View source for Ahmed Zewail

{{Short description|Egyptian and American chemist (1946–2016)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Ahmed Hassan Zewail
| native_name       = أَحْمَد حَسَن زُوَيْل
| native_name_lang  = ar
| image             = Ahmed Zewail HD2009 Othmer Gold Medal portrait.JPG
| caption           = Zewail in 2010
| honorific_suffix  = {{small|[[Order of the Nile|ON]]}} {{small|[[Order of Merit (Egypt)|OME]]}}
| birth_name        = Ahmed Hassan Zewail
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1946|02|26}}
| birth_place       = [[Damanhur]], [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]]
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2016|8|2|1946|2|26|mf=y}}
| death_place       = [[Pasadena, California]], U.S.
| resting_place     = [[6th of October (city)|6th of October]], [[Giza Governorate|Giza]], [[Egypt]]
| citizenship       = {{flagicon|Egypt}} [[Egypt]] <br>
{{flagicon|United States}} [[United States]] (naturalized)<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 August 2016 |title=In Fond Remembrance of Egyptian Scientist Ahmed Zewail |url=https://eg.usembassy.gov/fond-remembrance-egyptian-american-scientist-ahmed-zewail/ |access-date=3 June 2023 |website=U.S. Embassy in Egypt}}</ref>
| alma_mater        = {{Plainlist|
*{{nowrap|[[Alexandria University|University of Alexandria]] <small>(B.S., M.S.)</small>}}
*[[University of Pennsylvania]] <small>(Ph.D.)</small>}}
| thesis_title      = Optical and magnetic resonance spectra of triplet excitons and localized states in molecular crystals
| thesis_url        = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302738220/
| thesis_year       = 1975
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Robin M. Hochstrasser]]
| known_for         = [[Femtochemistry]]
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students  = 
| field             = {{Plainlist|
*[[Femtochemistry]]
}}
| workplaces        = {{Plainlist|
*[[University of California, Berkeley]]
*[[California Institute of Technology]]
*[[Zewail City of Science, Technology and Innovation]]
*[[Tohoku University]]
}}
| prizes            = {{Plainlist|
*[[King Faisal International Prize for Science]] (1989)
*[[Wolf Prize in Chemistry]] (1993)
*[[Order of Merit (Egypt)|Order of Merit]] (1995)
*[[Peter Debye Award]] (1996)<ref name=autobio/>
*[[Tolman Award]] (1997)
*[[E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy|E. Bright Wilson Award]] (1997)<ref name=autobio/>
*[[Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award|E. O. Lawrence Award]] (1998)<ref name=autobio/>
*[[The Franklin Institute Awards|The Franklin Medal]] (United States) (1998)<ref name=autobio/>
*[[Paul Karrer Gold Medal]] (1998)<ref name=autobio/>
*[[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]] (1999)
*[[Order of the Nile]] (1999)
*[[Fellow of the Royal Society|ForMemRS]] (2001)<ref name=formemrs/>
*[[Albert Einstein World Award of Science]] (2006)
*[[Othmer Gold Medal]] (2009)
*[[Priestley Medal]] (2011)
*[[Davy Medal]] (2011)
}}
}}
'''Ahmed Hassan Zewail''' ([[Arabic]]: أَحْمَد حَسَن زُوَيْل; February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) was an [[List of Egyptian Americans|Egyptian-American]] chemist,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Amina |date=2016-08-05 |title=Nobel Prize-winning Caltech scientist Ahmed Zewail has died at 70 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ahmed-zewail-20160805-snap-story.html |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> known as the "father of [[femtochemistry]]".<ref name="father of"/> He was awarded the 1999 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field,<ref name=":0" /> and the first African to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chergui |first=Majed |date=2016-07-01 |title=In Memoriam: Ahmed Hassan Zewail (1946–2016) |url=https://pubs.aip.org/sdy/article/3/4/040401/366518/In-Memoriam-Ahmed-Hassan-Zewail-1946-2016 |journal=Structural Dynamics |language=en |volume=3 |issue=4 |doi=10.1063/1.4961968 |issn=2329-7778 |pmc=5010552}}</ref> He was a professor of chemistry and physics at the [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech), where he was the first Caltech faculty member to be named the [[Linus Pauling]] Chair of Chemical Physics<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caltech Selects Chemist Ahmed Zewail For First Linus Pauling Professorship |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/caltech-selects-chemist-ahmed-zewail-for-first-linus-pauling-professorship-61484 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=The Scientist |language=en}}</ref> and was the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-07 |title=بالفيديو والصور.. جثمان أحمد زويل يوارى الثرى بمدفن أسرته بمدينة 6 أكتوبر |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/8/7/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%B2%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A8%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9/2832886 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=اليوم السابع |language=ar}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Ahmed Hassan Zewail was born on February 26, 1946, in [[Damanhur]], Egypt, and was raised in [[Desouk]].<ref name="Washington Post">{{cite web|author=Weil, Martin|title=Ahmad Zewail, Nobel laureate who sparked a 'revolution in chemistry,' dies at 70|date=3 August 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/ahmed-zewail-nobel-laureate-who-sparked-a-revolution-in-chemistry-dies-at-70/2016/08/03/73d05068-592b-11e6-9767-f6c947fd0cb8_story.html|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> He received bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from [[Alexandria University]] before moving to the United States to complete his PhD at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] under the supervision of [[Robin M. Hochstrasser]].<ref name=autobio>{{cite web|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=Autobiography|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/zewail-autobio.html|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-date=8 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008202711/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/zewail-autobio.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=Optical and magnetic resonance spectra of triplet excitons and localized states in molecular crystals |publisher=University of Pennsylvania|year=1975|oclc=54507972}}</ref>

