Ahmed Zewail was born February 26, 1946, in Damanhur, Egypt. His father worked for the government and ran a business. He is the only son of four children. His family stressed the importance of education and he had an early interest in the physical sciences. He grew up knowing his family wanted him to become a university professor.
He attended Alexandria University and received a BS with honors and an MS in chemistry. He was named a demonstrator for his postgraduate work and found he enjoyed teaching courses. He came to believe that there was a simple, clear way to explain complex concepts. His professors encouraged him to leave Egypt for his doctoral studies, and he was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania where he received a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1973.
Zewail decided to remain in the United States and accepted a position at the University of California at Berkeley where he worked with Charles Harris on several projects including building a picosecond laser. A picosecond is one trillionth of a second (10-12).
In 1976, he was named an assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, where he has remained throughout his illustrious career. In 1990, Zewail was named the Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Physics.
Zewail won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999 for his developmental work in femtochemistry, which uses lasers to capture images of chemical reactions as they happen, as if taking a photograph once every femtosecond. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second or one thousandth of a nanosecond, and is the smallest known length of time.
Zewail is currently the Director of the NSF Laboratory for Molecular Sciences. His current research includes technology to control outcomes of chemical reactions. He retains close ties to his home country and holds both US and Egyptian citizenship. Zewail has a wife and four children. He continues to enjoy music and reading.
Honors and Awards
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow, 1978-1982
- Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, 1979-1985
- Fellow, American Physical Society, 1982
- 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
- King Faisal International Prize in Science, 1989
- Harrison Howe Award, American Chemical Society, 1989
- Member, National Academy of Sciences, USA, 1989
- Member, Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy, 1989
- First Linus Pauling Chair, Caltech, 1990
- Carl Zeiss International Award, Germany, 1992
- Member, Sigma Xi Society, USA, 1992
- Earle K. Plyler Prize, American Physical Society, 1993
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