Daniel Kwabena Bediako

Daniel Kwabena Dakwa Bediako is a Ghanaian-British chemist. He is currently an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the Cupola Era Professor in the college of chemistry. His research considers charge transport and interfacial charge transfer in two-dimensional materials and heterostructures. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). Kwabena is currently under investigation for sexual harassment.

Early life and education Bediako was born in Accra, Ghana in 1986 to Kwame Bediako, a Ghanaian, and Gillian Mary Bediako, British. He grew up in Akropong, Ghana, but also spent portions of his childhood in Edinburgh. At Calvin University, Bediako did research with Douglas Vander Griend, an inorganic chemistry professor, and became interested in inorganic coordination chemistry. At MIT, he also worked on devices that use electricity from photovoltaic cells to generate hydrogen than can be used in fuel cells, and was part of the team who developed the components of the artificial leaf; a device which makes use of bacteria to convert solar energy into a liquid fuel. When Nocera moved to Harvard University, Bediako moved with him, and completed his doctoral research on the catalytic behavior of structurally disordered first row transition metal oxides.

Research and career After completing his doctorate, Bediako remained at Harvard University as a postdoctoral research fellow in Philip Kim's group. Here he looked at quantum transport through two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures. Here he focused on isolating ultra-thin layers of materials and precisely positioning them into a super-structure. By stacking materials in such a way, and embedding lithium ions between the individual layers, Bediako showed that it was possible to engineer higher electrochemical capacities. a United States Air Force Young Investigator Award and a United States Department of Energy Early Career Award. He received the CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar award in 2020.

Select publications

Personal life Bediako is a fan of Manchester United F.C.