== Career ==
After completing his PhD, Zewail did [[postdoctoral research]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], supervised by [[Charles B. Harris]].<ref name="autobio" /> Following this, he was awarded a faculty appointment at the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1976, and eventually became the first [[Linus Pauling]] Chair in Chemical Physics there.<ref name="autobio" /> He became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the United States on March 5, 1982.<ref>{{cite book|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize|url=https://archive.org/details/voyagethroughtim00zewa|url-access=limited|year=2002|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=978-981-4338-09-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/voyagethroughtim00zewa/page/n226 214]}}</ref> Zewail was the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology at the [[California Institute of Technology]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=A Message from the Director|url=http://ust.caltech.edu/message/index.html|publisher=Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, California Institute of Technology|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810071820/http://www.ust.caltech.edu/message/index.html|archive-date=10 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:CFP_members_with_Dr._Ahmed_Zewail.jpg|alt=CFP_members_with_Dr._Ahmed_Zewail|thumb|Zewail with his colleagues at the [[Zewail City of Science, Technology and Innovation]] in 2012]]Zewail was nominated and participated in President Barack Obama's [[the United States President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology|Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology]] (PCAST), an advisory group of the nation's leading scientists and engineers to advise the President and Vice President and formulate policy in the areas of science, technology, and innovation.<ref name="WhiteHouse">{{cite web|title=President Obama Announces Members of Science and Technology Advisory Council|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-announces-members-science-and-technology-advisory|publisher=The White House|date=27 April 2009|access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref>

