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Advance academic degrees do not necessarily make a scholar. The level of creative output, within and outside the academic environment coupled with humility, sincerity, hard work and the ability to learn and impact positive change to society is the measure of academic success.
Dr. Abdul-Rauf Ibrahim is a distinguished Chinese Government scholar (2011-2013) and a Senior Lecturer (PhD) with the Mechanical Engineering Department in Tamale Technical University (TaTU). He is a resourceful and experienced multidisciplinary engineer with sound understanding of engineering and environmental problems with practical implications. His current specialty is in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering focusing on Industrial Catalysis using Supercritical Fluid Technology.
Dr. Rauf, as he is affectionately called was born in Tamale to Alhaji Yibram Bla-a native of Gbulun in the Kumbungu District and Mma Maata- a native of Bogu Kurugu in the Sagnarigu District. He started his early ‘education’ at ‘Idaa Diya’, a sort of ‘nursery’ for the Anbariya Islamic Institute in Tamale located at Afa Ajura’s house and graduated to the Anbariya Islamic Institute’s main campus in Tamale. His ‘education’ at Anbariya was terminated when he was sent to Gbulun, his father’s village. At the village, he was forced into formal education at Gbulun local authority (LA) primary in class five to begin the journey of his formal education. He returned to Tamale and was sent to Sakasaka primary five, Block C where he completed his primary education. He proceeded to Kalpohin Junior Secondary School (now, Kalpohin Senior High Secondary School) and graduated in (1988-1989) and attended Tamale Senior Secondary School (Tamasco) from 1990-1993 where he offered General Science. He began his tertiary education at the Tamale Polytechnic (1995-1998) and was trained as a Production Mechanical Engineer with a Higher National Diploma (HND).
Dr. Rauf’s work experience after his national service spans several areas and years. He did his National Service at Bagabaga Demonstration Junior Secondary School in 1999 teaching Mathematics and General Science. He was engaged by Buchwalter Memorial Competence Centre (BUMCO), an NGO based in Yendi-Ghana (2000 – 2002) to train young girls in shea oil extraction and soap making. He was also engaged by OLAM Ghana Limited (2000) as a Laboratory Technician based in Tamale to advice the project manager and unit managers on the pattern of shea nut purchase based on the oil and moisture content. He was later transferred to New Juaben-Ghana to head the she nut oil factory there. In 2002, he was employed by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) as Medical Equipment Manager and posted to the Upper East Regional Health Directorate, Bolgatanga-Ghana. While with GHS, he was trained as Solar Technician, Designer and Installer by DENG PV in Accra-Ghana (2006) and was later sponsored by JICA to be trained as Basic Medical Equipment Maintenance Technician by Medisun Limited in Koriyama-Japan (2006).
In 2008, he gained scholarship to study Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering focusing on Supercritical Fluid Extraction Technology at Xiamen University in China and graduated in 2010. During his Master study, he designed an efficient, simple and green research protocol for extracting and purifying Pyrethrins from Chrysanthemum. The procedure was approved and adopted by Yunnan Juxian Natural Plant Products Co. Limited in China. It was also during this time that he was introduced to academic publishing where he had his first co-published article. He then secured Xiamen University scholarship to study Doctoral Degree (PhD) in Chemical Engineering focusing on Industrial Catalysis using Supercritical Fluid Synthesis Technology (2010–2013). During this time, he had some awards for his performance some of which include Chinese Government distinguished student’s scholarship (2011-2013), First prize international student award (2011), and Sa Da (Innovative) first prize award, (2012). In 2015, he was engaged as Assistant Professor for a joint Post-Doctoral Research position by Xiamen University and Gondong Longhu Science and Technology Company Limited in China. He successfully designed and produced high performance silica for application as a solid anti-foaming agent for the Company.
In 2016, Dr. Rauf was offered an academic position in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Tamale Technical University where he taught many courses and supervised many student project works. He later became the Head of Mechanical Engineering Department (2018) where he supervised the establishment of a two-year BTech programme in Mechanical Engineering. This programme has become the first BTech programme in the department attracting best students from all over Ghana. He also supervised the writing of a proposal for four-year BTech programme in Mechanical Engineering (2020).
Dr. Rauf also served as the first Director of the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research (IAER) where he was tasked to propose the functions, vision, mission, structure and research areas of the institute. The proposal was approved and served as the bed rock of the institute. During this time, he was the chairman of a two-member committee which wrote the proposal for four-year BTech programme in Chemical Engineering (2020).
