Ahmed Hassan Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) was anEgyptian-American chemist,[4] known as the "father offemtochemistry".[5] He was awarded the 1999Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian and Arab to win aNobel Prize in ascientific field,[4] and also the first African to win a Nobel Prize inChemistry.[citation needed] He was a professor of chemistry and physics at theCalifornia Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he was the first Caltech faculty member to be named theLinus Pauling Chair of Chemical Physics[6] and served as the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology.[7]
Zewail was nominated and participated in President Barack Obama'sPresidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), an advisory group of the nation's leading scientists and engineers to advise the President and Vice President and formulate policy in the areas of science, technology, and innovation.[12]
Zewail became known as the "father of femtochemistry".[16] He also made critical contributions inultrafast electron diffraction, which uses short electron pulses rather than light pulses to study chemical reaction dynamics.[17]
In a speech atCairo University on June 4, 2009, US PresidentBarack Obama proclaimed a new Science Envoy program as part of a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world."[18] In January 2010, Ahmed Zewail,Elias Zerhouni, andBruce Alberts became the first US science envoys to the Muslim world, visiting Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.[19]
Zewail in 2010
When asked about rumors that he might contest the2012 Egyptian presidential election, Ahmed Zewail said: "I am a frank man... I have no political ambition, as I have stressed repeatedly that I only want to serve Egypt in the field of science and die as a scientist."[20][21]
During the2011 Egyptian protests he announced his return to the country. Zewail said that he would join a committee for constitutional reform alongsideAyman Nour, Mubarak's rival at the 2005 presidential elections and a leading lawyer.[22]Zewail was later mentioned as a respected figure working as an intermediary between the military regime ruling after Mubarak's resignation, and revolutionary youth groups such as theApril 6 Youth Movement and young supporters ofMohamed ElBaradei.[23] He played a critical role during this time as described by Egyptian Media.
Zewail's work brought him international attention, receiving awards and honors throughout most of his career for his work in chemistry and physics. In 1999, Zewail became the first Egyptian to receive a scienceNobel Prize when he was awarded theNobel Prize in Chemistry.[8] Zewail gave his Nobel Lecture on "Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers".[24][25]
Zewail and his first wife, Mervat, were married in 1967, just before leaving Egypt to attend theUniversity of Pennsylvania for his PhD. He had two daughters with Mervat, Maha and Amani. Mervat and Ahmed however, separated in 1979.[46][47]
Zewail married Dema Faham in 1989.[1] Zewail and Faham had two sons, Nabeel and Hani.[48][49]
Zewail died aged 70 on the morning of August 2, 2016. He was recovering from cancer, however, the exact cause of his death is unknown.[50][51][52] Zewail returned to Egypt, but only his body was received at Cairo Airport.[46] A military funeral was held for Zewail on August 7, 2016, at the El-Mosheer Tantawy mosque in Cairo, Egypt.[52] Those attending included PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi, Prime MinisterSherif Ismail, al-Azhar Grand ImamAhmed el-Tayeb, Defence MinisterSedki Sobhi, former PresidentAdly Mansour, former Prime MinisterIbrahim Mahlab and heart surgeonMagdi Yacoub.[52] The funeral prayers were led byAli Gomaa, formerGrand Mufti of Egypt.[53][52]
Chergui, Majed; Marcus, Rudolph A.; Thomas, John Meurig; Zhong, Dongping (2017). Majed Chergui; Rudolph A Marcus; John Meurig Thomas; Dongping Zhong (eds.).Personal and Scientific Reminiscences: Tributes to Ahmed Zewail. World Scientific.doi:10.1142/q0128.ISBN978-1-78634-435-9.
Douhal, Abderrazzak; Baskin, John Spencer; Zhong, Dongping (2017). Abderrazzak Douhal; John Spencer Baskin; Dongping Zhong (eds.).Reminiscences of Ahmed H. Zewail: Photons, Electrons and What Else? A Portrait from Close Range. Remembrances of his Group Members and Family. World Scientific.doi:10.1142/10750.ISBN978-981-323-153-5.
Ahmed founded ZCST and even donated his entire Nobel prize money in order to establish this university. Due to his need of wanting help Egypt to excel and advance academically the first batch of students were exempted from fees due to their scientific brilliance.[46]
^Zewail, Ahmed (1975).Optical and magnetic resonance spectra of triplet excitons and localized states in molecular crystals (PhD thesis). University of Pennsylvania.OCLC54507972.
^Zewail, Ahmed."A Message from the Director". Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, California Institute of Technology. Archived fromthe original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved8 August 2016.
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