== Research ==
Zewail's key work was a pioneer of [[femtochemistry]]<ref name="father of">{{cite journal|author1=Douhal, Abderrazzak|author2=Lahmani, Françoise|author3=Zewail, Ahmed H.|title=Proton-transfer reaction dynamics|journal=Chemical Physics|volume=207|issue=2–3|date=1996|pages=477–498|issn=0301-0104|doi=10.1016/0301-0104(96)00067-5|bibcode=1996CP....207..477D}}</ref><ref name="PalZewail2004">{{cite journal|author1=Pal, Samir Kumar|author2=Zewail, Ahmed H.|s2cid=10050118|title=Dynamics of Water in Biological Recognition|journal=Chemical Reviews|volume=104|issue=4|year=2004|pages=2099–2124|issn=0009-2665|doi=10.1021/cr020689l|pmid=15080722}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Zewail, Ahmed H.|title=Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond†|journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry A|volume=104|issue=24|year=2000|pages=5660–5694|issn=1089-5639|doi=10.1021/jp001460h|bibcode=2000JPCA..104.5660Z}}</ref>—i.e. the study of [[chemical reaction]]s on a [[femtosecond]] timescale. Using a rapid [[ultrafast]] [[laser]] technique (consisting of [[ultrashort pulse|ultrashort]] laser flashes), the technique allows the description of reactions on very short time scales – short enough to analyse [[transition state]]s in selected chemical reactions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Press Release: The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry|date=12 October 1999|url=https://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/press.html|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref> [[File:Ahmed_Zewail_1986.png|alt=Ahmed_Zewail_1986|thumb|218x218px|Zewail in 1986]]
Zewail became known as the "father of femtochemistry".<ref>{{cite news|author=Browne, Malcolm W.|title=Nobels for Fast Camera and Tying 2 Forces of Nature|agency=[[Associated Press]]/[[Reuters]]/[[Agence France-Presse]]|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 October 1999|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/13/world/nobels-for-fast-camera-and-tying-2-forces-of-nature.html|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> He also made critical contributions in [[ultrafast electron diffraction]], which uses short electron pulses rather than light pulses to study chemical reaction dynamics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Srinivasan |first1=Ramesh |last2=Lobastov |first2=Vladimir A. |last3=Ruan |first3=Chong-Yu |last4=Zewail |first4=Ahmed H. |date=July 10, 2003 |title=Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED): A New Development for the 4D Determination of Transient Molecular Structures |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hlca.200390147 |journal=Helvetica Chimica Acta |language=en |volume=86 |issue=6 |pages=1761–1799 |doi=10.1002/hlca.200390147|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Political work ==
In a [[A New Beginning (speech)|speech]] at [[Cairo University]] on June 4, 2009, US President [[Barack Obama]] proclaimed a new Science Envoy program as part of a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thomas|first=John Meurig|date=2019-12-30|title=Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016|journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|volume=68|pages=431–453|doi=10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040|doi-access=free}}</ref> In January 2010, Ahmed Zewail, [[Elias Zerhouni]], and [[Bruce Alberts]] became the first US science envoys to the Muslim world, visiting Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite web|author=Pellerin, Cheryl|title=First U.S. Science Envoys Begin Work in Muslim-Majority Countries|date=16 February 2010|url=http://www.america.gov/st/scitech-english/2010/February/20100115082753lcnirellep0.1611902.html|publisher=America.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226074643/http://www.america.gov/st/scitech-english/2010/February/20100115082753lcnirellep0.1611902.html|archive-date=26 February 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:Ahmed_Zewail_(2010).jpg|alt=Ahmed_Zewail_(2010)|thumb|241x241px|Zewail in 2010]]When asked about rumors that he might contest the [[Egyptian presidential election, 2011|2012 Egyptian presidential election]], Ahmed Zewail said: "I am a frank man... I have no political ambition, as I have stressed repeatedly that I only want to serve Egypt in the field of science and die as a scientist."<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary: Envoy to science|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/NewsQ/17029.aspx|newspaper=Al-Ahram Weekly|date=4 August 2016|access-date=9 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919195122/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/NewsQ/17029.aspx|archive-date=19 September 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|publisher=Chemical Physics Letters|title=Obituary: AHMED HASSAN ZEWAIL (1946–2016)|url=http://www.journals.elsevier.com/chemical-physics-letters/news/obituary-ahmed-hassan-zewail-1946-2016|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref>

During the [[2011 Egyptian protests]] he announced his return to the country. Zewail said that he would join a committee for constitutional reform alongside [[Ayman Nour]], Mubarak's rival at the 2005 presidential elections and a leading lawyer.<ref>{{cite news|title=Egypt: Zewail returns, credible post-Mubarak figure|url=http://www.ansamed.info/en/egitto/news/ME.XEF12253.html|newspaper=[[ANSAmed]]|date=1 February 2011|access-date=5 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004035107/http://www.ansamed.info/en/egitto/news/ME.XEF12253.html|archive-date=4 October 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Zewail was later mentioned as a respected figure working as an intermediary between the military regime ruling after Mubarak's resignation, and revolutionary youth groups such as the [[April 6 Youth Movement]] and young supporters of [[Mohamed ElBaradei]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Fahim, Kareem|title=Military Offers Assurances to Egypt and Neighbors|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/world/middleeast/13egypt.html|access-date=12 February 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 12, 2011|author2=Kirkpatrick, David D.}}</ref> He played a critical role during this time as described by Egyptian Media.

