Dr. Alexander Anim-Mensah Making Use of the Numbers for ITW

By Lynette  Locke

 "In a world where undiscovered technologies

can become treasures of business, those who

can make sense of innovation onslaughts

are the new wizards of industry. One person

in this admirable position is NSBE member

Alexander Anim-Mensah, Ph.D., principal engineer

for Hobart Corporation, Warewash business

unit, a division of ITW.

Corporate ITW, based in Glenview, Ill., has

businesses around the world, in areas including

Polymers & Fluids, Power Systems & Electronics,

Food Equipment Group (FEG), Construction

Products, Transportation, Industrial Packaging

and Other Businesses.

Dr. Anim-Mensah is involved in product

development and support of existing products.

His business unit produces commercial “warewashers”

that are used in places such as airports,

Dr. Anim-Mensah looks forward to positively

impacting the community, while continuing

a successful career at ITW.

hospitals/nursing homes, schools/ universities,

cruise ships, hotels, restaurants and government

institutions. His primary responsibilities include

leading technology transfer and evaluating

concepts, and handling issues relating to water

and its treatment. In carrying out these duties,

he extracts useful information for engineering,

research/field recommendations and management

decision-making.

Dr. Anim-Mensah was born in Ghana and has

three degrees in chemical engineering: a bachelor’s

from the Kwame Nkrumah University of

Science and Technology (KNUST), in Ghana; a

master’s from North Carolina A&T State University

and a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati.

Throughout his college years, he was actively

involved with the National Society of Black

Engineers. He says joining NSBE was a pivotal

decision in his life and that his commitment to the

organization has grown deeper over time.

“I am with NSBE, and NSBE is with me,” he says.

Throughout his career, Dr. Anim-Mensah

maintained a tight focus on his engineering profession

and seized every opportunity that came

his way. He was an engineer intern in Ghana for

West African Mill Ltd and Ghana Cement Works.

Also, he was a co-op for Syngenta Crop Protection,

in North Carolina, and Procter and Gamble,

in Ohio. He worked for Tema Oil Refinery, in

Ghana; Siemens Water Technologies, in Colorado;

and Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies,

in Ohio. He then relocated to ITW–Technology

Center, in Illinois, where he was involved in the

engineering and research fields.

“I took all my internships, co-op and networking

seriously at the beginning of my profession. I

found a way to translate my classroom work into

real-life solutions,” he says.

Meeting real-life requirements from an engineering

and research standpoint can be overwhelming,

but Dr. Anim-Mensah, now 41, says he

chooses a simple approach to his problem-solving,

one that applies “basic concepts in looking

at ways to do things differently, effectively and

efficiently,” while keeping the users of the endproducts

in mind.

“One must have the ability to combine both

laboratory and field work, interact with consumers

on how our products are meeting their needs

and concerns, and use this information to innovate

to go beyond consumers’ needs,” he says.

His colleague Wayne (Wen-Feng) Liu, Ph.D., a

team leader at the ITW Tech Center, says, “Alex

is aggressive and ambitious.” A former colleague,

Sailesh Athreya, Ph.D., Advanced Technology

Strategy lead at Honeywell Aerospace, says Dr.

Anim-Mensah is a great role model for all young

engineers because of his “systematic perseverance:

going with an open mind to complex issues

with many unknowns.” He adds that Dr. Anim-

Mensah also excels in presentations. “Insights

were a breeze to draw, from the way Alex

presented. His style of breaking complex concepts

down in his presentations with supporting

information does the talking for him.”

As he continues his career, Dr. Anim-Mensah

looks forward to positively impacting the community,

by solving existing and emerging problems

and being a mentor for young engineers

and scientists, while continuing a successful

career at ITW". ■

10 • nsbe magazine • winter 2013 www.nsbe.org

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nsbe/2013winter/#/12