Lena Dzifa Mensah (Ing. PhD) is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST), and also a Fellow of the Brew-Hammond Energy Center. She has almost 10 years of experience in teaching and researching in Mechanical/Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing and Food Systems and Renewable Energy.

Lena is currently an Advisory Board Member of the Office of Grants and Research (OGR) at KNUST, and also a Member of the Young Researchers Forum of KNUST. She also served on the Ministerial Advisory Board of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Ghana.

She is also the Project Coordinator for the Fostering Research & Intra-African Knowledge Transfer Through Mobility and Education (FRAME) project host at the Brew-Hammond Energy Center, KNUST, which is currently ongoing and would come to a close in 2026. She also previously coordinated projects in renewable energy, and renewable energy integration into food processing. Notable among these projects are:

• The Upgrading Education and Research Capacity in Renewable Energy Technologies (UPERCRET), hosted by the Brew-Hammond Energy Center, KNUST, Kumasi and Funded by The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
• The Energy Efficient Rural Food Processing for Enhanced Livelihoods, hosted by the Brew-Hammond Energy Center, KNUST, Kumasi and Funded by Funded by EPSRC and Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom;
• The Green Economy Trade Opportunities Project (GE-TOP), Solar Export Strategy, Proposal, hosted by the Brew-Hammond Energy Center, KNUST, Kumasi and Funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);
• The Green Economy Trade Opportunities Project (GE-TOP Solar Export Potential Study, hosted by the Brew-Hammond Energy Center, KNUST, Kumasi and Funded the United Nations Environment Programme.

Lena has also served her College and Department in a number of capacities:

• College Coordinator for the Professional Masters suit of Programmes (Industrial Operations, Energy Systems, Building services and Oil and Gas);
• Departmental Coordinator for the Professional Masters suit of Programmes (Industrial Operations, Energy Systems, Building services);
• Coordinator, MSc, and MPhil Renewable Energy Technologies Programme
• Coordinator, PhD Sustainable Energy Technologies Programme.
• Departmental Coordinator, Projects and Seminars.

She has over the years been involved in the mentoring of women in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the Tertiary education level. Notable among these includes serving as a mentor for women on the:

• Ghana Power Compact Internship and Mentoring Programme, implemented by Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), with funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
• Women in Engineering (WINE)’s mentoring initiative for women in STEM at the tertiary education level;
• Mastercard Mentorship Programme, implemented by the Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM-Gh), KNUST Chapter.

Lena is passionate about women empowerment, and hence is actively involved in WiSTEM. She is currently an Editorial Committee Member for WiSTEM’s magazine called the Inspirer.                                                                                                                            

Lena holds a PhD in Manufacturing, and a postgraduate Diploma in Engineering and Management of Manufacturing Systems from Cranfield University, UK; a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK and a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from KNUST.

She is a Corporate Member of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE).