Monthly Archives: March 2011

Flamboyant Hawass returns as antiquities minister in Egypt

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It was less than a month ago when Zahi Hawass, the Egyptologist who has made a name for himself with his flamboyant ways, stepped down from the cabinet. Today, however, the prime minister of Egypt’s interim government announced that he was reappointed to the same position.

The news is sure to frustrate many archaeologists. In mid-February, over 150 archeology students held a protest chanting “Get out” outside Hawass’ office, accusing him of not caring about the large unemployment problem that archeology graduates face.

Colleagues and peers have also often secretly attacked Hawass, calling him a dictator who refuses any opinion that is different or opposing to his. International peers in particular could never criticize him publicly due to the tight grip he held on permits for dig sites across Egypt.

He has also been criticized for his close ties to ousted president Mubarak which is why revolutionist spoke out against him.

During the revolution, Hawass came out publicly saying that all monuments in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities were safe and sound. However, a couple of weeks later experts analyzing the damage to the museum during the revolution found that dozens of items were looted or destroyed. Across the country, many dig sites and graves were also broken into and stolen.

Hawass resigned at the news of all the looting during the first week of March, but Essam Sharaf just reappointed him as antiquities minister earlier today.

Twitter exploded with angry comments from Egyptians and foreigners following the announcement.

The New York Times reports that, in a phone call interview, Hawass explained his return to his position as part of dedication and love for Egyptology. He is quoted as saying “I cannot live without antiquities, and antiquities cannot live without me.”

I guess Hawass is still determined then to speak in the name of Egypt’s rich antiquities history.

FameLab finale creates a science buzz in Egypt

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The second season of FameLab in Egypt came to an end yesterday in a large event held in the Cairo Opera House last night. The winners will be training to represent Egypt in the international leg of the competition, held in August during the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK.

According to the organizers, this year’s competition saw a much greater number of applicants than last year. The contestants are tasked with presenting a scientific topic in a simple, accessible way that is easy to understand for a layperson audience in three minutes.

The room was completely packed with people who came to watch the 12 finalists make their presentations and to get a chance to vote on who walks away with the “audience prize.”

“After the revolution, I got a little bit pessimistic as I thought everyone was into politics now rather than science. Obviously, I was wrong,” said Mahmoud Abu Khedr, who won first place in the competition.

The varied presentations brought a mixed bag of interesting performances, with one contestant using a guitar and song while making his presentation, to another who drew analogues between the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and how the immune system on the body works.

Amr Salama, Egypt’s new minister for higher education and scientific research, presented the winners with their prizes, which included netbooks and blackberry phones. The winner also received a fully funded trip to attend all the Cheltenham Science Festival where the international leg of FameLab will also take place.

“I’m hoping the day would come when Egypt is organizing this international competition and the world will come to us to attend,” he said.

This year, in order to encourage more participation from students, the organizers added a special award for students. The best two presenters were selected to attend the International London Science Forum.

While the competition itself is an interesting endeavour to get people interested about science, I think the interesting part is how to capitalize on the skills taught and the talents discovered to increase science communication in Egypt. The organizers said they will be forming the “FameLab Club” which will bring together this year’s and last year’s FameLabers and encourage them to come up with ideas for science communication with the public. One of the organizers, the Research, Developmetn and Investment (RDI) programme promised to work with them on these ideas.

Did a Saudi Arabian scientist really win UN water award?

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This blog post started very differently from what it is right now.

A few weeks ago I was very pleasantly surprised to read on the website Arab News about a Saudi Arabian female scientist winning the United Nations’ Water for Life, Best Practice Award.

I quickly found the same story on nearly every other Saudi Arabian English-language news outlet – in the exact same wordings. In short, the news piece is claiming that the researcher, Mashael bint Mohammed Saud Abdurrahman from the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), received the “Water for Life” Best Practices Award for her use of modern techniques in environment, water and desertification in her researches.

The information is then attributed to the Global Institute for Water Environment and Health (GIWEH).

Now this is where the story gets very peculiar on many levels.

1) A quick visit to the GIWEH website will find absolutely nothing on this story. I did an extensive search and there is nothing about Mashael winning that award. So the source of the news that all those news outlets have been picking up is probably wrong, and none of them have bother to check this very simple fact.

2) A second visit to the UN’s “Water for Life” website will find there is no mention at all of Mashael. In fact, the webpage announces the two winners of the “Best Practices” awards. The first is a programme in the Philippines, and the other in South Africa. None in KACST. Saudi Arabia is not even mentioned on the website. This leaves another glaring hole in the story reported and carried by dozens of media outlets.

3) The funniest part is the fact that there is no mention of the award at all on KACST’s own website. You’d think that if one of their researchers won such a prestigious award it would be over the front page of the website right away. Well it is not. It’s not even mentioned anywhere on all the website.

So did Mashael really win this award? I strongly doubt it – but if anyone can confirm this please do leave a comment. But if this is indeed a fabricated story then it brings up very important issues with regards to the quality of science journalism in the Arab world. It is a story with glaring problems that should have never appeared online without verification (and that would have been very easy).

Sadly, it was carried along through dozens of websites without a single one of them trying to check the facts of the story – which a quick, few minutes search would quickly discredit.

But if I am wrong, then I really look forward to someone pointing it out below because, right now, I am very disappointed this happened.

WCSJ2011 moves to Doha, Qatar

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The fact that the World Conference of Science Journalists 2011 (WCSJ2011) was coming to Egypt has been an ongoing source of excitement for me for the past two years. Ever since we presented our bid during the WCSJ2009 in London, UK, and won – it has been an exciting rollercoaster ride. Tiring, yes, but very very exciting.

Now, in light of the current situation in Egypt, it became impossible to hold the conference in three months in its original venue. After many heated discussions and a lot of tears shed, the organizers decided to move it to neighbouring Qatar.

The exciting conference, coming 27-29 June, is an event that science journalists wait for every two years to get together and talk and learn of all that is new in their profession. The co-bid presented by the Arab Science Journalists Association (ASJA) and the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) promises the strongest programme for a WCSJ yet.

“One of the few complaints about previous WCSJs was that sometimes the audience was more diverse than the program. So this is by far the most global conference in terms of this content, with strong presentations from not only the Arab region, but Africa, Latin America and Asia,” said Deborah Blum, the programme chair.

While many were disappointed with the move, the Qatar venue is still a very exciting option, especially for science journalists. The Arab world is, arguably, one of the most interesting regions in the world right now for emerging science. Qatar is at the forefront of this science renaissance, This science, however, is oft underreported. This will be an opportunity for visiting science journalists to report on this exciting science.

The leading WCSJ2011 sponsor, the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is also promising many surprises and opportunities for attendees. They have been strong supporters of WCSJ2011 since the very beginning. Coupled with the well-known genuine Arabian hospitality, I would say visitors are in for quite a treat!

WCSJ2011 breaks many new grounds. It is the first one to be held in an Arab state, it is the first one to come to the developing world, and I expect it will do wonders for science journalism in the region. It has already generated much interest in science journalism (which is a profession that was hardly known of in the region a few years ago).

The organizers have been traveling around the region, talking with government and non-government entities about the conference. The buzz this generated is probably the biggest gain that Arab science journalists could hope for in the future. “The amount of support and enthusiasm we’ve been receiving has been tremendous. So many regional organizations are already thinking of programs to support science journalism and the communication of science in general. A community is being created to support this profession,” said Nadia El-Awady, president of the World Federation of Science Journalists and co-director of WCSJ2011.

All in all, this year is an exciting time to be a science journalist in the Arab world.

“Before the revolution happened, we wanted to bring science journalists to the region in order to report on the science happening here. Now that the winds of change or blowing over the Arab world, we’re even more excited for participants to come to the region. We want them to see the new reality we’ve created for ourselves. We want them to see how proud we are. We want them to share our excitement and hope for a better future,” added El-Awady

Weak Arab participation at DALM2011

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The take home message from the opening for DALM2011, the international symposium which focuses on diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome currently underway in Doha, Qatar was simple and clear: the Middle East has a very serious diabetes and obesity problem, and that is why the conference is coming here in its first iteration outside the US and Italy.

