If you educate a girl, Part VII

I was recently watching the Brazil segment of Professor Gates' recent PBS series Black in Latin America, Brazil: A Racial Paradise?.

The comments made in the video about the lack of AfroBrazilians in higher education institutions reminded me of a conversation I had on one of my trips to Brazil. I chatted with a determined and hardworking post-doctoral researcher at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Roberta Froes. I was curious to learn more about her educational experiences as an AfroBrazilian.

The following video shares excerpts from our conversation, which was conducted in English since my Portuguese is still pretty rudimentary. Her parents did not have the opportunity to receive higher education, but they vowed that “our child will be what we could not be.”

I learned that she was one of only 2 or 3 AfroBrazilians out of 40 in her technical high school, and that she was the only one of them to finish out the course.

While she passed the exams to attend the university, her parents could not afford to pay her incidental expenses (food, transportation, etc.). Roberta was told that she would not be able to complete the course in 4 years if she had to work, but she was determined to prove the experts wrong. By studying during the day and working nights teaching high school chemistry, she was able to finish her work in four years.

She took time off for a break, but a year later decided to go on for a master’s degree in analytical chemistry. Due to a frustrating year-long lack of equipment in the labs, Roberta was forced to complete her master’s degree in 6 months, and went on to enter the doctoral program a month later. She finished her doctorate, on contamination in beverages, in 3 years.

When I asked her for advice to give other black Brazilian young people about going into the sciences, she shared how much it means to her personally to now know scientists who are people like her: in Salvador in Bahia, in Belo Horizonte, and other places.

“I have relationships with people.” Before then, she only saw white people, or Asian people. She proudly announced “I’m not alone.” There are now some, though still only a few, people like her. She lamented that AfroBrazilians think they can’t continue their education and tend to say things like “No, I need to work.” “I need a car first, so I have to work . . .” She ends the interview by explaining that a lot of black people think they will end up with the worst jobs and there’s no need to study, they’ll never get ahead. She, however, affirms: “No, if I want to be in that place, I will be in that place!”




We celebrate Dr. Roberta Froes' successes and hope that as her career advances she will find ways to link up, too, with the worldwide community of African scientists and engineers.

If you educate a girl, Part VI

Yesterday (August 14, 2010) Grace Ofori-Sarpong officially became Dr. Grace Ofori-Sarpong. It was a pleasure to escort my student during the procession for Penn State University's Graduate School Summer Commencement exercise. When I put the hood on her I passed on to her my blessings with a quiet prayer that she would return to the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT, Tarkwa, Ghana) and help transform it from a man's world to a school that truly belongs to both women and men. As the first woman lecturer of this new university with a PhD, Dr. Ofori-Sarpong will no doubt have many opportunities to serve as a role model.

Grace's research on fungi-mediated aqueous processing of refractory (hard-to-treat) gold ores was supervised by Prof. Ming Tien and myself. This work is opening up new doors for biohydrometallurgy research. Dr. Ofori-Sarpong's findings established for the first time that certain fungi release metabolic products that can transform the chemical and physical characteristics of the natural carbon in such gold ores in ways that dramatically inhibit the otherwise undesirable uptake of dissolved gold cyanide complexes.

The challenge now is to find a way to keep her research work active as she returns to Ghana. She must set up an engineering microbiology lab from scratch in an academic environment which does not yet have a serious tradition of externally funded research. Given her track record at Penn State, I have every confidence that if there are research funds available anywhere in the world, she'll find a way to submit successful research proposals. Grace: Ayekoo!

If you educate a girl, Part V

I thought it would be interesting to hear from the women students at AUST a little bit about their backgrounds, their undergraduate education, what attracted them to their academic fields. . . Some of their answers were surprising. In this blog posting and coming ones, I'll feature short conversations I had with 4 of the women during my visit to AUST late last year.

The first video clip features Toyin Iyowu, a first year graduate student in petroleum engineering.

If you educate a girl, Part IV

In December, 2009, AUST (the African University of Science and Technology) in Abuja, Nigeria, celebrated its first graduation. 42 students received graduate degrees (MS and PGD [post graduate diploma]) in the fields of computer science, materials sci-

ence and engineering, mathe-
matics, petroleum engineering and theoretical physics. They came from several sub-Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda).

While we celebrate the fact that the first batch of students is out we cannot ignore the fact that only 2 of the 42 were women. It is noteworthy that one of these women, Azeb Demisi Habte, was recognized as the graduate with the Overall Best Student Research Project.