Dr. Rauf has also taught and supervised doctoral, masters and undergraduate students in his area of expertise. In fact, his contribution to the advancement of knowledge is well documented; for instance, he developed an Ionic Liquid assisted Solid-Gas Carbonation protocol for producing nanometric Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and showed for the first time that complete (100%) conversion of raw the material (Ca(OH)2) was possible in five (5) minutes for the industrially preferred but usually incomplete (30%) solid-gas carbonation (SGC) system and obtained a patent for same. He also conceived a protocol for publication in an Ionic Liquid-based Materials (ILMAT 2013) special issue that demonstrates that ionic liquids (ILs) could be used to enhance the solubility of CO2 in a Solid-Liquid-Gas (SLG) carbonation of Ca(OH)2 slurries with clear implications for large scale use. His article was among the selected papers of the special issue and was cited in its editorial. It became one of the most accessed articles according to International Journal of Molecular Sciences, publisher of the special issue. Furthermore, he designed for the first time, CO2-Expanded Carbonation (CEC) technique for direct synthesis of mesoporous and high surface area alumina nanoparticles without templates. The the alumina powder was used to catalytically convert cyclohexanone to ε-caprolactone without the usual hydrolysis of ε-caprolactone to ε-hydroxyhexanoic acid. The technique (CEC) was also was used to synthesize CaCO3 and for the first time, instantaneous (within one minute) complete (100%) carbonation with chameleonic phase transformations was observed. He obtained a patent for producing the high surface area alumina nanoparticles. Dr. Rauf also proposed a cheaper but efficient method for producing rod-like Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with high surface area and pore volume from waste eggshells and obtained patent for same. He also showed that the rod-like hydroxyapatite nanoparticles could be used to effectively adsorb lead (Pb3+) as a heavy metal from waste water and enhance the dissolution as well as control release of Ibuprofen as popular pain killer drug.
Dr. Rauf is a member in good standing of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) as well as Global Talent Mentor in Engineering.
Dr. Rauf’s research interests fall under the general syntheses and characterization of nanostructured and porous materials and the application of these materials in catalysis, as bioceramics, in heavy metal recovery and in drug delivery systems. Currently, he is interested in the use of local resources (wastes and plants) for product development and developing solutions for societal and engineering problems using indigenous technology. For instance, his research group is exploring the use of a local plant to enhance or limit the use of cement in the Tamale Metropolis. The use of cement is a big issue in terms of building in Ghana. This research could limit the over reliance on cement for building purposes. Similarly, his group is exploring ways of tuning the hydrophobicity of a local plant to enhance building purposes. Damping of walls is a major issue in this part of Ghana and a plant with hydrophobic properties could solve this issue. It could also be used in the paint industry as well as the ceramics and art industries. His research group has currently validated that there are iron fillings (Fe) in locally milled flour in the Tamale Metropolis but practical research using popular domestic and commercial food delicacies reveled that not all the Fe found in the flour end up in the digestive system as claimed by earlier researchers. His group has thus conceived a solution to the presence of the Fe in corn flour using a cheaper procedure. The solution is at the design stage and his group intends to apply for a patent to that effect.
Dr. Rauf has over 30 peer-reviewed academic research and review articles in high impact (top tier) international journals with a highest Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 6.4 and a lowest JIF of 3.0. He has total Google citations of 772 since 2010 with 547 since 2016 as of 23rd October, 2021, and 8 refereed conference publications with 4 patents. He has a total of 14 h-index publications and total of 15 i10-index publications. As a result of this, Dr. Rauf was recently (2021) ranked 14th best Scientist in Ghana and the best (1st) Scientist in Tamale Technical University (TaTU) under the Engineering & Technology subject area by the AD Scientific Index. Due to his feat, Tamale Technical University was also ranked 14th best University in Ghana.
Dr. Rauf’s academic publications are not limited to only research works; he has a publication on the controversial issue of the advance of China in Africa with an online news journal (Pambazuka) and another publication on the atrocities in the Central African Republic (CAR) with the same journal. Dr. Rauf is also a reviewer to a number of international academic journals (eg. Elsevier’s Materials Today Communications Journal) and reviewer as well as Editorial Board Member to many international conferences.
Dr. Rauf has also published a book: Practical Guide to Proposal, Thesis and Academic Paper Writing in 2020 and another book: The Student Companion: Mental Conditioning for Advance Learning and Examination Passing Strategies is at the press.
Dr. Rauf loves to read (especially the Qur’an and Hadiths) and conduct simple research activities. He married with four lovely children.
Publications
Semantic scholar = https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Abdul-RaufIbrahim/122507659?
Google scholar = https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bOIHdwQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Research gate = https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abdul-Rauf-Ibrahim
Orchid = https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-5923-271X
Scopus = https://www.scopus.com/results/authorNamesList.uri?sort=count
Academia = https://independent.academia.edu/AbdulRaufIbrahim1?from_navbar=true