Dr Adolf Acquaye is an Associate Professor in Management Science and Engineering, with a deep commitment to inspiring intellectual curiosity, nurturing critical thinking, and empowering students to realise their full potential. He views education as a collaborative journey of discovery, where students are active partners in the exploration, creation, and application of knowledge. Through transformative learning experiences, he seeks to equip students with the confidence and capabilities to translate knowledge into meaningful, real-world impact. He is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.
Previously, he was Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and then Reader in the Department of Analytics, Operations & Systems, Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK.
An internationally recognized researcher, Dr Acquaye was named among the world's top 2% of scientists in the 2026 Elsevier/Stanford University global rankings in the field of Engineering and subfields of Operations Research and Environmental Sciences.
His research has been published in leading international journals ranked in the 99th percentile in Scopus, such as Technology in Society, Resources Policy, One Earth, Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Business Strategy and the Environment, and in International Journal of Production Economics, and Energy Economics. These publications reflect the interdisciplinary breadth of his scholarship and its relevance to contemporary challenges in sustainability, operations, engineering, and socio-economic systems.
Further reflecting the global reach and policy relevance of his expertise, Dr Acquaye served from 2023 to 2025 as an appointed expert contributing to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) flagship Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) assessment. As part of the international assessment team examining Policy Responses and Solutions Pathways for Transforming Environmental Systems, he contributed to efforts aimed at identifying evidence-based policy responses and transformative solutions to pressing global environmental challenges. His involvement reflects a commitment to bridging rigorous scientific research with international environmental policymaking and advancing pathways towards a more sustainable future.
Dr Acquaye has made sustained contributions to international climate change and environmental sustainability assessments through his involvement with major United Nations scientific initiatives. He contributed to Working Group III of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during both its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5, 2012–2014) and Sixth Assessment Report (AR6, 2018–2022) cycles. His contributions supported technical assessments of climate change mitigation, including technological options, sustainability considerations, and the socio-economic dimensions of climate change. This involvement reflects his commitment to applying interdisciplinary scientific expertise to complex global challenges and strengthening the evidence base for climate policy and decision-making.
He has consulted for many UK-based companies on sustainability-related projects. He also worked on the Low Carbon Supply Chain project with the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Centre for Low Carbon Futures, UK and the Big Energy Upgrade Project in Sheffield, UK. Dr Acquaye has won ≈$680,000 in Research Funding from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks (ITN), British Academy’s Global Challenge Research Fund and from the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (UK).
Beyond his research contributions, Dr Acquaye plays an active role in shaping scholarly discourse and advancing research excellence through editorial leadership. He serves as an Area Editor for Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain, a journal ranked among the top 5% in Scopus, and was commissioned as Managing Guest Editor for the Journal of the Operational Research Society's 75th Anniversary Special Issue on Sustainability in Operational Research. These appointments reflect his standing within the international research community and his commitment to promoting rigorous, innovative, and impactful scholarship at the intersection of operational research, sustainable systems, and decision sciences.
