Arabic Electronic Mail Journal
Egyptian Art and Culture
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Edited by S Suwellam, London, UK /
Ahmed Zewail **
Ahmed Zewail is presently the Linus Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry and
Professor of Physics, and the Director of the NSF Laboratory for Molecular
Sciences (LMS) at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, U.S.A.
Professor Zewail was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering
developments in the field of femtoscience, making it possible to observe the movement
of the individual atoms in a femtosecond, a split second that is a millionth of a billionth
of a second. Such a development—which literally changed our view of the dynamics of
matter—holds great promise in the areas of technology and life sciences. Currently his
research interests include the biological sciences, the complexity of molecular function
and the new development of ultrafast diffraction for the imaging of transient structures
in space and time with atomic-scale resolution.
Professor Zewail was educated in Egypt, received his B.S. (with first class honors) and M.S. from Alexandria
University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His honors include more than 100 Prizes and
Awards, Orders of Merit, and Orders of States from around the world. These include the Robert A. Welch Prize,
Wolf Prize, King Faisal Prize, Benjamin Franklin Medal, Peter Debye Award, and the E. O. Lawrence Award.
From Egypt he received the Order of the Grand Collar of the Nile, the highest state honor, and postage stamps
were issued to honor his contributions to science and humanity.
He holds honorary degrees in the sciences, arts, philosophy, law and medicine from universities and institutions
around the world including the U.S.A., England, Switzerland, Egypt, Belgium, Australia, Canada, India, Italy,
Scotland, Korea, Sweden and France. He is an elected member of national and international academies and
societies, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American
Academy of Achievement, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Arts, Sciences, and
Humanities, the Royal Society of London, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is on the Board of Trustees
and Board of Directors of national and international foundations and universities, and holds the Honorary Chair at
the United Nations University.
Professor Zewail is renowned for his public lectures and writings encompassing science and technology, education
and world affairs, and for his tireless efforts to help the population of the have-nots. In his recent biography
Voyage through Time—Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize, he gives an exposé of his life and work until the receipt
of the Nobel Prize, and he suggests a concrete course of action for the world of the have-nots and for a new
vision of world order.
**** Professor Ahmed Zewail Home, Biography, Nobel Prize, Research Themes, LMS, Publications, Research
Family, Global Issues, Chemical Physics
Ahmed Zewail is the father of four children and lives in California.