Africa’s most accomplished scientist, Prof Allotey goes home at last

The mortal remains of the late Prof Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey, a renowned Ghanaian scientist was laid to rest on Saturday after burial service at the Roman Catholic Church at Saltpond in the Central Region.

The late Professor Allotey died on Thursday, November 2, 2017, at age 85 year. Ghanaians and foreigners from all walks of life, especially from the world of Sciences converged at the St. John the Baptist Catholic School Park in Saltpond to pay their last respects to the astute academician.

Family members, politicians, Traditional rulers, the academia, friends, loved ones, sympathisers and the clergy, clad in red and black as early as 0700 hours filed past the body that laid in an open casket mounted on a platform in the church.

The church service, officiated by the Archbishop of the Cape Coast Diocese of the Catholic Church, Most Reverend Mathias Kobina Nketiah was interspersed with brass band music and Catholic hymns from the choir.

In a tribute, Professor Neil Turok, Founder of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) described him as a genius and brilliant scientist who achieved greatness through simplicity.

“Francis was a top class scientist. He loved to admire nature. He was a simple man who came to serve his country and the World” he noted adding that the late Professor served Ghana and the World well and deserved to be saluted.

He said his significant contribution to academia in Ghana, Africa and the World was outstanding and Africa must keep hold of his core strengths and values, adding that, it was something that Prof Allotey represented and upheld throughout his academic life.

This way, he said Africa would be playing a key role in the World of science and technology.

There were tributes from the Ghana Academy of Arts and Science (GAAS), the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KUNST) where he served under various capacities.

The tributes alluded that he was not only a great academics but was also endowed with significant leadership qualities.

“He was committed to his work and believed that development should be done through science and technology and as such sacrificed himself to ensure that the youth received training in science and technology”.

The Nkusukum Traditional Council also described Prof Allotey as someone who had the development of his town at heart and always championed its development even at his own expense.

Family members, children, grandchildren, members from the academia especially in the World of sciences, church members, friends and loved ones all took turns to pay tribute at the burial service.

Prof Allotey, Ghana’s most accomplished scientist was born on 9th August 1932, at Saltpond.

He became a world authority and an instant fame with his work on Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy, which established the principle widely known as the "Allotey Formularism" for which he received the Prince Philip Gold Medal Award in 1973. From 1997-89, Prof Allotey was the King-Chavez-Park's Visiting Professor of Physics at Michigan State University in the USA.

For Africa, he was the President of AIMS and also a member of the Executive Secretariat Responsible for Sensitising African Leaders on Modern Technology for development.

Prof Allotey, who was a founding fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, in 1974, became the first Ghanaian full professor of Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

He was also the President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of a number of international scientific organisations including the International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics (ICTP) Scientific Council.

He was the Chairman of Board of Trustees of the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), and a former Board Chairman of both the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and also did a lot of work for the United Nations Education and Scientific Commission and many international bodies.

As the Founder and First Director of the KNUST Computer Centre, he was the first to introduce computer education into Ghana. The Faculty Board between 1971 and 1980 elected him four times as the Dean of the Faculty of Science.

During this same period, he was elected five times as a Representative of the Academic Staff and was ultimately appointed as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University in 1978.