Renowned Scientist and Mathematician Professor Francis Allotey dies aged 85

Ghana’s foremost scientist and mathematician has died aged 85, it has been confirmed.

A family member, who confirmed his death on Accra-based Peace FM’s morning show “Kokrokoo” on Friday, said he died in Germany, Europe.

Prof Allotey is said to have shown no signs of illness before he passed away on Thursday night.

In June this year, he was inducted as Fellow of the Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS).
The award was in recognition of his outstanding contributions towards the advancement of mathematics, science and technology in Africa and across the globe.

Prof Allotey was educated at the Roman Catholic Elementary School, Saltpond; the Ghana National College, Cape Coast; the Tutorial College, London; Borough Polytechnic (now University of South Bank), London; Imperial College of Science and Technology, London and Princeton University in the United States.

He was appointed lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and rose through the ranks to become the first Ghanaian Full Professor in Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematics in 1973.

While at the KNUST, he held a number of positions such as Dean of the Faculty of Science, Founding Director of the Computer Science Centre in Ghana, Pro-Vice Chancellor and member of the KNUST University Council.

Prof Allotey has also held several other local and international appointments such as being appointed by the UN Secretary-General to be among a group of 12 international experts commissioned to advise the UN on Nuclear Weapon.

He was the first to introduce computer education to Ghana.
He is known for the “Allotey Formalism” which arose from his work on soft X-ray spectroscopy. He subsequently received the Prince Philip Gold Medal Award in 1973 out of the “Allotey Formalism” principle.

In 1974, the founding fellow of the African Academy of Sciences became the first Ghanaian full professor of mathematics and head of the Department of Mathematics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.