Physics professor wins top science Award

 Sunday November 3, 2013

 BY RANIA EL BENDARY

An assistant professor in Physics at AUC was granted the State Award in advanced technological sciences for his research on the design and development of efficient solar energy conversion systems.

Nageh Allam and his students produced smart electricity and fuels from solar energy with basic materials at a relatively low cost.

“I am very glad that we received this award, because it gave us a motivation to work on more research projects that could make a real difference on the long run,” Allam said.

Allam values the award and encourages his students to work for the cause not for the money.

He added that AUC students have so strong potential and that he only supervised while students “did all the work.”

“I wish that the rate of students pursuing science would increase because Egypt is in need for good scientists especially in the upcoming years,” said Allam.

“I would also hope for an establishment of a mass media science department that would inform the students and the people of the advancements and accomplishments that are made by peer students and young scientists,” he added.

National and international committees evaluated Allam’s research based on its scientific and social impact, taking into consideration previous achievements, reported AUC News.

“A scientific revolution is very much needed in Egypt nowadays,” said Allam.

He explained that the only three main elements that can revive the scientific movement in Egypt are “stability, vision and funding; unfortunately the only one available nowadays is vision,” adding that there is absence of stability and lack of funding for scientific research.

Allam is currently working with his students on two projects funded by the Qatar Foundation.

The first project aims at using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere into natural gas, which can contribute to solving the air pollution crisis in Egypt.

The second works on producing hydrogen that can be used as clean fuel. The hydrogen is obtained by splitting water using solar energy.

In 2009, Allam was listed among the top 100 scientists by the International Biographical Center in Cambridge. His biography was included in Cambridge “Who’s Who” in 2009, according to his profile on Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he worked as a research scholar on solar energy materials at the Research Laboratory of Electronics.

Allam also received the Ford Foundation International Fellowship (2005-2008), the RAK-CAM Postdoctoral Fellowship (2010) and the Misr El-Kheir Award for best publication (2011), and is on the editorial board of many scientific publications.