Ivy Mawusi Asuo is a scientist with years of research experience in materials science, photovoltaics, energy and scientific project management. She worked as a scientific researcher and lead Materials Scientist in quite a few companies and research institutes such as INRS-EMT, Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies-GmbH, LOWDO-AMP, and Grenoble Institute of Technology. Specifically, her work at AMP has led to establishing a local fabrication laboratory for urban mining of electronic waste in Ghana, where she also composed manuals for plastic recycling and dismantling of electrical & electronic appliances. She is engaged in mentorship and positive influence through a co-founded platform, DAMINY EduNergy Ltd, focusing on leadership, education, science, and research. The objective is to model future minds and young scholars of her mother continent.
Prior to joining MatSE at Pennsylvania State University, Ivy worked with a team of scientist in a spin-off start-up from her PhD research, WattByWatt Inc. Canada, and developed materials for energy saving and conversion for outdoor and indoor device applications. She obtained a PhD in Energy and Materials Science from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS-EMT), Canada.
Recent Activities Her research focuses on ambient synthesis of energy materials, mainly metal halide perovskites for photovoltaic and optoelectronic device applications. The main interests are on the:
- electron microscopic and photo-physical studies of organic-inorganic halide perovskite materials, their relation to device performance (efficiency and stability).
- In-situ characterization tools to probe film formation and stability of thin films and devices.
- Exploring deposition techniques for large-scale manufacturability of OPV and perovskites solar cells.
- Asuo, I. M.; Bouzidi, S.; Ka, I.; Rosei, F.; Pignolet, A.; Nechache, R.; Cloutier, S. G. All-Ambient-Processed CuSCN as an Inexpensive Alternative to Spiro-OMeTAD for Perovskite-Based Devices. Energy Technol. 2021, 9 (1). https://doi.org/10.1002/ente.202000791.
- Asuo, I. M.; Gedamu, D.; Doumon, N. Y.; Ka, I.; Pignolet, A.; Cloutier, S. G.; Nechache, R. Ambient Condition-Processing Strategy for Improved Air-Stability and Efficiency in Mixed-Cation Perovskite Solar Cells. Mater. Adv. 2020, 1 (6), 1866–1876. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ma00528b.
- Asuo, I. M.; Fourmont, P.; Ka, I.; Gedamu, D.; Bouzidi, S.; Pignolet, A.; Nechache, R.; Cloutier, S. G. Highly Efficient and Ultrasensitive Large-Area Flexible Photodetector Based on Perovskite Nanowires. Small 2019, 15 (1), 1804150. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201804150.
- Asuo I.M., D.M. Gedamu, I. Ka, S.G. Cloutier, R. Nechache, A. Pignolet, Doped mixed cation perovskite materials and devices exploiting same, WO/2020/248063, 2020. International Application No.PCT /CA2020/050809. Patent
- INRS-Quebec Director's Medal of Honor Award, 2022
- INRS-Quebec Best Thesis Award for the cohort, 2022
- Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies (FRQNT) scholarship, 2019-2021
- MATECSS Excellence Scholarships (MES), 2016-2020
- Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Scheme for MSc in Functionalized Advanced Materials Engineering (FAME) from 2011-2013
- Medal for the overall best female graduating student at AUST, 2011
- Medal for second best materials science & Engineering student at AUST, 2011