Ghana opens photonics and optics laboratory at KNUST — MyJoyOnline
Ghana has opened the Ghana Photonics and Optics Laboratory (GPOL) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The laboratory will operate under the university's Department of Physics and will become the first specialized optics and photonics laboratory at KNUST and the second such laboratory in the country, MyJoyOnline reports.
Equipment for research and education
GPOL is equipped with teaching and measurement kits, research instruments, community-built equipment, and basic laboratory tools. The article notes that the instruments can be used to analyze the composition of medicinal tablets, detect parasites in a drop of blood, and study water and soil. Optical technologies are also used to transmit telephone calls through fiber-optic lines.
The laboratory was established following research work by Dr. Akyana Britwum and Dr. Michael Kweku Edem Donkor. Initial funding was provided by the International Society for Optics and Photonics, SPIE. GPOL aims to advance research in photonics and optics and train a new generation of scientists and innovators.
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Cooperation with other sciences
Philip Antwi-Agyei, provost of KNUST's College of Science, said that the laboratory should help the country independently conduct important measurements and obtain answers to its own research questions. He also noted cooperation among specialists in chemistry, biology, medicine, food science, and engineering.
KNUST Vice-Chancellor David Asamoah stressed that decisions in security and trade rely on measurements, while for a long time instruments and conclusions came from outside the country. He urged state regulatory bodies that use optical measurements to take advantage of the new center's capabilities.
The opening of GPOL was the central event of the NYANSAPƆ Photonics School on Health and Safety. The school is attended by 38 students from six African countries, while classes and lectures are delivered by 17 invited instructors from Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Côte d'Ivoire, and Togo.
