Ghanaian Scientist makes strides in the US

By Francis Xavier Tuokuu

Dr. Fred McBagonluri, a Ghanaian scientist with Becton Dickinson and Co, a Fortune 500 Medical Devices Company, in the United States of America has come a long way from a very humble beginning in La Bawaleshie, East Legon, with heritage from Ollo, a village in the Upper West Region of Ghana to become one of the respected young scientists in the world.

He was born to David Mac-Bagonluri and Patience Mensah. He started his preparatory school in Accra and proceeded to Nandom Secondary School where he obtained distinction at the Ordinary Level Certificate Examinations (O level). From there, he went to St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast for his advanced Level Education.

Fred McBagonluri is the Worldwide Director R&D/Hypodermic Injection Systems ($700-800M) at Becton Dickinson and Co (BD Medical), a Fortune 500 Company located in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Fred graduated from Central State University, Wilberforce, OH with a BS Manufacturing Engineering (summa cum laude). He holds MS and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and University of Dayton (Dissertation from School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University), respectively.

Additionally, he holds a Certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT Sloan School of Management and has successfully completed the Advanced Management Course and Mentoring Programs at Siemens and Advanced Leadership Development Program from BD University. Fred is not only a scientist but a prolific writer and a poet. He has written many poems and has five (5) books to his credit. He recently launched two of his books in Accra, Ghana namely, ‘Ultimate Surrender’ and ‘Harvest of Jenes’. All his books can be found in leading bookshops across the country including Legon Bookshop.

He has published extensively in technical journals, conference proceedings and book chapters and has over 42 US, European and World Patents and Patent Applications in the areas of advanced imaging technologies and advanced hearing systems design. Fred is the 2008 recipient of the Black Engineer of the Year: Most Promising Scientist, 2008 NJBiz Healthcare Innovator Hero Awards and 2009 NASA Astronaut Candidate Corps Finalist. He is the author of three novels: (A) Woman to Marry, Dusk Recitals and When Tears Stand Still. When asked how he developed the art of writing, the versatile Dr. Fred McBagonluri stated that, it was back at High School that his Headmaster, Moses Donneyong told him his essays were the best in his long career as an English Tutor. Since then, he said, “I have never looked back”. He added that his wife who is also a writer encourages him a lot in his writings.

According to him, “the urge to write is the only human experience which humanity can willingly sacrifice”.

Fred is a role model for Ghanaian youth. Despite his great achievements at a very young age, he is very humble, friendly and welcomes everyone. In his visit to Ghana, he met with many of his facebook friends.

He is the creator of Proudly Dagaaba Group on facebook, which seeks to bring all the young people from the Upper West Region of Ghana together in order for them to share ideas and learn about the culture of their people.

He is married to a beautiful lady, Diana and they have three (3) children.