The other message continuously hammered in was the fact that Qatar in particular, and the Arab states in general, are investing heavily in research related to these disorders since they are important in the region.

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That is why I was surprised, and more than a little disappointed, to find that not a single paper presented during the first day of the symposium came from the Arab states. In fact, there was only one paper presented by an Arab researcher, who came from the American University in Beirut.

Arab scientists are featured in the meeting, but only as session moderators or panel discussants.

Javaid Sheikh, dean of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) argued during the opening session that it made sense to hold the conference in Qatar since the region is one of the most affected when it comes to diabetes. The numbers are consistently higher than most other regions. In fact, six of the 10 countries with the higest percentage of diabetes are Middle Eastern, according to Mahmoud Zirie, head endocrinologist in Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar.

“This conference is different. It is originally Italian so maybe the Gulf region are not very heavily involved. Maybe the West is more involved more. I’m not sure of the selection criteria for this conference to be honest, But the amount of paper from the Gulf states is not bad at all” he added. Qatar supposedly invests 2.8% of its GDP in scientific research, well above the region’s meager average of 0.2%.

We are part of a worldwide epedimic, of both obesity and diabetes. But it happens that the degree of this epeidmic is worse in the region, particularly in the Gulf," said Ibrahim Salti, the only Arab researcher to present a paper during the conference. The prevalence in the Levant is around half that of the Gulf States, which he attributes to better lifestyles with more exercise and make more healthy eating choices.

But Salti does not think the extend of the problem is well represented in the scientific output of the region. “There is an increasing interest in research in diabetes. Some in Saudi Arabia and some [in Qatar], but it is not up to the standard. We need more.”

We need more funding, more staff, and more emphasis in universities on research, he adds.

“The program we have is still very young. We only started doing research about two years ago,” said Khaled Machaca, associate dean of research at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. “For example, we have investigators studying the effect of glucose on the endothelial cells which was published. But our goal is not to just publish one or two papers. Our goal is a broad spectrum national programme that will tackle the problem [of diabetes] from the molecular level to the clinical.”

How exciting can a medical career be?

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Most students in Arab states would not be able to answer that question by the time they finish their high school. For many (me included when I was younger), going into university is a blind shot.

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) is trying to do things different by opening their doors to students to learn more about what a medical career promises – hoping to excite them about pursuing one.

Medicine Unlimited, WCMC-Q’s annual recruitment fair which was held last week, opened the college up to students and their parents who got to interact firsthand with faculty, students and even staff members. They shared simulations and demonstrations that reviewed the workings of genes, molecules and the human body.

“We want high school students to gain an awareness of the many potential careers the fields of medicine and science can open for them. We also want them to see our facilities, which are truly world class,” Noha Saleh, director of student recruitment, said in a press release. “Our goal is to highlight the excellent program we offer here in Doha.”

Medical students used medical models and mannequins to explain to the high school students how the human body works while faculty members discussed all kinds of disorders, from psychiatry to pediatrics.

Senior biologists opened their labs to students to show them genetic engineering works while chemistry professors used balloons to help students understand the shapes of molecules and how these can affect the chemical properties of compounds. Quizzes and prizes were on location to keep people excited as well.

“Our goal is to introduce prospective students to WCMC-Q in a fun and relaxed atmosphere,” said Chris Triggle, professor of pharmacology and assistant dean for admissions, who served as master of ceremonies for the event.

Women in science in the Arab world

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Today is the 100th anniversary of the International Women’s Day – and there is no better time to celebrate the amazing influence that some women scientists are having in the Arab world. They are an aspiration to both men and women, and are true superheroes of science!

Here are a few of my favourite examples (please note, this list is far from inclusive):

Faiza Al-Kharafi

Al-Kharafi is a well-known Kuwaiti scientist who has studied in the Ain Shams University in Egypt. She has been involved in science since a young age. She won the 2011 L’Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her work on the corrosion of metals, a problem of fundamental importance to water treatment and oil industries (and, obviously, of paramount importance to Kuwait.)

In 1993, she became president of Kuwait University, becoming the first female to head such a large educational institute in the country.

