Zewail was nominated and participated in President Barack Obama's Presidential 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.[11]
Zewail became known as the "father of femtochemistry".[15] He also made critical contributions in ultrafast electron diffraction, which uses short electron pulses rather than light pulses to study chemical reaction dynamics.[16]
Political work
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In a speech at Cairo University on June 4, 2009, US President Barack Obama proclaimed a new Science Envoy program as part of a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world."[17] In January 2010, Ahmed Zewail, Elias Zerhouni, and Bruce Alberts became the first US science envoys to Islam, visiting Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.[18]
When asked about rumors that he might contest the 2011 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."[19][20]
During the 2011 Egyptian protests he announced his return to the country. Zewail said that he would join a committee for constitutional reform alongside Ayman Nour, Mubarak's rival at the 2005 presidential elections and a leading lawyer.[21]
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 the April 6 Youth Movement and young supporters of Mohamed ElBaradei.[22] He played a critical role during this time as described by Egyptian Media.
Awards and honours
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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 science Nobel Prize when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[7] Zewail gave his Nobel Lecture on "Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers".[23][24]
Zewail and his first wife, Mervat, were married in 1967, just before leaving Egypt to attend the University of Philadelphia. He had two daughters with Mervat, Maha and Amani. They separated in 1979.[45][46]
Zewail married Dema Faham in 1989.[1] Zewail and Faham had two sons, Nabeel and Hani.[47][48]
Death and funeral
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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.[49][50][51] Zewail returned to Egypt, but only his body was received at Cairo Airport.[45] A military funeral was held for Zewail on August 7, 2016, at the El-Mosheer Tantawy mosque in Cairo, Egypt.[51] Those attending included President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi, former President Adly Mansour, former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub.[51] The funeral prayers were led by Ali Gomaa, former Grand Mufti of Egypt.[52][51]
Publications
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Scientific
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Advances in Laser Spectroscopy I, ed. A. H. Zewail, SPIE, Bellingham, 1977
Advances in Laser Chemistry, ed. A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1978
Photochemistry and Photobiology, Vols. 1 and 2, ed. A. H. Zewail, Harwood Academic, London, 1983
Ultrafast Phenomena VII, eds. C. B. Harris, E. P. Ippen, G. A. Mourou and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1990
The Chemical Bond: Structure and Dynamics, ed. A. H. Zewail, Academic Press, Boston, 1992
Ultrafast Phenomena VIII, eds. J.-L. Martin, A. Migus, G. A. Mourou, and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1993
Ultrafast Phenomena IX, eds. P. F. Barbara, W. H. Knox, G. A. Mourou, and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1994
Femtochemistry: Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Vol. I, A. H. Zewail, World Scientific, 1994
Femtochemistry: Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Vol. II, A. H. Zewail, World Scientific, 1994
Physical Biology: From Atoms to Medicine, ed. A. H. Zewail, Imperial College Press, London, 2008
4D Electron Microscopy, ed. A. H. Zewail, Imperial College Press, London, 2009
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. ISBN 978-1-78634-435-9.
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. ISBN 978-981-323-153-5.
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.[45]
^ abcdefghijklmnoZewail, Ahmed. "Autobiography". Nobelprize.org. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
^ ab"Fellowship of the Royal Society 1660–2015". London: Royal Society.
^"In Fond Remembrance of Egyptian-American Scientist Ahmed Zewail". U.S. Embassy in Egypt. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
^ abKhan, Amina (2016-08-05). "Nobel Prize-winning Caltech scientist Ahmed Zewail has died at 70". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
^ abDouhal, Abderrazzak; Lahmani, Françoise; Zewail, Ahmed H. (1996). "Proton-transfer reaction dynamics". Chemical Physics. 207 (2–3): 477–498. Bibcode:1996CP....207..477D. doi:10.1016/0301-0104(96)00067-5. ISSN 0301-0104.
^"بالفيديو والصور.. جثمان أحمد زويل يوارى الثرى بمدفن أسرته بمدينة 6 أكتوبر". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
^ abcWeil, Martin (3 August 2016). "Ahmad Zewail, Nobel laureate who sparked a 'revolution in chemistry,' dies at 70". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^Zewail, Ahmed (1975). Optical and magnetic resonance spectra of triplet excitons and localized states in molecular crystals (PhD thesis). University of Pennsylvania. OCLC 54507972.
^Zewail, Ahmed (2002). Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize. World Scientific. p. 214. ISBN 978-981-4338-09-7.