We can be optimistic about the future. The picture above shows that the number of women in the second batch of students has increased. Since AUST aspires to be a leading institution of science and technology, we expect these young women will be role models. We also acknowledge the fact that the Chair of the AUST Board of Trustees is a woman: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (see picture), Managing Director, World Bank Group.

Minerals as Materials, Materials as Minerals, Part 2

In November, 2009 I taught a course in materials processing (MS 603) at AUST, in Abuja, Nigeria. The following assignment was designed to encourage the students to appreciate the minerals-materials linkage, and to go beyond factual information to conceptual understanding and problem-solving:
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Process Evaluation and Design Project

From Minerals to Materials: Adding Value to Our Solid Mineral Resources Through Aqueous Processing

Your country’s new Minister of Science and Technology just returned from an African Union Ministerial Forum on Science and Technology where she participated in a panel discussion on using Africa’s natural resource base as a springboard for technological advancement. She was disturbed to learn of the manner in which African governments (including her own) have historically failed to come up with science and technology policies that seriously seek to add value to their countries’ solid mineral resources. She also heard presentations that pushed the idea of “resource curse” as well as those that vehemently challenged this idea. (See, for example, J. D. Sachs and A. M. Warner, “Natural Resources and Economic Development. The Curse of Natural Resources,” European Econ. Rev., 45, 827-838 (2001), G. Wright and J. Czelusta, “Mineral Resources and Economic Development”, 2003.)

Upon her return from the forum, the Minister instructed the Director General (DG) of your country’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to provide her with a comprehensive report on the state of the minerals and materials industry in the country. In connection with this, your boss, the Director of the Center for Materials Research in Aqueous Systems (CMRAS) has asked you to contribute to an initial study to provide management with critical baseline data and assessment. Your work is to focus on aqueous-based chemical processing technologies.

Prepare a report for management in response to this request. Your report should:

(a) Identify two important (and different) solid mineral resources (deposits) in your country that are amenable to aqueous processing - either in the extraction or engineered materials synthesis and processing stages. Indicate the location and extent of these resources. What are the important ore minerals associated with the deposits and what are the valuable metals therein?
(b) What are these metals and minerals used for? What are some commercial products which are based on the metals and/or minerals?
(c) Select one of the deposits. Describe the current nature and level of industrial activity (e.g., is the deposit being mined? Is there any mineral processing? Is there any hydrometallurgical processing? Are there known serious mining/processing environmental problems?)
(d) What are the opportunities you see for adding further value to these resources? What specific contributions do you see for aqueous processing techniques (e.g., in connection with the metal extraction, engineered materials synthesis and processing stages, or environmental aspects).
(e) Select one of the “opportunities” identified in (d) above and describe, as quantitatively as possible, the relevant aqueous processing schemes.
(f) In view of your research findings pertaining to items (a) to (e) above, what is your reaction to the “resource curse” debate?

The technical content of your report should be based on the principles and tools discussed in MS 603. In particular, your report should demonstrate your familiarity with the following process design tools:

(a) Reaction quotients and equilibrium constants
(b) Aqueous stability diagrams
(c) Speciation diagrams
(d) Dissolution, precipitation, and selectivity windows
(e) Reaction paths
(f) Conceptual flow diagrams

The professional-quality report should not be more than 15 pages long (double-spaced) total. Format: Title, Author’s Name and Affiliation, Abstract, Introduction, Other Relevant Headings/Subheadings, Summary and Conclusions, Acknowledgments, References.

At least two-thirds of the report should focus on aqueous processing proper. You should take advantage of relevant information in textbooks, the patent literature, the Internet, technical journals, conference proceedings, company brochures, and personal contacts (e.g., phone calls, e-mails). Be sure to consult more than one type of information source. Your report should clearly indicate some serious thinking on your part.

At a mini-symposium at the end of the course each student will make a 20-minute presentation to report his/her findings. There will be peer review of the presentations. The relevant evaluation forms will be provided. Attire: Business casual.
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NOTE: Again, this assignment was designed to challenge the students to reflect on and think broadly about their work as scientists and engineers. I wanted them to be aware of and appreciate the wider context and the policy implications of their science and engineering activities. It was also to nudge them towards viewing themselves as active participants in tackling Africa's science and technology challenges.

