Ahmed H. Zewail
(Arabic: أحمد زويل)
Ahmed Zewail is the Linus Pauling Chair professor of chemistry and physics, and director of the Center for Physical Biology at Caltech. He is the sole recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize for the development of the field of Femtochemistry. In the post-Nobel era, he developed 4D Electron Microscopy for the direct visualization of matter in space and time. Dr. Zewail’s other honors include fifty Honorary Degrees, Orders of Merits, Postage Stamps and more than hundred international awards. He has published some 600 articles and 14 books and is known for his effective public lectures and writings, not only on science but also in global affairs. For his leadership role in these world affairs, he received, among others, the “Top American Leaders Award” from The Washington Post and Harvard University. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed him to the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and in the same year he was named the first U.S. Science Envoy to the Middle East. Subsequently, the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon invited Dr. Zewail to join the UN Scientific Advisory Board. In Egypt, he serves in the Council of Advisors to the President. Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the government established “Zewail City of Science and Technology” as the national project for scientific renaissance, and Dr. Zewail became its first Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
http://www.zewail.caltech.edu/biograp...
“Interestingly, this was the only incident of blatant prejudice that I canremember. But I am aware that such opinions exist in human beings, andit's not a question of being Egyptian or being an Arab or being a Muslim.One could be a Christian against a Jew or a Jew against a Christian, or awhite against a black, or a man against a woman. My philosophy is notto let such attitudes stop me from what I want to do. I don't take it veryseriously, although as you can see, I remember the incident very well.The point was I had to get on with my work and had to behave properly,and in the process perhaps even change the opinion of these people. Buton the other hand, if I did nothing but complain and feel sorry for myself,then I wouldn't get anywhere.”
“When I was a child, I thought of my Delta town as the center of theuniverse, but now I realize how little I know about the universe. As achild, I thought I was immortal, but now I recognize how limited a timewe all have. As a child, success meant scoring A on every exam, butnow I take it to mean good health, close family and friends, achieve-ments in my work, and helping others.”
“in my first Americanclass—a freshman chemistry class during the 1969-70 academic year—they looked at me as though I was supposed to be their nurse becausethey were paying a stiff tuition. That's another concept I had to learn—in American private schools we worked for them because they paid thetuition, but in Egypt we were educating them.”
“Perhaps the most valuable thing he taught me (his father) wasthat there is no contradiction between devotion to work and enjoymentof life and people”
“I don't know all the reasons for these achievements, but I know that I love what I do and I have never wanted to rest on my laurels.”