Kwabena Sarpong

Kwabena’s love for a career in science and research developed while growing up in New Tafo, a town in Ghana’s eastern region best known for its Cocoa Research Institute. Kwabena (who also goes by Kobby) obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2013. After his undergraduate studies, Kwabena worked as a trainee engineer intern offshore at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. Kwabena joined the New Mexico State University in 2015 to pursue a Master’s degree in Water Science and Management, working as a research assistant at the New Mexico Water Resource Research Institute on the “The Regulatory Framework Surrounding Produced Water In New Mexico and Impacts on Potential Use”. He also worked on a Bureau of Reclamation-funded project “Halophyte Biochar for Water Desalination Brine Concentrate Management,” whose findings are published in “Sarpong, K. A., Amiri, A., Ellis, S., Idowu, O. J., & Brewer, C. E. (2019). Short-term leachability of salts from Atriplex-derived biochars. Science of The Total Environment.” Kwabena got a second Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering afterwards, working on the project “Biochars from Pallet Woody Biomass Residues for Improved Poplar Production.” Kwabena starts his PhD in Soil Science in Spring 2020 under the supervision of Dr. Deirdre Griffin LaHue. His research will focus on conducting soil health surveys of major specialty crops in the state of Washington.

Kwabena is also particularly interested in applying machine learning to address problems in agriculture. Kwabena’s hobbies include playing golf, Ping-Pong, guitar and traveling.

Advisor: Dr. Deirdre Griffin-LaHue