Ahmed Zewail, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks at the inauguration of the Arab Media Forum at Atlantis, The Palm, in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Ahmed Zewail, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks at the inauguration of the Arab Media Forum at Atlantis, The Palm, in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Ahmed Zewail, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks at the inauguration of the Arab Media Forum at Atlantis, The Palm, in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Ahmed Zewail, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks at the inauguration of the Arab Media Forum at Atlantis, The Palm, in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Possessions of Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail to be donated to museum in Giza


Kamal Tabikha
  • English
  • Arabic

The widow of late Egyptian chemist Ahmed Zewail, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will donate his possessions to a Cairo non-profit research institution at a yet-to-be-built museum in Zewail City of Science and Technology.

The collection will include awards and honours that Mr Zewail received over his three-decade career. The ultra-fast laser machine he used throughout his landmark femtochemistry research, which in 1999 earned him the Nobel prize, will also be on show.

Femtochemistry is the study of chemical reactions occurring in a fraction of a second, a field of study pioneered by Mr Zewail, who wanted to observe rapid atomic-level changes during reactions.

Mr Zewail, who died in 2016 at the age of 70, was the first Egyptian and second African to earn a Nobel prize.

Mahmoud Abd Rabo, the president of Zewail City, told a talk show on Tuesday that the institution’s board of directors and trustees had approved plans to build a museum to house the late chemist's possessions.

The implementation phase would begin imminently, he said.

“We are really grateful to Dr Dema Faham [Zewail ’s widow] who donated his possessions which include the plaque and medal he was awarded by the Nobel committee,” Mr Abd Rabo said.

The collection will mostly comprise Mr Zewail’s personal belongings, which he kept in his US home.

The scientist had lived in the US for around 40 years before returning to Egypt following the 2011 popular uprising that ousted former president Hosny Mubarak.

Mr Zewail was an important figure in the transitional period after the Arab Spring and served as an intermediary between the temporary military council charged with ruling the country during the interim period and young political factions who wanted their demands met in the wake of the uprising.

Launched in 2000, Zewail City was the brainchild of its namesake, who upon returning to Egypt in 2011 intensified his efforts to complete its various sections, which include a university, research institutes and a science park.

The university first welcomed students in 2013.

In 2014, the city was given 198 acres of state land under a presidential decree. The land was given for the construction of a new extension of the university, which is still under construction.

An extensive collection of books, owned by the late chemist, was donated to the Bibliotecha Alexandrina, the coastal city's famed library, in 2018.

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The years Ramadan fell in May

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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
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“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place 

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

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Updated: December 22, 2022, 9:43 AM`