For many girls and women with ambitions in science she became a symbol and inspiration.

Today, she is the vice-president of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, and a strong supporter of female scientists in the Arab world.

Nadia El-Awady

El-Awady has often set the track for science journalism in the Arab world. A doctor by training, she moved into science journalism and became a strong supporter of this profession in the Arab world during its infancy.

Her career then is a series of “firsts”. She was the founding president of the Arab Science Journalists Association in 2007. In 2009, she became the president of the World Federation of Science Journalists, becoming the first Arab to hold this position.

During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, she was on the front lines as a revolutionary protester and a dedicated journalist, reporting to international media outlets about the ongoings on the street on a regular basis.

Last (but definitely not least) she has been my mentor since my early days in science journalism, something I’m immensely grateful for!

Nagwa Abdel Meguid

Abdel Meguid was the first Arab laureate for the L’Oréal Awards for Women In Science. The Egyptian geneticist won the award for her research in same blood marriages (very popular in the Arab region) and their effect on the higher rate of birth defects and genetic disorders.

Women scientists are often under-represented in Egypt. On receiving the award, Abdel Meguid commented how this award was a major step for women in the Arab world. “We can and do make a difference in the international field of science and it is my hope that my achievement today is yet a further inspiration to these women,” she added.

In 1994, she introduced a new service of early intervention in the genetics department in Cairo. Children, especially those with Down Syndrome, are evaluated and their development is tracked and monitored with computer assisted techniques designed by her team. As a result regular improvements in cognitive and motor skills have been achieved, thus improving some children’s overall quality of life.

Hayat Sindi

Sindi is an inspirational young woman researcher born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. From a very young age, Sindi says she has been inspired by science and scientists, such as Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Al-Khwarizmi, Einstein and Marie Curie. Inspired by her young superheroes, Sindi chose to become a scientist to “make a difference to the world.”

She is the first woman from the Gulf States to receive a PhD in biotechnology from Cambridge University.

Hayat Sindi is today a nanotechnology researcher working to deliver affordable point-of-care diagnostic solutions to the developing world through the not-for-profit Diagnostics For All. She has invented a machine combining the effects of light and ultrasound for use in biotechnology.

She was described by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to the UK, as “a model Arab woman.”

Like I said earlier, there are many, many more equally inspirational Arab women scientists in the region. If you have other suggestions to add to the list, please do post in the comments section below.

But for now, lets acknowledge the important role that women scientists play in our communities – and the need to maximize on that and increase it since they still have a long way to go towards gender equality.

A science visionary heads Egypt’s new interim cabinet

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Source: Wikipedia

Egyptians like to celebrate – especially winning political battles. Celebrations broke out in the iconic Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo at news that the previous prime minister – assigned by ex-President Mubarak – stepped down. They were even more jubilant at the announcement that Essam Sharaf, founder and CEO of Age of Science, an NGO with a clear science promotion agenda, will head the new cabinet.

Tens of thousands gathered in Tahrir Square today after the Friday prayers to listen to Sharaf who came to give a short speech, promising reform through a technocrat cabinet to carry Egypt through this interim period.

But who is Sharaf? And is there reason to be excited about the announcement?

In a meeting between some representatives of the young revolutionaries and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (who is running the country temporarily until a civilian president is elected), Sharaf was the foremost name put forward by the young people for the role of prime minister to replace the much hated Ahmed Shafiq. Reports say that Mohammed ElBaradei, ex-director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and leading opposition figures, also favoured Sharaf for the position.

In 2004 he became minister of transport, but resigned two years later in objection to the corruption in the cabinet and formed his Age of Science NGO, with support from Nobel Laureate chemist Ahmed Zewail and remote sensing expert Farouk El-Baz.

In fact, a march by university faculty against Mubarak during the revolution was led by Sharaf himself, chanting with the people against the very regime that he resigned from due to its corruption. No wonder he has large ‘street cred’ with the people in Tahrir!

A scientist with postgraduate degrees from Purdue University and West Lafayette school in the US, Sharaf has always stressed the importance of science for the development of Egypt. In an interview in August 2010, he repeatedly argued “that scientific research should be an issue of national security in Egypt because without it, we won’t find basic necessities of food and water in the near future.”

