Profile
Dr Nelson Y. Dzade
Principal Investigator
“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men and women, living and dead and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving”. -- Albert Einstein
ABOUT
Nelson Y. Dzade is a passionate educator and an interdisciplinary research scientist. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University and also holds affiliate positions with Penn State EMS Energy Institute (EI); Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE); Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) and the Alliance for Education, Science, Engineering and Design with Africa (AESEDA). Prior to joining Penn State, Dr Dzade was the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Innovation Research Fellow and Independent Group Leader at the School of Chemistry, Cardiff University. Before that, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University (The Netherlands). Curriculum vitae
EDUCATION
2010−2014: PhD Computational Materials Science, University College London (UCL), England, UK.
2009−2010: PgDiploma Materials Science, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, India.
2008−2009: MSc Materials Science, African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, Nigeria.
2003−2007: BSc Mathematical Science (Statistics option), First Class Honours, University for Developments Studies (UDS), Tamale, Ghana.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr Dzade leads the Materials and Minerals Theory (MMT) Group, which sits on the interface of Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, Materials & Minerals Science and Engineering. The MMT Group specializes in the development and application of advanced theoretical methods to unravel structure-property-performance relationships in solid-state materials. Often taking place in close collaboration with experiments, Dr Dzade’s current research emphasizes the development of ab initio methods and harnessing the predictive capacity of first-principles calculations to gain a detailed understanding of the fundamental science needed to rationally design and engineer novel functional materials with unparalleled performance in several renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaics, heterogeneous catalysis, high-capacity batteries, and mineral processing and separation. The four main strands of research in the MMT Group are (i) the rational design of active and robust catalysts for green hydrogen production and carbon dioxide conversion to chemicals and fuels, (ii) unraveling the complex interfacial phenomena and charge carrier and mobile ion dynamic processes in solar cells and optoelectronic devices, (iii) the development of earth-abundant cathode materials for superior rechargeable battery chemistries capable of higher charge capacities and specific energy densities, and (iv) providing atomic-level insights into environmentally relevant reactions and geochemical processes occurring at mineral surfaces/interfaces, including crystal growth, adsorption reactions, mineral extraction, and mineral dissolution.
ADVOCACY, OUTREACH, AND PASSION
Dr Dzade is a strong advocate for the advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Africa. He is particularly passionate about strengthening research and training capacity in sub-Saharan African Institutions of Higher Education. He has been involved in several collaborative research and training initiatives across Universities in Africa, including the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, the University of Botswana (UB), the University of Namibia (UNAM), the University of Limpopo, South Africa, and the African University of Science and Technology, Nigeria, where he currently serves also as a Visiting Professor. Dr Dzade actively mentors, inspires, and encourages young people (especially underrepresented minorities) to be lifelong learners (i.e., to always have a growth mindset and an innate curiosity about the world, where they constantly push themselves to acquire new skills and capabilities and discover more by way of new challenges, ideas, and experiences). He has also launched the Africa Network of Computational Materials Scholars (AFRINETCOMS) platform, bringing together computational materials scholars across Africa and the world at large with the goal of building capacity, knowledge sharing, training and support, coaching, and mentoring. He is also a strong advocate for gender, ethnic, and social diversity in the sciences, as well as for policies that invest in renewable energy, championing green efficient manufacturing (circular economy), and upholding strong environmental protections.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE & POSITIONS
August 2021-date: Assistant Professor (Tenure track), Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
2018-2021: EPSRC Innovation Research Fellow and Independent Research Group Leader, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University.
2020-date: Assessor (External Based Abroad), University of Limpopo, South Africa.
2020-date: Assessor (External Based Abroad), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville South Africa.
2020-date: Assessor (External Based Abroad), University of Namibia.
2018-date: Assessor (External Based Abroad), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
2020-date: Assessor (External Based Abroad), Savitribai Phule Pune University, India.
2018-date: Visiting Assistant Professor, African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, Nigeria
2015–2020: Supervisor/Trainer in the Africa Research Consortium in New materials for a sustainable energy future funded by the UK Department of International Development, to strengthen research and training capacity in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana, and Universities of Namibia and Botswana.
Feb-Jun 2018: Research Associate in Computational Materials Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University. Project “Computer-aided design of multi-phase sulfide materials for solar energy generation”.
2014–2017: Postdoctoral Researcher, Utrecht University, Funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Project title: “Computer-aided design of iron-sulfide nanocatalysts for the solar-driven conversion of CO2 to fuels”.
2012–2016: Visiting Research Fellow, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology via the UCL-KNUST Leverhulme-Royal Society Africa Award initiative program on “Computational design of materials for energy efficiency”.
2012–2013: Research Assistant, British Petroleum (BP), Pangbourne technology center, Project: “Computer simulations of the effect of fuel additives on metal oxide surfaces, an important problem in chemical fouling of fuel pipeline in car engines”.
2007−2008:Teaching Assistant, Department of Mathematics, University for Development Studies, Ghana.
HONORS & AWARDS
2018-2021: EPSRC Innovation Research Fellowship Award, Cardiff University, UK
2020-date: DUO-India Professor Fellowship Award, Cardiff University, UK
2010−2014: Overseas Research Scholarship, University College London, UK.
2010−2014: UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences Studentship, UK.
2012−2013: British Petroleum (BP) research studentship, University College London, UK.
2008−2009: World Bank Scholarship, African University of Science and Technology, Nigeria.
2009−2010: Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India scholarship, International Centre for Material Science (ICMS), Bangalore, India.
2006–2007: Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Scholarship for brilliant students, University for Development Studies, Ghana.
Dec. 19, 2009, Gold Medalist, Best graduating MSc. Materials Science student, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria.
Dec. 15, 2007, Overall best-graduating student and valedictorian of the 2006/2007 academic year, University for Developments Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSIPS
Research Committee Member, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University
Postgraduate Research (PGR) Progress Monitoring Committee Member
EPSRC Full College Membership (Reviews EPSRC-UKRI research grant applications)
SUPERGEN SUPERSOLAR, The network for solar research in the UK
Materials Research Society (MRS)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
European Association of Geochemistry (EAG)
SCIENTIFIC REVIEWING ACTIVITIES
Currently a reviewer for the following scientific journals: ACS Energy Letters; Journal Applied Surface Science; ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces; Physical Chemistry C; Catalysts (MDPI); RSC Environmental Science: Nano; RCS Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics; CO2 Utilization; Surface and Coatings Technology; Computational Material Science; Molecular Catalysis; Journal of Chemical Physics; Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids and Journal of Applied Physics; RSC Advances; Chemical Physics Letters; Advanced Functional Materials; ChemSusChem; RSC Catalysis Science & Technology, Physical Review B; Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling.
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
EME 301: Thermodynamics in Energy and Mineral Engineering
EGEE 437: Design of Solar Energy Conversion Systems
EME 597: Molecular Modelling of Materials and Minerals
