Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Materials Engineering, Purdue University, 2021
  • B.S., Mining Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, 2012
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
  • Association for Iron & Steel Technology, (AIST)
  • ASM International
  • The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, (TMS)
  • American Ceramic Society, (ACerS)
  • National Society of Black Engineers, (NSBE)

Dr. Issahaq holds a Ph.D in Materials Engineering from Purdue University with expertise in machining-based deformation processing of ferrous and non-ferrous engineering metals. He has hands-on experience in CNC machining, metal forming operations, microstructural characterization, microscopic techniques (optical and scanning electron microscopy), mechanical and electrical conductivity testing, surface and defect metrology, and high-speed imaging and image processing.

In his Ph.D. thesis, Dr. Issahaq studied how large-strain deformation in a hybrid cutting-extrusion process influences material grain size and crystallographic texture, and, in turn, formability and electrical properties of the resulting metal strip. He established that the combination of fine grain size and unique crystallographic shear texture due to the controlled shear-deformation processing, enabled metal strip with enhanced strength and formability. He also developed a suite of in situ high-speed imaging techniques to characterize the deformation and temperature parameters in the process zone.

In his post-doctoral research position at Purdue, he was successful in exploiting changes in surface plasticity of metals induced by organic adsorbates to achieve order of magnitude improvements in cutting and shearing of highly strain-hardening metals. His work has contributed proof to support the hypothesis that the adsorbates effect a local ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT) that makes the cutting easier due to fracture-controlled chip formation.

Prior to graduate school, Dr. Issahaq worked in the mining and metals industry in Ghana, West Africa, in the roles of Mine Operations Superintendent at Maxmass Ltd., Anglogold Induaprim site and as a Drill and Blast Engineer at Goldfields Ghana Ltd., all located in the western region of Ghana. In these roles, he managed mine fleet dispatch operations, and supervised drilling and blasting operations.