== Awards and honours ==
Zewail's work brought him international attention, receiving awards and honors throughout most of his career for his work in chemistry and physics. In 1999, Zewail became the first Egyptian to receive a science [[Nobel Prize]] when he was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].<ref name="Washington Post"/> Zewail gave his Nobel Lecture on "Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers".<ref>{{cite journal|volume=39|issue=15|pages=2586–2631|doi=10.1002/1521-3773(20000804)39:15<2586::AID-ANIE2586>3.0.CO;2-O|year=2000|author=Zewail, Ahmed H.|title=Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers (Nobel Lecture)|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition|pmid=10934390}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/zewail-lecture.html|title=Ahmed Zewail – Nobel Lecture: Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref>

In 1999, he received Egypt's highest state honour, the [[Order of the Nile|Grand Collar of the Nile]].<ref name=autobio/> Other notable awards include the [[Humboldt Prize|Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award]] (1983), the [[King Faisal International Prize]] (1989),<ref name=autobio/> the [[Wolf Prize]] in Chemistry (1993), the [[Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy|Earle K. Plyler Prize]] (1993), the [[Herbert P. Broida Prize]] (1995), the [[Peter Debye Award]] (1996), the [[Tolman Award]] (1997),<ref name=autobio/> the [[Welch Award in Chemistry|Robert A. Welch Award]] (1997),<ref name=autobio/> the [[Linus Pauling Medal]] (1997), the [[Franklin Medal]] (1998) and the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] (2000).<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref> In October 2006, Zewail received the [[Albert Einstein World Award of Science]] for "his pioneering development of the new field of femtoscience and for his seminal contributions to the revolutionary discipline of physical biology, creating new ways for better understanding the functional behavior of biological systems by directly visualizing them in the four dimensions of space and time."<ref>{{cite web|title=Prof. Ahmed Zewail|url=https://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/winners/winners-of-the-world-award-of-science/prof-ahmed-zewail/|date=28 October 2006|publisher=World Cultural Council|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> Zewail was awarded the [[Othmer Gold Medal]] (2009),<ref>{{cite web|title=Othmer Gold Medal|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/othmer-gold-medal|access-date=22 March 2018|website=Science History Institute|date=31 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chemical Heritage Foundation Presents Ahmed Zewail with Othmer Gold Medal|url=http://www.chromatographytechniques.com/news/2009/01/chemical-heritage-foundation-presents-ahmed-zewail-othmer-gold-medal|access-date=12 June 2014|work=Chromatography Techniques|date=27 January 2009|archive-date=15 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615182538/http://www.chromatographytechniques.com/news/2009/01/chemical-heritage-foundation-presents-ahmed-zewail-othmer-gold-medal|url-status=dead}}</ref> the [[Priestley Medal]] (2011) from the [[American Chemical Society]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Zewail Wins 2011 Priestley Medal|newspaper=Chemical & Engineering News|page=5|date=21 June 2010}}</ref> and the [[Davy Medal]] (2011) from the [[Royal Society]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/news/2011/RS-announces-2011-Copley/|title=Royal Society announces 2011 Copley Medal recipient|publisher=The Royal Society|access-date=19 July 2011}}</ref>

