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Thomas Mensah (engineer)

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Thomas O. Mensah
Thomas O. Mensah
Dr Thomas Mensah
Occupation(s)President and CEO of the Georgia Aerospace Systems
Known for7 US Patents in Fiber Optics within a 6 year interval
Awards

Thomas O. Mensah (Dr.) ( c. 1950) is a Ghanaian born chemical engineer and inventor. His works are in fields relating to the developments in Fiber Optics and Nanotechnology. He was awarded 7 USA and worldwide patents in Fiber Optics within a period of six years. In all, he has some 14 patents to his name.[1] On March 20, 2015 Thomas was inducted into the USA National Academy of Inventors at their 4th annual conference held at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.[2]

Early life

Thomas was born in Kumasi, Ghana. His father J.K. Mensah, was a business merchant who shipped cocoa products to chocolate manufacturers in France.[3]

As a child, Thomas begun learning to read newspapers and attained fluency in the French language early as he would often engage in conversations in French with his father's clients.[citation needed]

Education

After completing his undergraduate studies in Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Chemical Engineering he received a French government fellowship to study in at Montpellier University in France. Prior to that, he attended Adisadel College in Cape Coast Ghana. As a result of his fluency in French, he won the National French competition in Ghana, both at the Ordinary Levels (1968) and Advanced Levels 1970 in Accra Ghana.[4]

While at Montpellier University in France he took part in a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received a certificate in Modeling and Simulation of Chemical Processes from MIT in 1977. A year later, he graduated with a PhD.

Career

Thomas Mensah was part of the team that did the first large scale practical demonstration of Optical Fiber processing in the world and the experiment was conducted in the Laboratory at Sullivan Park Research center at Corning Glass works. The demonstration also involved three key inventors namely Dr. Bob Maurer, Dr. Don Keck and Dr. Peter Schultz. Mensah helped solve the speed of manufacturing impediment, which at the time, remained at 2 meters per second.[5]

Thomas’ works in Fibre Optics reduced the cost of producing them on a large scale, which led to the speedy spread of Fibre Optics around the world. In this regard, he received the Individual Outstanding Contributor Award Prize of $10,000 at Corning Glass works in 1985.

Some of the engineering positions he has held in US industries include: Air Products and Chemicals (from 1980–83), then Corning Glass Works, in Fiber Optics research Sullivan Park, New York (from 1983–86). It was at the Sullivan Park, New York at Corning where he built the fastest Fiber Optics draw and coating process at 50 meters per second.

He joined AT&T Bell laboratories in 1986 where he led a program to develop the first laser guided weapons for the US Department of Defense guided missile program which enabled the development of missiles that travel at the speed of sound (Mach 1). This technology developed by Thomas Mensah earned him 3 patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Thomas Mensah is President and CEO of the Georgia Aerospace Systems[6] that manufactures nano composite structures used in missiles and aircraft for the US Department of Defense.[7]

Thomas also serves on the board of a number of organizations including the AIChE National Board of Directors (1987–1990) and is a current Trustee of the Board of AIChE Foundation, and member of the board for the NASA Space Grant Consortium at Georgia Institute of Technology.[8] Mensah was elected a Fellow US National Academy of Inventors in 2014.[9]

He created a 21st-century environmentally friendly Amusement Parks; The World Success Park[10] that includes Success Park America, Success Park Europe, Success Park Japan, Success Park China and the first African American and Latino Theme Parks.[11]

Awards

Mensah is a recipient of several awards including Turner’s Trumpet Award for Fiber Optics Innovation, Percy Julian Award, Golden Torch Award; the highest award by NSBE, William Grimes Award and Eminent Engineers award by AIChE, he is also a member of the AIChE 100. In November 2015, He received the International Business Leadership Award from the African Leadership Magazine in Atlanta Georgia, USA. [12] He has been profiled in Ebony Magazine’s edition of October 2006 and Chemical Engineering Progress Magazine’s edition of October 2008, March 2009 and March 2015.[13] He served on the visiting committee in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1988–1992. He has also published three books: Fiber Optics Engineering in 1987, Superconductor Engineering in 1992 and his autobiography The Right Stuff Comes in Black Too in 2013. In the first quarter of 2015, the government of the State of Georgia in the USA reached a House Resolution 646 agreed by representatives to commend Mensah and his works.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Mensah Thomas". JRank. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  2. ^ "NAI Fellows".
  3. ^ "Thomas Mensah". Black Inventor. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Mensah Thomas". JRank. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  5. ^ "AIChE 100" (PDF). Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Georgia Aerospace Systems". Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Work for US Army". freepatentsonline. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Thomas Mensah". Official Website. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Academy of Inventors". Academy of Inventors. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Success Park, Japan".
  11. ^ "About the Author – Thomas Mensah". Right Stuff Comes in Black. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  12. ^ "African Leadership Magazine's International Business Leadership award". Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Thomas Mensah". Official Website. Retrieved 29 Nov 2015.
  14. ^ "Georgia Resolution 646, USA" (PDF). Retrieved 2 April 2015.
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