|
|
register now
for site updates
(type your email here)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Searching for a system
Tarek Atia catches up with Egyptian-American Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail's latest adventures in the motherland
It's telling, argued Nobel prize winner Ahmed Zewail at a press conference held at the American University in Cairo (AUC) last week to announce the establishment of a prize in his name, that while Egypt is trying to eliminate illiteracy, the United States is fighting the same battle against computer illiteracy.
That wide gap in the relationship between science and society is the crux of the matter, according to Zewail, who began his scientific career in Egypt but did his prize-winning research in the US. Zewail is currently writing an article for Nature magazine called "Science for the have nots," in which he tries to explain why building a solid scientific base is so important for developing nations.
The new Ahmed Zewail prize, awarded for the first time this week at AUC's commencement, is an attempt to provide an incentive for students to pursue excellence in science. The goal, Zewail says, is to gradually replace the Egyptian culture of "fahlawa" (street-smarts) with one that is much more steeped in scientific method.
In fact, it is telling that the LE2000 prize, to be awarded bi-annually, is for the best essay in any branch of science, including the social sciences. The point is not just to encourage new discoveries in chemistry and physics, but to inspire students to think in a more organized, comprehensive manner.
Zewail imagines a student, at 21 or 22, just graduating and being handed such a prize by a Nobel laureate -- had that happened to him when he graduated from Alexandria University he would have been "mitkahrab" (sparked) to go on and do great things.
Of course he did anyway, but the fact that Zewail agreed to establish the prize at AUC has, in itself, opened up a pandora's box of questions as to why the American University was chosen over its Egyptian counterparts. On this matter Zewail does not mince his words; in the commotion after the Nobel prize, he said, there was a lot of talk of prizes and institutes in his name, but AUC's offer was the only real, studied approach.
"I have confidence in the way AUC handles things," Zewail said to probing reporters at the press conference. They have a system, with by-laws. He doesn't have to worry about someone interfering, by saying, for instance, that we have to give the prize to so-and-so.
There are other prizes in Zewail's name -- one at his the University of Pennsylvania, where he received is doctorate, and one at the high school in Kafr El-Sheikh where he went to school, since named after him, and Zewail says he wouldn't mind sponsoring a similar prize at Egyptian universities once he feels they have a system in place that ensures it will be processed and awarded in a smooth, fair manner.
Perhaps another telling point in AUC's favor was the way they pursued the idea, merely asking Zewail for the broad strokes behind the conceptualization of the prize, then filling in the details themselves. To a certain extent, ever since the Nobel, Zewail has been faced with an attitude that he has all the solutions to Egypt's problems in his pocket.
The Zewail Science and Technology Institute planned for 6 October City is a case in point. Progress has been made on the project, Zewail says, but "there needs to be a system, It can't just be Zewail."
(February 13, 2001)
Did you like this article? Send your comments to comments@cairolive.com
|
|
|