In 1982 he was named as a Fellow of the [[American Physical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ahmed H. Zewail |url=https://history.aip.org/phn/11812006.html |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=American Institute of Physics: Physics History Network}}</ref> Zewail became a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] in 1989,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ahmed H. Zewail|url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/4583.html|access-date=2021-12-03|website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref> the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1993,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ahmed Hassan Zewail|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/ahmed-hassan-zewail|access-date=2021-12-03|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|language=en}}</ref> and the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Ahmed+H.+Zewail&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-12-03|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> Zewail was elected a [[Foreign Member of the Royal Society]] (ForMemRS) in 2001.<ref name=formemrs>{{cite web |title=Fellowship of the Royal Society 1660–2015|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/ahmed-zewail-12586/|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|location=London}}</ref> He was also elected as a Fellow of the [[African Academy of Sciences]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zewail Ahmed Hassan {{!}} The AAS |url=https://www.aasciences.africa/fellow/zewail-ahmed-hassan |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.aasciences.africa |archive-date=2022-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215190232/https://www.aasciences.africa/fellow/zewail-ahmed-hassan |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Zewail was made a Foreign Member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]].<ref name=autobio/> In 2005, the Ahmed Zewail Award for Ultrafast Science and Technology was established by the American Chemical Society and the [[Newport Corporation (company)|Newport Corporation]] in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Funding and Awards: Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology |url=https://www.acs.org/funding/awards/ahmed-zewail-award-in-ultrafast-science-and-technology.html |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=American Chemical Society}}</ref> In 2010 the journal [[Chemical Physics Letters]] established the Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=John Meurig |title=Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |date=6 November 2019|volume=68 |pages=431–453 |doi=10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In May 2010, Zewail gave the commencement address at [[Southwestern University]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nobel Laureate to Give 2010 Commencement Address|url=https://www.southwestern.edu/live/news/2606-nobel-laureate-to-give-2010-commencement-address|publisher=Southwestern University|date=20 April 2010|access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref> The [[Zewail City of Science and Technology]], established in 2000 and revived in 2011, is named in his honour.<ref name="Washington Post"/>

=== Honorary degrees ===
Zewail was bestowed honorary degrees by the following institutions: 
[[University of Oxford]], UK (1991); 
[[The American University in Cairo]], Egypt (1993);
[[KU Leuven|Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven]], Belgium (1997);
[[University of Pennsylvania]], US (1997);
[[University of Lausanne]], Switzerland (1997);
[[Swinburne University of Technology]], Australia (1999);
[[Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport]], Egypt (1999);
D.Sc. [[Alexandria University]], Egypt (1999); 
D.Sc. [[University of New Brunswick]], Canada (2000); 
[[Sapienza University of Rome]], Italy (2000);
[[University of Liège]], Belgium (2000);<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees|volume=39|issue=15|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1999/zewail/biographical/|website=Wiley Online Library|access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref>
[[Heriot-Watt University]], Scotland (2002);<ref name=autobio/>
[[Lund University]], Sweden (2003);
[[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] (2006);<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees 2006|url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/honorary-degrees-2006|publisher=University of Cambridge|access-date=9 August 2016|date=3 July 2006}}</ref> 
[[Complutense University of Madrid]], Spain (2008);<ref>{{cite web|title=Zewail, Ahmed H (Ciencias Químicas), 12 de mayo de 2008|url=https://www.ucm.es/zewail,-ahmed-h-ciencias-quimicas,-12-de-mayo-de-2008|publisher=Complutense University of Madrid|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> 
[[University of Jordan]], Jordan (2009);<ref name="JT">{{cite web|url=http://jordantimes.com/?news=14610&searchFor=zewail|title=Egyptian Nobel laureate calls for 'scientific renaissance' in Arab world|author=Kheetan, Thameen|date=26 February 2009|work=Jordan Times|access-date=28 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713120230/http://jordantimes.com/?news=14610&searchFor=zewail|archive-date=13 July 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 
[[University of Glasgow]], Scotland (2011);<ref>{{cite web|title=Guest lectures – archive: Professor Ahmed Zewail – 3rd October 2011|url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/events/lectures/archive/|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> 
[[Yale University]], US (2014).<ref>{{cite web|title=Yale awards 12 honorary degrees at 2014 graduation|url=https://news.yale.edu/2014/05/19/yale-awards-12-honorary-degrees-2014-graduation|publisher=YaleNews|date=19 May 2014|access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref>

=== Egyptian national honours ===
{{Flag|Egypt}}
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit (Egypt)]] (1995)
*Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Republic (Egypt)|Order of the Arab Republic of Egypt]] (1998)
*Grand Collar of the [[Order of the Nile]] (1999)

