Chemistry Professor Shares Nanotechnology Expertise with Ghanaian Students, Faculty

A SUNY Plattsburgh faculty member and expert in nanotechnology integrated his research into a Ghanese university forensic science program as part of a competitive Carnegie fellowship this summer.

Dr. Rajesh Sunasee, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, spent an intensive three weeks at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana this summer as part of the highly competitive Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program. The fellowship is a program where African institutions such as Cape Coast host African-born scholars to work on projects in collaboration with the faculty of host institutions — a diaspora, or dispersion, of, in this case, educators.

While there, Sunasee, a native of the African island of Mauritius, worked closely with the Department of Forensic Science to design a new course for them, “Nanotechnology for Forensic Science.” As part of his tenure there, he attended an in-depth applied-learning exercise where faculty created a fictional crime, setting up a mock crime scene complete with fake blood and other evidence, allowing students insight into how forensic scientists collect and analyze samples.

TV and Real Life

“I had seen this (sort) of thing on TV, but they were actually doing it with students,” Sunasee said. “Usually, they have very small amounts of blood (at a crime scene), for example, so nanotechnology can help” with analysis.

“I’m happy I was able to contribute to at least one of the courses in the (forensics) master’s/Ph.D. program” he said. With no language barrier since classes are taught in English, Sunasee was able to give lectures on nanotechnology, saying how he could tell he sparked the interest of his audience.

“I could see the immediate impact of sharing nanotechnology with them.”

International Research Collaboration

Another part of the fellowship involves collaborative research. Dr. Christian Adokoh, professor and head of the forensic science department at Cape Coast and fellow awardee of the Diaspora Fellowship, shipped research samples to Sunasee’s Hudson Hall annex lab for analysis using equipment the Ghanian university doesn’t possess.

“This will be a good start to research collaboration with them,” he said, adding that he would analyze the samples in Plattsburgh, and he and Adokoh would work together remotely. To make it truly collaborative, SUNY Plattsburgh student research assistants will also be a part of this international cooperative effort, Sunasee said, with possible publication in scholarly journals.

While in Ghana, a country he called “safe” and people “very welcoming,” Sunasee said he had been impressed with the class attendance level and by students’ enthusiasm for their studies.

Mentoring Ghanian Students

“The students are very concerned about their education,” he said. “They take their studies very seriously here; they work very hard.”

The experience also allowed Sunasee the opportunity to discuss graduate education in the United States and Canada to those interested in pursuing advanced degrees abroad. Sunasee arranged one-on-one meetings with interested students so he can continue the conversation and mentor them via Zoom.

“I already met with a student who wants to come to do her Ph.D. in the United States,” he said. “I’m guiding her on which universities to apply to.”

Grant-writing Workshop

A panelist who reviews grant applications for the National Science Foundation, Sunasee lent his expertise to teaching a research-grant-writing workshop for University of Cape Coast faculty as part of the fellowship. In much of Africa, competition for research grants is exceptionally stiff since many governments don’t prioritize funding for scientific research as much as the U.S., Canadian and European governments do, Sunasee said.

Many African politicians are focused on funding basic infrastructure projects, and “they don’t always see the impact of research,” he said. The grant-writing workshop allowed faculty to finally “see what makes successful grant writing, and their feedback was very positive.”

Weekend Trips, Local Cuisine

It wasn’t all nanotechnology and lectures. On the weekends, Francis Tambo, assistant lecture of forensics at the university, took Sunasee to explore some of Ghana’s United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Sites, including two castles used to detain captured Africans during the time of the Atlantic slave trade.

“It was educational but also emotional to go on those visits and to see how those slaves were treated at that time and where they were kept,” he said.

Since Sunasee is a vegetarian, he couldn’t eat the local meat-centric cuisine but said he did enjoy fried rice and ate a lot of plantain.

He also enjoyed the prevalence of coconuts.

“On the street everywhere you (would) go, you would see people selling coconuts,” he said. “I drank a coconut every day. The coconut water was very good.”

Touching Farewell

At the end of his three-week stint, the Cape Coast faculty surprised him with a farewell party, presenting him with a plaque featuring his name and photo, honoring him for his work there. It was a touching moment.

“I was not expecting anything in return,” he said. Thanks to the knowledge he gained during his experience in Ghana, Sunasee said he returned with insight that will present opportunities to collaborate with SUNY Plattsburgh faculty in different disciplines.

“Chemistry is highly involved in forensic science. Something like that could be highly practical to the criminal justice department here on campus,” he said.

Sunasee also hopes it’s feasible to establish a standing partnership between the two universities sometime in the future to make student exchanges easier. And since the Carnegie Africa Diaspora Fellowship allows participants to return a second time, Sunasee hopes to devise another proposal and re-apply.

“Being able to share our knowledge with the students and faculty and being able to contribute to the departmental growth there, it’s pretty rewarding to be a part of that,” he said.

— By Assistant Director of Communications Felicia Krieg with Photos Provided