1995-2000. He has published more than 200 papers and supervised nearly 40 master's and doctoral theses.
Osseo-Asare is a leading expert in aqueous processing, especially hydrometallurgy, separation science, materials synthesis and colloids and interfaces and has won numerous awards for his accomplishments, including the University's Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering (1999), the James Douglas Gold Medal of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) (1997), and the Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson Award for Excellence in Research of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (1995). His work is noted for providing new conceptual frameworks and experimental approaches that have significantly advanced scientific understanding of ion and particle transfer, dissolution, and precipitation processes in hydrometallurgy, environmental systems, nanoparticle technology and semiconductor manufacturing.
Osseo-Asare is involved in the international arena and was recently an invited participant in two meetings of the African mineral resources industry including a joint workshop of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development and the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Extractive Industries Review Multi-Stakeholder Consultation Meeting for Africa of The World Bank Group in Maputo, Mozambique.
He serves on the leadership team of the Alliance for Earth Science, Engineering and Development in Africa, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' new initiative on Africa. He has been a visiting professor at Tohoku University in Japan, The Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, Imperial College of Science and Technology in London and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.