Minerals as Natural Materials, Materials as Engineered Minerals

NOTE: The 5th Africa MRS conference (plus the 8th Nigerian Materials Congress [NIMACON 2009]) takes place Dec. 14-18, 2009 in Abuja. The theme is "Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology for Africa." I’ve previously blogged on earlier A-MRS conferences. I'll be presenting several papers. I hope to see some of you there.

One question I keep asking myself and others is "What should the meaning of 'the field of materials science and engineering in Africa' be today?" Should we mimic the practice in the advanced countries where minerals are separated from other materials?

Very often at conferences in or about Africa, one sees people repeatedly mention the same problems: water, health, energy, environment, food and agriculture. Never do they mention minerals (e.g., see J. D. Sachs' comments "How Science And Medical Communities Can Help Governments Achieve The Millennium Development Goals" on page 17, the 2005 ASADI (African Science Academy Development Initiative) final conference report.

Yet the news is filled with stories about how African minerals (gold, diamonds, tin, coltan, etc.) are driving violence and many of the civil wars on the continent. I feel very strongly that Africa cannot afford to follow the advanced countries and sever this link between materials and minerals.

In December 2004, I presented at the 3rd US/Africa Implementation Meeting and US/Africa Materials Workshop, in Cairo, Egypt, an NSF-sponsored workshop focusing on sustainable materials processing research. In a talk titled "Minerals as Materials, Materials as Minerals," I presented this idea of the integral connection between the two, one I continue to champion.

If you educate a girl, Part III

Another role model for African women scientists and engineers is Dr. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, the Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania, she works tirelessly both in her field professionally and to engage students in- and out-side the classroom.

While Ghana's government has stated its commitment to achieving equal education of boys and girls by the year 2015, all too often these types of lofty goals remain unfulfilled. Dr. Kaufmann is not only a role model, she is also an outspoken advocate for the education of girls. This is evident in an address she gave at the speech and prize-giving day at Akuse Methodist Senior High Technical School in March 2008.

After noting that "girl-children" (the UN defines a girl-child as a female child between 0 and 18) are almost invisible, she estimates that they form approximately 75% of the female population and approximately 38% of Ghana's total population, meaning there are almost 9 million girl children in the country. She further notes that the unequal treatment of females commences at birth when one inquires about the gender of the child "'What did she have, boy or girl?' and the shocking response" if it is a boy, " 'owoo nipa,' meaning 'she had a human being,' the implication being that the alternative is a non-human."

Girls are expected to marry, and "Before the 'marriage destiny' is accomplished, the girl-child is expected to keep herself busy in the kitchen, supposedly learning the skills necessary to prepare her for her role as wife and mother, while in fact bearing a significantly higher share of the domestic work than her male siblings." (bolding mine). Dr. Kaufmann claims that "On average girls marry at around age 15, while boys marry from 18 years. In some communities it is not surprising to find girls married at age 13."

However, she remains optimistic about the future, quoting Nelson Mandela ("education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world") and concluding that the education of the girl-child becomes even more critical. "There is a great deal of evidence pointing to the fact that economies grow faster, that the poor move out of poverty more quickly and that the general well-being of all members of the community is enhanced when gender equity is promoted."

Dr. Kaufmann is quite clear that she is not trying to undermine the critically important roles of wife and mother. "The roles of mother and wife are probably the most important that a great majority of females will assume. An educated mother is unlikely to perpetuate the marginalization of the girl-child. High self-esteem in a mother makes it natural for her to see the potential in her female child and she becomes a role model for that child." In a moving anecdote, she tells how she remembers "clearly the day one of my daughters, a girl-child, approached me to ask if it was true that women could not be weather forecasters. She felt she could be a good weather woman in future, but she had never seen one and the house help had told her that weather forecasting was a man's job."

Her concluding advice to the graduating girls at Akuse was that they should have a purpose and dream and go after their dreams. "Sure you will have to make sacrifices, but do not sacrifice your basic rights away by always considering yourselves last. You deserve to succeed."

To others she advises ". . .we must teach girl-children to be self-confident. They need to be made to recognize and understand their responsibility as equal partners and contributors to the community's development agenda. We should encourage and empower them to enter professions and areas of study which can nurture and develop their leadership abilities and give them opportunities to participate in high-level decision-making. This will serve to enable them to contribute towards development and at the same time, give them the chance to be future role models for girl-children who need education and direction."

An organization based in the U.S., CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education) is very active in promoting Dr. Kaufmann's vision in sub-Saharan Africa. Africans need to initiate, support, and insist upon similar programs throughout the continent.