The College of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in collaboration with Texas Instruments, TI, a computer firm in the United States has developed the first microchips in sub-saharan Africa.

KNUST, The number one University in Ghana and thirteenth in Africa is the first to develop microchips in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Two microchips have been developed to serve as an instrumentation amplifier and an energy saver respectively. One would be useful in taking body signals of patients. While the other microchip could serve as an energy saver and also a device to protect electrical appliances from power fluctuations. The two microchips have been fabricated, tested and found to be working.

Professor S.I.K. Ampadu, The Provost of the College of Engineering, said the Microchips were co-produced by students of the College of Engineering, KNUST and the team from Texas Instruments with the help of Dr. Edgar Sanchez-Scnento, a top Mexican scientist in the field of microchip technology, through a partnership which started about five years ago. The two microchips were presented to the Chancellor, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the Manhyia Palace.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II thanked the TI team for helping the University to achieve such an enviable feat. He said it was his dream that KNUST would become a top University in Africa and beyond. He said KNUST had the requisite manpower and brilliant students to excel and to propel the development of Ghana. However, it lacked equipment and instruments to facilitate good teaching and learning.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said it was time to encourage young ones and to expose them to such opportunities. He congratulated the TI team for doing a good job for KNUST and Ghana as a whole. He pledged his support for the TI Team and looked forward to the commercialisation of the microchip, where KNUST would produce and sell to the rest of the world

Dr. Art George, the leader of the TI team, was thankful to the Chancellor and KNUST for the partnership and the warm reception. He pledged his outfits support to develop more talents in the College of Engineering by extending the programme to train more students. Again, he was grateful that the University offered him and his team the privilege of being the first to give a public lecture as part of the Lecture series to commemorate the University’s 60th Anniversary Celebrations.

TI and KNUST would also like to thank National Instruments for the support in getting the chips tested and the donation of their Elvis and Labviews tools.