Top Egyptian scientist selected for L'Oreal-UNESCO Award

Dr. Karimat El-Sayed, a professor of solid state physics at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, is among the five female laureates to be honoured this year, as part of the L'Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science. Her selection for the unique distinction further underlines the growing prominence of Arab women in the field of science and technology.

In her thesis, El-Sayed correlated the thermal vibration of each individual atom in the structure with the thermal expansion of the studied material. Inspired by the late Marie Curie, the discoverer of radium, she has specialised in the detection of impurities in materials relevant to industrial metallurgy and semi-conducting materials.

El-Sayed, a grandmother-of-four, has also devoted significant time to studying the conditions of women scientists in Egypt, pointing out that social attitudes were responsible for the low number of women scientists in the country. Women physicists in Egypt have great difficulty in reconciling their careers with their family responsibilities, her study concluded.

While expressing her happiness over receiving the award, El-Sayed voiced her concern over the lack of interest shown in science by current-day students. "Many professors my age have stopped pursuing science but I am still doing it because I love it. We want to take part in developing our country, and have good people and good scientists," she pointed out.

The awards, presented by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L'Oreal, Lindsay Owen-Jones, and UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, recognised for the first time women working in the field of Material Sciences. Five Laureates in the Material Sciences, in addition to 15 Fellows in the Life Sciences, were honored at the event held at UNESCO's Paris headquarters recently. This year's awards bring to 71 the number of women, from 45 countries, who have been honored by the program.

"Dr. Karimat El-Sayed's outstanding contribution to international scientific efforts highlights the growing stature of Arab women scientists," explained Thierry Houssin, General Manager, L'Oreal Middle East. "I am confident that a laureate from the Arab world will inspire many young women in this region to pursue their efforts in their respective fields of research."

The L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science program aims to improve the position of women in science by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress (L'Oreal-UNESCO Awards of US $100,000 each), and young women scientists engaged in exemplary and promising projects (UNESCO- L'Oreal Fellowships of US$20,000 each).

The L'Oreal-UNESCO Award distinguishes five remarkable women researchers representing the five continents - Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. Often, the exceptional careers of these women have opened up new and revolutionary ways of improving conditions of life and well being. Professor Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Nobel Prize in Physics 1991, presided over an international jury of 10 eminent scientists.

For this year's L'Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Material Sciences, Dr. Karimat El-Sayed joined four other laureates, Fang Hua-Li (China), Ayse Erzan (Turkey), Mariana Weissman (Argentina) and Johanna M. H. Levelt Sengers (United States). At the same time, three Arab women were among the 15 chosen for the UNESCO-L'Oreal Fellowships for this year. They include Mary George Kaileh (Palestine), Darie Alikaj (Syria) and Samia Rejiba (Tunisia).

The expansion of the Awards to include the discipline of the Material Sciences, coupled with a significant increase in their monetary value, demonstrates the commitment of the Award partners to ensure that the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science program finds its place alongside the world's leading international awards programs.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Matsuura said: "You are the role models for today's young women, opening a door to freedom and adventure that has been forbidden to them for too long. In today's knowledge societies, women must contribute to scientific research and mark it with their vision of the world and its development."

In his address, Lindsay Owen-Jones said:"The discoveries that you make push forward the boundaries of science. You are the emblems who are a great source of hope, attracting new young women to your fields of research and inspiring a great calling that ensures the future of science."

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