=== Foreign honours ===
{{Flag|France}}
*Knight of the [[Legion of Honour]]
*Officier of the [[National Order of Merit (France)|National Order of Merit]]
{{Flag|Lebanon}}
*Grand Cordon of the [[National Order of the Cedar]]
{{Flag|Sudan}}
*Grand Officer of the [[Order of the Two Niles]]
{{Flag|Tunisia}}
*Commander of the [[Order of the Republic (Tunisia)|Order of the Republic]]
{{Flag|United Arab Emirates}}
*Grand Officer of [[Order of Zayed]]

== Personal life ==
Zewail and his first wife, Mervat, were married in 1967, just before leaving Egypt to attend the [[University of Pennsylvania]] for his PhD. He had two daughters with Mervat, Maha and Amani. Mervat and Ahmed however, separated in 1979.<ref name="editor">{{Cite book |editor-last=El Nadi |editor-first=Lotfia |title=The brilliant Zewail |year=2019 |publisher=World Scientific Publishing Company Pte. Limited |isbn=978-981-327-583-6 |oclc=1112734385}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aspturian |first1=Heidi |title=Interview with Ahmed Zewail (1946 - 2016) |url=https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/247/1/Zewail%20OHOl%20%286.5.2017%29.pdf |website=CalTech Oral Histories |publisher=California Institute of Technology |access-date=23 August 2022}}</ref>

Zewail married Dema Faham in 1989.<ref name="autobio" /> Zewail and Faham had two sons, Nabeel and Hani.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caltech.edu/news/ahmed-zewail-1946-2016-51594|title=Ahmed Zewail, 1946–2016 {{!}} Caltech|access-date=2 August 2016|publisher=California Institute of Technology|date=2 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040|title = Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016|year = 2020|last1 = Thomas|first1 = John Meurig|journal = Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|volume = 68|pages = 431–453|s2cid = 207893909|doi-access = free}}</ref>

== Death and funeral ==
Zewail died aged 70 on the morning of August 2, 2016. He was recovering from cancer, however, the exact cause of his death is unknown.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Reuters News Agency|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nobel-egypt-zewail-idUSKCN10D2CP|title=Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian chemist Zewail dies|date=2 August 2016|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Egyptian Chemist Zewail, Noble Prize-Winner, Dies at 70|date=2 August 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/08/02/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-zewail-obit.html|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Ahram">{{cite news|title=Sisi heads mourners at military funeral for Egyptian Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail|newspaper=Ahram Online|date=7 August 2016|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/238084.aspx|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> Zewail returned to Egypt, but only his body was received at Cairo Airport.<ref name="editor"/> A military funeral was held for Zewail on August 7, 2016, at the El-Mosheer Tantawy mosque in Cairo, Egypt.<ref name="Ahram"/> Those attending included President [[Abdel Fattah el-Sisi]], Prime Minister [[Sherif Ismail]], al-Azhar Grand Imam [[Ahmed el-Tayeb]], Defence Minister [[Sedki Sobhi]], former President [[Adly Mansour]], former Prime Minister [[Ibrahim Mahlab]] and heart surgeon [[Magdi Yacoub]].<ref name="Ahram"/> The funeral prayers were led by [[Ali Gomaa]], former [[Grand Mufti of Egypt]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-03 |title=نبذة عن العالم المصري أحمد زويل |url=https://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast/2016/08/160803_egyptian_scientist_zewail_orgnl |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=BBC News عربي |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="Ahram"/>

