Profile: Ghana's rocket man
Awe Kludze never imagined he
would command a
Nasa spacecraft
On the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, BBC News asks
one of Africa's pioneering scientists, Dr Ave Kludze, of the US
space agency Nasa what inspired his stellar career and what he
thinks of the standard of science teaching in Africa today.
As a young boy I was always very curious.
My parents didn't like to leave me at home alone, because they knew
I would dismantle the radio.
Even at my friends' houses, I would try to take the television
apart, to find out how it worked.
But my life changed the first time I went to the airport in Accra. I
saw an aeroplane landing and taking off.
I knew then that I wanted to be pilot.
From that day, everything I read was scientific. At school, I read
science subjects.
My father wanted me to be a lawyer. But he supported my ambitions.
So I was lucky.
But then, when I was 17, I found out that I could not fulfil my
dream. I could not become a pilot.
The reason was that my brother, my father and my mother all wore
glasses. This implied that, one day, I would wear glasses too. And
indeed I do.
I was very disappointed.
Solar power
I decided to channel my energy elsewhere - into engineering.
I studied electrical engineering in the US, at Rutgers University,
New Jersey.
The Calipso satellite, developed with Dr Kludze's help, launched in
2006
My intention was to return to Ghana, so I started to focus my mind
on using solar energy to power appliances: Solar fridges, solar
fans, solar freezers - solar everything.
The sun is for free, so I believe we have to use it in Africa. We
have to work with the resources we have.
But instead of working on solar panels in Ghana, I got a job with
Nasa, developing and flying spacecraft.
I never imagined I would have the opportunity to work for Nasa. Not
with my background.
I remember watching the Challenger incident - when the shuttle
disintegrated.
I visited the "American Centre", in Ghana, where I watched the
tragedy on the news. Afterwards I wrote to Nasa and they replied to
me.
They sent me pictures and documents on some of their spacecraft and
I put them on my wall.
I still have these pictures today.
Now many years later, I have worked at Nasa headquarters, in
Washington, as a requirements manager. I help Nasa to take strategic
decisions.
President [George] Bush outlined his vision that Nasa would go back
to the Moon by 2020, so the agency is working towards that.
I am working on the communication systems the astronauts will use on
the Moon, and on Mars.
They will send back pictures live. I have to make sure we don't
leave out any requirements. Things have moved on a long way from
Apollo.
I have flown several spacecraft - including the Calipso satellite.
But I was not in orbit - I flew them from the ground, using robotic
controls at the Nasa control centre.
African mission
People ask me: What has Nasa done for Africans?
But many of them have cell phones - which were developed with Nasa
technology.
The cars they drive and the glasses they wear - all of these have
benefited from Nasa technology. It trickles down to the ordinary
man.
Nasa is not only concerned with space. We develop technologies for
aeroplanes.
And our way of developing systems applies to all kinds of
engineering projects.
If you had a water project, for agriculture, Nasa technology could
make your project more efficient.
I think the younger generation in Ghana today have more
opportunities than I did to become scientists.
I first saw a computer in the USA. Today, the younger generation
have access to the internet - they can get any information they
want.
The education I received in Ghana was very sound - it served me
remarkably well at Rutgers.
But where African schools have a problem, is that they focus heavily
on theory, whereas [universities] focus on the practical - solving
real world problems.
If we can bring that practical element into African schools, then we
have a lot of brilliant young minds who will benefit.
When I was growing up it was difficult for science drop-outs and
those students who were unable to further their education.
There were few avenues for them to become useful members of society
using their acquired scientific knowledge. They ended up doing other
jobs.
Young Einsteins
But times have changed. In Ghana, I understand they are encouraging
pupils to pursue science.
But the question is: After you graduate, do you have the necessary
resources to go further?
When I grew up in Ghana, we ploughed the fields using cattle and
hoes.
The last time I went home, we were still using them. So where are
our engineers?
We need the governments to invest in technology. Then the
educational institutes can follow.
When I grew up, my scientific role models were not Africans.
I admired people like Albert Einstein. I was amazed that he could be
on our planet and yet he could tell us about different planets.
But today I know many successful African scientists. People like my
friend Dr Ohene Frempong, of the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania
(CHOP). He works on sickle cell anaemia.
There are others who have done very well.
What are my remaining ambitions?
Well, I don't plan to go into space. I will leave that to the
younger generation.
I will continue contributing to President Bush's vision - to go to
the Moon, to Mars, and beyond.
Source:BBC
Dr
Kludze has "flown"
Calipso from a Nasa
control centre
The Calipso satellite, developed with
Dr Kludze's
help, launched in 2006
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