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Ahmed H. Zewail
 




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    Ahmed H. Zewail
    California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
    Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, Mail Code 127-72
    1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, U.S.A.
    Linus Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry & Professor of Physics Director Physical Biology UST Center & LMS Editor Chemical Physics Letters
    Telephone: (626) 395-6536 (direct) (626) 395-2345 (626) 395-2195
    FAX: (626) 792-8456 (direct) (626) 796-8315 (626) 405-0454
    Secretary: (626) 395-6516 (626) 395-2611 (626) 395-5759

    Email: zewail@caltech.edu
    Home Page: http://www.zewail.caltech.edu

    ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
    Director, Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science & Technology (2005-)
    Director, NSF Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS), Caltech (1996-)
    Linus Pauling Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics, Caltech (1995-)
    Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1990-1994)
    Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1982-1989)
    Associate Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1978-1982)
    Assistant Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1976-1978)
    IBM Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (1974-1976)
    Predoctoral Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania (1970-1974)
    Teaching Assistant, University of Pennsylvania (1969-1970)
    Instructor and Researcher, Alexandria University (1967-1969)
    Undergraduate Trainee, Shell Corporation, Alexandria (1966)

    PROFESSORSHIPS:
    University of Amsterdam, John van Geuns Stichting Visiting Professor, Holland (1979)
    University of Bordeaux, Visiting Professor, France (1981)
    Ecole Normale Supérieure, Visiting Professor, France (1983)
    University of Kuwait, Visiting Professor, Kuwait (1987)
    University of California, Visiting Scholar, Los Angeles, U.S.A. (1988)
    American University in Cairo, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Egypt (1988)
    Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Rolf Sammet Professor, Frankfurt, Germany (1990)
    Oxford University, Sir Cyril Hinshelwood Chair, Visiting Professor, Oxford, U.K. (1991)
    Texas A&M University, Visiting Professor, U.S.A. (1992)
    University of Iowa, Visiting Professor, U.S.A. (1992)
    Collège de France, Visiting Professor, Paris, France (1995)
    Katholieke Universiteit, Visiting Professor, Leuven, Belgium (1998)
    University of Würzburg, Röntgen Visiting Professor, Germany (1999)
    Université de Lausanne, Honorary Chair Professor, Switzerland (2000)
    University of Cambridge, Linnett Professorship, United Kingdom (2002)
    United Nations University, Distinguished Chair of Science & Technology Policy, Tokyo, Japan (2003-)
    Huazhong University, Honorary Professorship, Wuhan, P.R. China (2004-)
    Fudan University, Honorary Professorship, Shanghai, P.R. China (2004-)
    Ecole Normale Supérieure, Blaise Pascal Honorary Professorship, France (2004-2005)
    Tohoku University, First Honorary University Professor, Sendai, Japan (2005)

    ACADEMIC DEGREES:
    Alexandria University, Egypt (1967) B.S., First Class Honors
    Alexandria University, Egypt (1969) M.S.
    University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S.A. (1974) Ph.D.

    HONORARY DEGREES:
    Oxford University, United Kingdom (1991) M.A., h.c. (Arts)
    American University in Cairo, Egypt (1993) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium (1997) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (1997) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Université de Lausanne, Switzerland (1997) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Swinburne University, Australia (1999) D.U., h.c. (University)
    Arab Academy for Science & Technology, Egypt (1999) H.D.A.Sc. (Appl. Science)
    Alexandria University, Egypt (1999) H.D.Sc. (Science)
    University of New Brunswick, Canada (2000) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy (2000) D., h.c. (Doctor)
    Université de Liège, Belgium (2000) D., h.c. (Doctor)
    Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center Honorary Member of the Medical Staff, U.S.A. (2000) M.D. (Medicine)
    Jadavpur University, India (2001) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Concordia University, Montréal, Canada (2002) LLD, h.c. (Law)
    Heriot-Watt University, Scotland (2002) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Pusan National University, Korea (2003) M.D., h.c. (Medicine)
    Lund University, Sweden (2003) D.Ph., h.c. (Philosophy)
    Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey (2003) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France (2003) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Oxford University, United Kingdom (2004) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Peking University, People’s Republic of China (2004) H.D.D. (University)
    Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, Toluca, Mexico (2004) D., h.c. (University)
    University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland (2004) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
    Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan (2005) H.D.D. (University)
    American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2005) D. H. L. (Humane Letters)
    University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005) D., h.c. (University)
    National University of Cordoba, Argentina (2005) D., h.c. (University)

    HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS, ACADEMIES, AND SOCIETIES:
    American Physical Society, Fellow (elected 1982)
    National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. (elected 1989)
    Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy (elected 1989)
    St. Catherine's College, Fellow, Oxford, U.K. (elected 1991)
    Sigma Xi Society (elected 1992)
    American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 1993)
    Académie Européenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres, France (elected 1994)
    American Philosophical Society (elected 1998)
    Pontifical Academy of Sciences (elected 1999)
    American Academy of Achievement (elected 1999)
    Royal Danish Academy of Sciences & Letters (elected 2000)
    American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, Fellow (elected 2000)
    Chemical Society of India, Honorary Fellow (elected 2001)
    Indian Academy of Sciences, Banglore, India (elected 2001)
    The Royal Society of London, Foreign Member, U.K. (elected 2001)
    Sydney Sussex College, Honorary Fellow, Cambridge, U.K. (elected 2002)
    Indian National Science Academy, Foreign Fellow, New Delhi, India (elected 2002)
    Korean Academy of Science and Technology, Honorary Foreign Member (elected 2002)
    African Academy of Sciences, Honorary Fellow, Nairobi, Kenya (elected 2002)
    Royal Society of Chemistry, Honorary Fellow, U.K. (elected 2003)
    Russian Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member (elected 2003)
    The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Foreign Member (elected 2003)
    The Royal Academy of Belgium, Brussels, Foreign Member (elected 2003)
    St. Catherine's College, Honorary Fellow, Oxford, U.K. (elected 2004)
    European Academy of Sciences, Honorary Member, Brussels, Belgium (elected 2004)
    The Literary & Historical Society, University College, Honorary Fellow, Dublin, Ireland (elected 2004)
    The National Society of High School Scholars, Honorary Member Board of Advisors, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. (elected 2004)
    Academy of Sciences of Malaysia, Honorary Fellow (elected 2005)
    French Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member (elected 2005)

    SPECIAL HONORS:
    King Faisal International Prize in Science (1989)
    First Linus Pauling Chair, Caltech (1990)
    Femtochemistry Conferences; Solvay, Nobel, and Int’l. series (1993-)
    Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1993)
    Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry (1997)
    Benjamin Franklin Medal, The Franklin Institute, U.S.A. (1998)
    Egypt Postage Stamps, with Portrait (1998); “The Fourth Pyramid” (1999)
    Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1999)
    Order of the Grand Collar of the Nile, Highest Honor of Egypt, conferred by President Mubarak (1999)
    Ahmed Zewail Fellowships, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (2000-)
    Ahmed Zewail Prize, American University in Cairo (2001-)
    Postage Stamp, issued by the country of Ghana (2002)
    Ahmed Zewail Center for FemtoScience & Technology, Korea (2002)
    Ahmed Zewail Prize for Creativity in the Arts, Opera Culture Center, Cairo (2004)
    Zewail Foundation for Knowledge and Development, Cairo (2004)
    Ahmed Zewail Prizes for Excellence and Leadership, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy (2004-)
    Ahmed Zewail Award for Ultrafast Science and Technology, American Chemical Society (2005-)

    SELECTED AWARDS AND PRIZES:
    Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (1978-1982)
    Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1979-1985)
    Alexander von Humboldt Award for Senior United States Scientists (1983)
    National Science Foundation Award for especially creative research (1984; 1988; 1993)
    Buck-Whitney Medal, American Chemical Society (1985)
    John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (1987)
    Harrison Howe Award, American Chemical Society (1989)
    Carl Zeiss International Award, Germany (1992)
    Earle K. Plyler Prize, American Physical Society (1993)
    Medal of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Holland (1993)
    Bonner Chemiepreis, Germany (1994)
    Herbert P. Broida Prize, American Physical Society (1995)
    Leonardo Da Vinci Award of Excellence, France (1995)
    Collége de France Medal, France (1995)
    Peter Debye Award, American Chemical Society (1996)
    National Academy of Sciences Award, Chemical Sciences, U.S.A. (1996)
    J. G. Kirkwood Medal, Yale University (1996)
    Peking University Medal, PU President, Beijing, China (1996)
    Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award (1997)
    First E. B. Wilson Award, American Chemical Society (1997)
    Linus Pauling Medal Award (1997)
    Richard C. Tolman Medal Award (1998)
    William H. Nichols Medal Award (1998)
    Paul Karrer Gold Medal, University of Zürich, Switzerland (1998)
    E. O. Lawrence Award, U.S. Government (1998)
    Merski Award, University of Nebraska (1999)
    Röntgen Prize, (The 100th Anniversary of The Discovery of X-rays), Germany (1999)
    Faye Robiner Award, Ross University School of Medicine, New York (2000)
    Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement (2000)
    City of Pisa Medal, City Mayor, Pisa, Italy (2000)
    Medal of “La Sapienza” (“wisdom”), University of Rome (2000)
    Médaille de l’Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France (2000)
    Honorary Medal, Universite Du Centre, Monastir, Tunisia (2000)
    Honorary Medal, City of Monastir, from The Mayor, Tunisia (2000)
    Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Pennsylvania (2002)
    G.M.Kosolapoff Award, The American Chemical Society, Auburn, Alabama (2002)
    Distinguished American Service Award, ADC, Washington D.C. (2002)
    Sir C. V. Raman Award, Kolkata, India (2002)
    Arab American Award, National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan (2004)
    Gold Medal (Highest Honor), Burgos University, Burgos, Spain (2004)
    Slovak Academy of Science Medal, Bratislava, Slovak Republic (2005)
    Gold Medal, Slovak Chemical Society (2005)
    Grand Gold Medal, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic (2005)
    Medal of University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005)
    Medal of National University of Cordoba, Argentina (2005)

    PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
    Member of Advisory and Editorial Boards; Editor of scientific journals (Chemical Physics Letters at present) and book series; Chairman and Member of Organizing Committees of national and international conferences; Member of Boards including the following:
    World Scientific Advisory Board (1994-)
    Max Planck Institute, Board of Advisors (1994-)
    American University in Cairo, Board of Trustees (1999-)
    Bibliotheca Alexandria (The Alexandria Library), Board of Trustees (2001-)
    The Welch Foundation, Scientific Advisory Board (2002-)
    Multilateral Initiative on Malaria, Patron (2003-)
    Qatar Foundation, Board of Directors (2003-)
    Chalmers University, Scientific Advisory Board, Sweden (2003-)
    TIAA-CREF, Board of Trustees (2004-)
    Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Advisory Board, Singapore (2005-)

    PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS:
    Some 450 articles have been published in the fields of science (authored and co-authored with members of the research group), education, and world affairs.
    The following books have been published:
    (1) Advances in Laser Spectroscopy, Vol. 1 (ed.), SPIE Publishing Co. (1977)
    (2) Advances in Laser Chemistry, Vol. 3 (ed.), Springer-Verlag Series in Chemical Physics (1978)
    (3) Photochemistry and Photobiology, Proceedings of an International Conference, Vols. I and II (ed.), Harwood Academic Publishers, New York, London, Chur (1983)
    (4) Ultrafast Phenomena VII, with C. B. Harris, E. P. Ippen, and G. A. Mourou (eds.), Springer Series in Chemical Physics 53, Springer-Verlag, New York (1990)
    (5) The Chemical Bond: Structure and Dynamics (ed.), Academic Press, Boston (1992)
    (6) Ultrafast Phenomena VIII, with J.-L. Martin, A. Migus, and G. A. Mourou (eds.), Springer Series in Chemical Physics 55, Springer-Verlag, New York (1993)
    (7) Ultrafast Phenomena IX , with P. F. Barbara, W. Knox, and G. A. Mourou (eds.), Springer Series in Chemical Physics 55, Springer-Verlag, New York (1994)
    (8) Femtochemistry -- Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond, Vols. I and II, World Scientific, New Jersey, Singapore (1994)
    (9) Voyage Through Time -- Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize, American University in Cairo Press (2002); appeared in 12 languages and editions
    (10) Asr Al álm, Dar Al Shorouk, Beirut and Cairo editions (in Arabic) (2005)
    The following patent was issued in 1980:
    “Solar Energy Concentrator Devices” - Ahmed H. Zewail and J. Samuel Batchelder, disclosed at the California Institute of Technology, April 17, 1977; U. S. Patent 4,227,939 dated October 14, 1980.
    Some three hundred named, plenary, and keynote lectures have been given and include the following: Bernstein, Berson, Bodenstein, Cavendish (Scott Series), Celsius, Condon, Aimé Cotton, Coulson, Debye, Einstein (Berlin, New Delhi), Eyring, Faraday, Franklin (Benjamin), Gandhi, Helmholtz, Hinshelwood, Karrer, Kirkwood, Kistiakowsky, Lawrence, London, Nobel, Novartis, Noyes, Onassis, Pascal (Blaise), Pauling, Perrin, Pimentel, Max Planck, Polanyi, Raman, Roberts, Röntgen, Schrödinger, U Thant (United Nations), Thomson (J. J.), Tolman, Watson, and Wilson. Also given are commencement addresses and public lectures.

    RESEARCH, PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND WORLD AFFAIRS:
    Current research is devoted to dynamical chemistry and biology, with a focus on the physics of elementary processes in complex systems. In the Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS) Center, collaborative multidisciplinary research has been established to address the role of complexity in the primary function of real systems including enzyme catalysis, protein-RNA transcription, electron transport in DNA, and the role of water in protein and DNA recognitions. At the Center for Physical Biology, the focus is on Ultrafast Science and Technology (UST) with techniques which include ultrafast diffraction, crystallography, and microscopy for the imaging of transient structures in space and time with atomic-scale resolution.
    A significant effort is also devoted to giving public lectures to enhance awareness of the value of knowledge gained from fundamental research, and helping the population of developing countries through the promotion of science and technology for the betterment of society.