== Publications ==
{{div col|colwidth=36em}}

=== Scientific ===
*Advances in Laser Spectroscopy I, ed. A. H. Zewail, SPIE, Bellingham, 1977
*Advances in Laser Chemistry, ed. A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1978
*Photochemistry and Photobiology, Vols. 1 and 2, ed. A. H. Zewail, Harwood Academic, London, 1983
*Ultrafast Phenomena VII, eds. C. B. Harris, E. P. Ippen, G. A. Mourou and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1990
*The Chemical Bond: Structure and Dynamics, ed. A. H. Zewail, Academic Press, Boston, 1992
*Ultrafast Phenomena VIII, eds. J.-L. Martin, A. Migus, G. A. Mourou, and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1993
*Ultrafast Phenomena IX, eds. P. F. Barbara, W. H. Knox, G. A. Mourou, and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1994
*[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/2331-vol1 Femtochemistry: Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Vol. I], A. H. Zewail, World Scientific, 1994
*[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/2331-vol2 Femtochemistry: Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Vol. II], A. H. Zewail, World Scientific, 1994
*[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p559 Physical Biology: From Atoms to Medicine], ed. A. H. Zewail, Imperial College Press, London, 2008
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120520002949/http://www.worldscibooks.com/chemistry/p641.html 4D Electron Microscopy], ed. A. H. Zewail, Imperial College Press, London, 2009
*International Advisory Board for [[Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry]] (1999–2014)
*[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p953 4D Visualization of Matter: Recent Collected Works of Ahmed H Zewail, Nobel Laureate], Imperial College Press, London, 2014

=== Biographical ===
*[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/5250 Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize], Ahmed H Zewail, World Scientific, 2002
*''[[Age of Science]]'' (2005, autobiography in Arabic)

=== Remembering Ahmed H. Zewail ===
*{{cite book|doi=10.1142/q0128|title=Personal and Scientific Reminiscences: Tributes to Ahmed Zewail|editor1=Majed Chergui |editor2=Rudolph A Marcus |editor3=John Meurig Thomas |editor4=Dongping Zhong|publisher=World Scientific|year=2017|last1=Chergui|first1=Majed|last2=Marcus|first2=Rudolph A.|last3=Thomas|first3=John Meurig|last4=Zhong|first4=Dongping|isbn=978-1-78634-435-9}}
*{{cite book|doi=10.1142/10750|title=Reminiscences of Ahmed H. Zewail: Photons, Electrons and What Else? A Portrait from Close Range. Remembrances of his Group Members and Family|editor1=Abderrazzak Douhal |editor2=John Spencer Baskin |editor3=Dongping Zhong|publisher=World Scientific|year=2017|last1=Douhal|first1=Abderrazzak|last2=Baskin|first2=John Spencer|last3=Zhong|first3=Dongping|isbn=978-981-323-153-5}}
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
*[[Zewail City of Science and Technology]] (ZCST)
**Ahmed founded ZCST and even donated his entire Nobel prize money in order to establish this university. Due to his need of wanting help Egypt to excel and advance academically the first batch of students were exempted from fees due to their scientific brilliance.<ref name="editor"/> 
*[[List of Egyptian scientists]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Ahmed Zewail|wikt=no|n=no|s=no|b=no|voy=no|v=no}}
{{Scholia|author}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180628192349/http://www.zewail.caltech.edu/ Official website] Captured from the Wayback Machine, June 28, 2018, accessed July 20, 2020
* {{Scopus|id=7004914740}}
* {{GoogleScholar|DFhJDHYAAAAJ}}
* [https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Zewail_A Interview with Ahmed Zewail] Caltech Oral Histories, California Institute of Technology
* {{Nobelprize}}

{{Wolf Prize in Chemistry}}
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1976–2000}}
{{1999 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Albert Einstein World Award of Science Laureates|state=collapsed}}
{{FRS 2001}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Islam|Chemistry|Science}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zewail, Ahmed H.}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Albert Einstein World Award of Science Laureates]]
[[Category:Alexandria University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Damanhur]]
[[Category:Egyptian chemists]]
[[Category:Egyptian inventors]]
[[Category:Egyptian scientists]]
[[Category:Egyptian Muslims]]
[[Category:Egyptian Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Egyptian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American Muslims]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American physical chemists]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology faculty]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley fellows]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the French Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Foreign fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:Spectroscopists]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni]]
[[Category:Wolf Prize in Chemistry laureates]]
[[Category:People from Desouk]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Sudan]]
[[Category:Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates]]
[[Category:Muslims from California]]
[[Category:Arab chemists]]
[[Category:American fellows of the Royal Society]]