Death of the Egyptian Chemist Ahmed Zewail at 70 Years of Age Star this article Unstar this article
Source: BBC Arabic
وفاة عالم الكيمياء المصري أحمد زويل عن عمر يناهز 70 عاماً
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  • Egyptian chemist and Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail died Tuesday in the United States at the age of 70, his spokesman told Egyptian television.

    Egyptian television reported that the procedures to transfer the famous scientist's body to Egypt had already begun.

    Zewail, who died at the age of 70, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999 for his pioneering research on femtochemistry. He invented a microscope that captures lasers in a femtosecond time period, so molecules can be seen during chemical reactions.

    Zewail’s spokesman Sharif Fouad said "the cause of death is unknown, was it was cancer or something else? I contacted the doctor in charge of his medical treatment for the last time a week ago and everything was stable."

    Zewail was born in Damanhour, 160 km northwest of Cairo, and studied at the University of Alexandria, in the city where he grew up.

    Zewail then moved to the United States where he received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and was a lecturer at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 1976 and he had previously worked at the University of California, Berkeley.
    تُوُفِيَّ عَالِمُ الْكِيمِيَاءِ الْمِصْرِيُّ الْحَائِزُ عَلَى جَائِزَةِ نُوبِلَ فِي الْكِيمِيَاءِ أَحْمَد زُوَيْل الثُّلَاثَاءَ فِي الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ عَنْ عُمْرٍ نَاهَزَ 70 عَامًا، حَسْبَمَا أَفَادَ مُتَحَدِّثُ بِاسْمِهِ للتِّلِفِزْيُونِ الْمِصْرِيِّ.

    وَذَكَرَ التِّلِفِزْيُونُ الْمِصْرِيُّ أَنَّ إِجْرَاءَاتِ نَقْلِ جُثْمَانِ الْعَالِمِ الشَّهِيرِ إِلَى مِصْرَ قَدْ بَدَأَتْ بِالْفِعْلِ.

    وَحَازَ زُوَيلٌ، الَّذِي تُوُفِّيَ عَنْ عُمْرٍ نَاهَزَ 70 عَامًا، عَلَى جَائِزَةِ نُوبَلَ فِي عَامِ 1999 بِفَضْلِ أَبْحَاثِهِ الرَّائِدَةِ فِي مَجَالِ كِيمِيَاءِ الْفِيمْتُو، إِذْ أَنَّهُ ابْتَكَرَ مَيْكْرُوسْكُوبَ يُصَوِّرُ أَشِعَّةَ اللِّيزَرِ فِي زَمَنٍ مِقْدَارُهُ فِمْتُو ثَانِيَةٍ، وَبِذَلِكَ يُمْكِنُ رُؤْيَةُ الْجُزَيْئَاتِ أَثْنَاءَ التَّفَاعُلَاتِ الْكِيمِيَائِيَّةِ.

    وَقَالَ شَرِيفُ فُؤَاد الْمُتَحَدِّثُ بِاسْمِ زُوَيْلٍ إِنَّ "سَبَبَ الْوَفَاةِ غَيْرُ مَعْرُوفٍ هَلِ السَّرَطَانُ أَمْ شَيْءٌ آخَرُ"، مُضِيفًا "أَجْرَيْتُ آخِرَ اتِّصَالٍ بِالدُّكْتُورِ الْمُعَالِجِ مِنْ أُسْبُوعٍ وَكَانَتِ الْأُمُورُ مُسْتَقِرَّةً".

    وُلِدَ زُوَيْلٌ فِي مَدِينَةِ دَمَنْهُورَ الَّتِي تَبْعُدُ 160 كِيلُومِتْرًا شَمَالَ غَرْبِيِّ الْقَاهِرَةِ، وَدَرَسَ فِي جَامِعَةِ الْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةِ، وَهِيَ الْمَدِينَةُ الَّتِي نَشَأَ فِيهَا.

    انْتَقَلَ زُوْيَلٌ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ حَيْثُ حَصَلَ عَلَى الدُّكْتُورَاه مِنْ جَامِعَةِ بِنْسِلْفَانِيَا في فِيلَادِلْفِيَا، وَكَانَ مُحَاضِرًا فِي مَعْهَدِ كَالِيفُورْنِيَا لِلتُّكْنُولُوجِيَا "كَالْتِكْ" مُنْذُ عَامِ 1976، وَكَانَ قَدْ عَمِلَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ فِي جَامِعَةِ بِيرْكْلِي بِكَالِيفُورْنِيَا.