Felix Amankona-Diawuo is from Berekum, Ghana, in West Africa. He is a chemistry major and plans to pursue computational chemistry in graduate school at Northwestern University. He is the founder of Carleton’s table tennis club and has been a leader for Sola Scriptura, a Bible-study group. He also plays volleyball and soccer, and is a member of both the African Drum Ensemble and the Afro-Cuban Drum Ensemble.

What’s been the most surprising thing about Carleton?

I’ve been surprised by the many opportunities to do what you like, and the funds and support available to you. I didn’t foresee getting much support for playing table tennis, for example, but I’ve been able to start a club and purchase equipment. We play mostly on campus, but we’ve also played at tournaments throughout the state.
Because everybody at Carleton plays Frisbee, it’s hard to get people to take table tennis seriously, so you could say I’ve also been surprised at the lack of interest in table tennis. It is a competitive sport, but in America, it’s known as Ping-Pong, and it’s something you play in your basement.

Tell us about your chemistry major.

I jumped into chemistry right from the beginning. My sophomore year I applied for a Carleton research position, working with chemistry professor Daniela Kohen, and I’ve been doing research with her ever since.

What is the focus of your research?

Dani is a computational chemist or a theorist. Her research focuses on understanding the special property in zeolights that allows them to absorb carbon dioxide over most other gasses in the atmosphere. The application, eventually, would be to use zeolights to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. So this research is a major contribution to ongoing environmental efforts. Because it’s computational chemistry, my work is mostly reading and learning to program code. Dani has been an amazing mentor, and has been really supportive. I’m going to grad school in this field, something untraditional that I never would have known about if I hadn’t done research with her. I also like physics and math, and they all intersect in theoretical chemistry.

What is your long-term goal after graduate school?

I intend to do post-doctoral research for a couple of years and then I’d like to become a professor. I’d like to teach theoretical chemistry in the Ghanian education system, because we don’t have much theory being taught there now. Most of the focus is on engineering. But I think theory is useful and it’s also intellectually stimulating.

What advice would you give to international students who are considering Carleton?

I’d tell them to come with an open mind, especially if they are coming from an education system that is career oriented. Take advantage of the rich intellectual development that is possible here. Explore the broad curriculum and the many extracurricular activities that are available. Be involved in the College’s community life.