Ernest Opoku
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Auburn University
111 Extension Hall
Auburn, AL 36849-5312
U. S. A.

Phone:(334) 844-4043
Fax: (334) 844-6959
E-Mail: ezo0009@auburn.edu

B.Sc. (Honors), M.Phil. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, 2019

Ernest began his graduate studies at Auburn University in Spring 2020 and joined the Ortiz quantum chemistry group in May 2020. His graduate research works are focused on a new generation of electron propagator self-energies for electron binding and excitation processes. Prior to Auburn, Ernest earned his B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry and M.Phil. Physical Chemistry degrees from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana under the supervision of Professor Richard Tia. He used computational chemistry techniques to study reaction mechanisms of organic, acid, and transition metal-catalyzed reactions and contributed to several publications. At the same time, he was tasked to mentor several undergraduate seniors and visiting international graduate students which led to peer-reviewed publications with many of them. Ernest has strong service interests in capacity building initiatives for historically underrepresented groups and developing countries. He is the current President of the Auburn chapter for the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). In 2019, he initiated the Nesvard Institute of Molecular Sciences which is an African-focused private nonprofit research and educational institute in Ghana. The Institute's central goal is to create a common space for Pan-Africans trained at home and abroad in the broad areas of molecular sciences to establish sustainable mentorship and collaborations to pursue and advance scientific interests of Africa.

orcid.org/0000-0002-4271-6838