^Zewail, Ahmed. "A Message from the Director". Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
^"President Obama Announces Members of Science and Technology Advisory Council". The White House. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^Pal, Samir Kumar; Zewail, Ahmed H. (2004). "Dynamics of Water in Biological Recognition". Chemical Reviews. 104 (4): 2099–2124. doi:10.1021/cr020689l. ISSN 0009-2665. PMID 15080722. S2CID 10050118.
^Zewail, Ahmed H. (2000). "Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond†". The Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 104 (24): 5660–5694. Bibcode:2000JPCA..104.5660Z. doi:10.1021/jp001460h. ISSN 1089-5639.
^"Press Release: The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry". Nobelprize.org. 12 October 1999. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
^Srinivasan, Ramesh; Lobastov, Vladimir A.; Ruan, Chong-Yu; Zewail, Ahmed H. (July 10, 2003). "Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED): A New Development for the 4D Determination of Transient Molecular Structures". Helvetica Chimica Acta. 86 (6): 1761–1799. doi:10.1002/hlca.200390147.
^Thomas, John Meurig (2019-12-30). "Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 68: 431–453. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040.
^Pellerin, Cheryl (16 February 2010). "First U.S. Science Envoys Begin Work in Muslim-Majority Countries". America.gov. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010.
^"Obituary: Envoy to science". Al-Ahram Weekly. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^Obituary: AHMED HASSAN ZEWAIL (1946–2016). Chemical Physics Letters. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Egypt: Zewail returns, credible post-Mubarak figure". ANSAmed. 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
^Fahim, Kareem; Kirkpatrick, David D. (February 12, 2011). "Military Offers Assurances to Egypt and Neighbors". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
^Zewail, Ahmed H. (2000). "Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers (Nobel Lecture)". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 39 (15): 2586–2631. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20000804)39:15<2586::AID-ANIE2586>3.0.CO;2-O. PMID 10934390.
^"Ahmed Zewail – Nobel Lecture: Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Prof. Ahmed Zewail". World Cultural Council. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Othmer Gold Medal". Science History Institute. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
^"Chemical Heritage Foundation Presents Ahmed Zewail with Othmer Gold Medal". Chromatography Techniques. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
^"Zewail Wins 2011 Priestley Medal". Chemical & Engineering News. 21 June 2010. p. 5.
^"Royal Society announces 2011 Copley Medal recipient". The Royal Society. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
^"Ahmed H. Zewail". American Institute of Physics: Physics History Network. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
^"Ahmed H. Zewail". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
^"Ahmed Hassan Zewail". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
^"APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
^"Zewail Ahmed Hassan | The AAS". www.aasciences.africa. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
^"Funding and Awards: Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology". American Chemical Society. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
^Thomas, John Meurig (6 November 2019). "Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
^"Nobel Laureate to Give 2010 Commencement Address". Southwestern University. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^"Honorary Degrees". Wiley Online Library. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^"Honorary Degrees 2006". University of Cambridge. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Zewail, Ahmed H (Ciencias Químicas), 12 de mayo de 2008". Complutense University of Madrid. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^Kheetan, Thameen (26 February 2009). "Egyptian Nobel laureate calls for 'scientific renaissance' in Arab world". Jordan Times. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
^"Guest lectures – archive: Professor Ahmed Zewail – 3rd October 2011". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Yale awards 12 honorary degrees at 2014 graduation". YaleNews. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
^ abcEl Nadi, Lotfia, ed. (2019). The brilliant Zewail. World Scientific Publishing Company Pte. Limited. ISBN 978-981-327-583-6. OCLC 1112734385.
^Aspturian, Heidi. "Interview with Ahmed Zewail (1946 - 2016)" (PDF). CalTech Oral Histories. California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
^"Ahmed Zewail, 1946–2016 | Caltech". California Institute of Technology. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
^Thomas, John Meurig (2020). "Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 68: 431–453. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040. S2CID 207893909.
^"Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian chemist Zewail dies". Reuters News Agency. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Egyptian Chemist Zewail, Noble Prize-Winner, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^ abcd"Sisi heads mourners at military funeral for Egyptian Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail". Ahram Online. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"نبذة عن العالم المصري أحمد زويل". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
External links
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Media related to Ahmed Zewail at Wikimedia Commons
Official website Captured from the Wayback Machine, June 28, 2018, accessed July 20, 2020
Ahmed Zewail's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)