Dr. Patrick Essien holds a PhD in Space Geophysics from the National Institute for Space Research  (INPE) in Brazil, where he doubled as the assistant scientist for the space weather program. His  research interests focus on the effects of space weather and atmospheric/ionospheric conditions  on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and their applications, as well as the neutral  atmospheric process and their effects on the upper atmosphere. Patrick received numerous  scientific awards during his academic years including Max Hammond Student Grant Award for  best abstract to present his PhD work orally during American Geophysical Union (AGU)  conference in 2019 in San Francisco, best oral presentation during 2018 COSPAR Capacity  building workshop on space weather in Brazil and best scientist of the month (May, 2020) by  African Geophysical Society (AGS). He is a member of American Geophysical Union, European  Geophysical Union, African Geophysical Society and Brazilian Symposium on Space Geophysics  and Aeronomy. He is the former national point of contact to Ghana for the Space Generation  Advisory Council.