AAS expresses condolences for the death of its founding Vice President Prof Francis Allotey

The African Academy of Sciences wishes to express its condolences to the Allotey family and the Ghanaian scientific community for the death of its founding Fellow Prof. Francis. K. A. Allotey.

Prof Allotey died on 2 November in Accra, Ghana. He was a distinguished mathematician who was among the 30 instrumental scientists to have spearheaded the creation of the AAS becoming its first Vice President. He remained a devout and active member of the Academy who was committed to its values to his death.

His wide range of accolades include national and international awards in recognition of his academic achievements, among which is the Ghana Academy of Arts and Science Prince Philip Gold medal in 1973. He was celebrated for being the first to introduce the theory of electron-hole scattering resonances effect on soft X-ray spectroscopy in metals. This effect has been observed experimentally.

He held several posts including being a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he was promoted to become the first Ghanaian Full Professor in Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematics in 1973. He also held the post of Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university. He was a Founding member of African Institute for Mathematical Sciences and became the President of the Ghana Centre until his demise

“Prof Allotey leaves behind a trail of achievements that will reverberate through current and future generations of scientists. We celebrate a life well lived and his commitment to developing science in Africa. To the Allotey family, we wish you our deepest condolences as we grieve with you,”  said AAS President Prof Felix Dakora.

He was also a Fellow of TWAS; a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS): Honorary Fellow of Institute of Physics (U.K); Founding Fellow and President, Ghana Institute of Physics; Founding Fellow and Chairman, Ghana Institute of Information Technology; President of Society of African Physicists and Mathematicians and others.