Akua Asa-Awuku Named Clark School Associate Dean for Diversity and Equity

Akua Asa-Awuku Named Clark School Associate Dean for Diversity and Equity

Akua Asa-Awuku Named Clark School Associate Dean for Diversity and Equity


Akua Asa-Awuku – a professor in the University of Maryland (UMD) Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE) and associate chair for the department’s strategic initiatives – has been appointed the A. James Clark School of Engineering Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion by Dean Samuel Graham, Jr.

“For all members of the Clark School, I want to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion as foundational characteristics of our program,” said Graham. “It will impact who we are as a school, ensure that we create the environment where we can all thrive, and enhance the impact of our work from education to research. I am excited Professor Asa-Awuku will join the Clark School’s leadership team and help towards this goal.”

Asa-Awuku is the president of the American Associate for Aerosol Research (AAAR) and has been honored by the Audubon Naturalist Society – alongside her UMD Colleagues Profs. Candice Duncan and Ebony Terrell Shockley – for working to diversify the geosciences, a field where just five percent of the degree holders are women of color. The trio established the PEARLS (Providing Educational Access to Research & Learning in geoscienceS) program: an NSF-funded initiative that aims to recruit students from non-traditional backgrounds.

Asa-Awuku received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008; her M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2006, and her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2003. Her primary research interest is understanding and predicting aerosol sources and interactions with water, although her research also explores the water-uptake of complex particles as it pertains to aerosol hygroscopicity, cloud condensation nuclei activation and droplet growth. A recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award and EPA-STAR Grants, she has also served as a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies and Chemical Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University in 2008.

“I am honored and excited by this appointment,” said Asa-Awuku. “I look forward to contributing to the mission of the Clark School to increase diversity, champion equity, and to encourage an atmosphere of compassion, tolerance and dignity.” 

Asa-Awuku’s appointment is effective immediately.

Related Articles:
Making Engineering Make 'Cents' to Teens
New Microsoft/Maryland Robotics Center partnership to enhance diversity and innovation
BIOE Undergrad Launches Black STEMpowerment
Transportation and Equity: Connecting the Dots
No Easy Way Home
Stroka Takes New Look at Cell Migration
Maisel to Investigate Little-Known Organ in the Body
Niemeier Elected to American Philosophical Society
Carol Espy-Wilson Receives Campus Woman of Influence Award
Today’s Trailblazers to be Honored as 2021 Taking Nature Black Environmental Champions

April 14, 2022


Prev   Next

Current Headlines

Two BIOE Students Receive MPower Graduate Fellowships

Three UMD Students Receive SAMPE Leadership Awards

International Energy Cooperation Center Established at University of Maryland

Maryland Researchers Awarded $1.5 Million to Pioneer Batteries for Electric Rail and Maritime Transportation

Researcher’s Pacific Dive Spurred Innovations in Robotics with Machine Intelligence to Create Biodegradable Plastic Substitutes

UMD Professor and Alum Among 2024 VFS Awardees

Agents of Positive Change: Highlighting Women Maryland Engineers

Celebrating Women in Aerospace Engineering: Christine Hartzell

News Resources

Return to Newsroom

Search News

Archived News

Events Resources

Events Calendar