GAEC appoints Prof SB Dampare as new Director-General
The Board of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has appointed Professor Samuel Boakye Dampare as the new Director-General of the institution effective February 1, 2022.
This follows a decision of the Commission’s Board at its 122nd regular meeting held on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, which considered and approved the recommendations of a Search Committee.
A statement signed by Madam Sheila Frimpong, Acting Director, Commercialisation and Communication Directorate, GAEC and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Prof Dampare would take over from Professor Benjamin Jabez Botwe Nyarko, who had reached the statutory retirement age and whose term of office would end on January 31, 2022.
It said Prof Dampare, by the appointment, would become the ninth Executive Head and the fourth Director-General of the foremost scientific research institution in Ghana with a niche in nuclear science and technology, GAEC.
The statement said until his appointment, he was the Deputy Director of Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) of GAEC.
It said he also served as the Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS) of the University of Ghana–Atomic and the Head of the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory at the Ghana Research Reactor–1 (GHARR–1) Centre of GAEC.
The statement said he had his basic education at Maase Methodist School, Abuakwa and obtained his GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels at the Ofori Panin Secondary School, Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region.
It said Prof Dampare was an alumnus of the University of Ghana and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and M.Phil. in Geology in 1996 and 2001, respectively.
The statement said he obtained his PhD in Geology in 2008 at the Okayama University in Japan through a Japanese Government Scholarship (Monbukagakusho).
It said after obtaining his PhD, Professor Dampare was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to conduct collaborative research at the same University.
The statement said he had been a recipient of several awards and fellowships such as the Dean of the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology Award for Academic Excellence, Okayama University (2006); Bank of Ghana Graduate Fellowship, University of Ghana (1998–1999) and MacCallien Memorial Prize for Best Graduating Student in Geology given by Geological Society of Ghana in 1997.
It said Prof Dampare’s scientific career at GAEC started in 2002 as an Assistant Research Scientist at the Ghana Research Reactor–1 (GHARR–1) Centre.
The statement said he was upgraded to the rank of Research Scientist in 2003 and promoted to Senior Research Scientist in 2008, Principal Research Scientist in 2011 and Chief Research Scientist in 2018.
It said he was conferred with the title of Associate Professor and Professor in Nuclear Earth Sciences in 2012 and 2020, respectively.
The statement said as a researcher, he undertook works in petrology and geochemistry of igneous and sedimentary rocks, crustal evolution studies of the West African Craton (WAC), Isotope hydrology and hydro geochemistry, uranium geology, environmental pollution, development of nuclear analytical techniques for measurement of geological/geochemical and environmental samples as well as space technology applications for socio-economic development, among others.
It said Prof Dampare also participated in several training courses, workshops, consultative meetings, and conferences, where he had presented his research findings and given invited talks.
The statement said he participated in the governance of the GAEC through his services on several statutory and Ad-hoc Boards and Committees.
It said he also served on external boards and committees, including the College of Basic and Applied Sciences (CBAS) Board, UG (2018–date); and Council of Ghana Institution of Geoscientists (GhIG), 2019.
Furthermore, the statement, said he served as a member of the African Union Commission’s (AUC) AMREC Working Group from 2017–date and the Project Counterpart for Ghana for some IAEA Technical Cooperation projects
It said he was a fellow of the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists and a member of several professional associations, including the Ghana Nuclear Society, Geological Society of Africa, Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences, American Geophysical Union, the Geochemical Society and Geological Society of America and Ghana Science Association.
The statement said Prof Dampare authored and co-authored over 75 articles in international and national major peer-reviewed journals.
It said he served as an examiner and external assessor of several graduate theses and promotional documents for academics as well as co-supervised several PhD, M.Phil./M.Sc. theses and B.Sc. dissertations for students from the University of Ghana, and other public universities in Ghana.
Source: GNA