This was the main reason behind setting up the Age of Science NGO when he left the ministry.

Sharaf has often made it clear he is against normalisation of ties with Israel, even in science and scientific research, until the Israel-Palestinian conflict is resolved.

I am lucky to have met the new prime minister on several occasions in the past, and to know him personally. We have talked on several occasions about his vision for science in Egypt and development. He is a smart, articulate and well-spoken scientist with a reformist agenda.

In fact, two days after the revolution, he reached out to several young people from the science community (myself included) to form a committee to plan how scientific research may be developed in Egypt post-revolution.

I went out to Tahrir Square today to celebrate this appointment because I think this is, by far, the most positive sign we have seen since the fall of the past regime. It will be interesting to watch what reshuffles he does to the cabinet. I would personally hope he keeps the previously appointed minister of education and higher education and minister of scientific research, who are also two excellent choices for the position.

I think with them in position, and Sharaf leading the cabinet, this interim government is looking better than any of Egypt’s previous governments, at least when it comes to science.

Egyptian cabinet reshuffle sees science focus

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Left: Ahmed Moussa Right: Amr Salama

Egypt’s interim cabinet, which is in place until a new president is elected within six months, has seen its first major reshuffle. The interim prime minister has promised a renewed focus on education and science in his cabinet’s attempts to tackle Egypt’s most pressing problems and challenges.

Ahmed Gamal Moussa has become the new minister of education and higher education, thus replacing Ahmed Zaki Badr (who was strongly disliked by teachers, parents, and probably students as well). Amr Salama has become the new minister of scientific research instead of Hani Helal who had his fair share of unpopular decisions, especially in public universities.

Both Moussa and Salama were previously ministers of the same position in 2004, but were sacked a year later for unknown reasons. Many analysts have speculated that Moussa was removed because he had a relative who was a member of the banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, while Salama wasn’t getting along very well with then prime minister Ahmed Nazef.

Both Moussa and Salama have strong reformist ideas to try to fix things in education and research, two sectors that have (to put it in kind words) performed with extreme mediocrity over the past 10 or 15 years, continuously going down in quality.

Salama, who was a consultant for the American University in Cairo, Egypt, has said that scientific research will focus on economic and social development, with his ministry working with the other ministers to offer science advice and solutions. He said he will seek help of the Egyptian expat science community (such as Nobel Laureate chemist Ahmed Zewail and director of the Remote Sensing Center in Boston University Farouk El-Baz) and find ways to ensure they can help develop Egypt and its science community.

His first call of order, however, will be to try to close the ‘knowledge gap’ between Egypt and the developed West, to increase academic freedom to pursue research and to involve universities more in research.

Moussa has an even bigger challenge, since the poor quality of education in Egypt has been blamed for practically every problem in the country (not without good reason too!)

He promised to start by increasing freedoms within universities and to ensure university independence, which was impeded on often under the previous regime. He will also improve the moral and social and economic conditions of teachers and university professors so they are able to perform better.

Both Moussa and Salama are respected amongst the science community, and were warmly welcomed to take part in the rebuilding of the country post-revolution. However, things may not be so simple.

First off, the interim government will be in place for a maximum of six months, which is hardly enough time for the two to start their ambitious reform plans. The damage done to these sectors in 30 years will not be easily wiped out in half a year, especially during these turbulent times for Egypt. Maybe they should take up smaller, more realistic goals in the near future, at least until things are clearer?

To complicate things further, most people do not want the current prime minister to stay in office, since he was appointed by ex-President Mubarak. There are large-scale protests across the country calling for the prime minister to step down. If he does, what happens to this government? Will it be disbanded as the new prime minister makes a new one? Or will they be kept in place with only the prime minister being replaced?

It would be unfortunate of Moussa and Salama are removed from office in less than a year (again). Things are actually looking positive with them in office. However, at the breakneck speed at which everything is moving, it is hard to predict what will happen tomorrow, let alone in six months.

W’ll just have to wait and see

Are you a part of the science community in Egypt? How do you feel about the appointment of Moussa and Salama to the ministry? Share your views with us below.