Ahmed Zewail is presently the Linus Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics, and the Director of the Physical Biology Center for UST and the NSF Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS) at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, U.S.A.
Professor Zewail was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering developments in the field of femtoscience, making it possible to observe the movement of the individual atoms in a femtosecond, a split second that is a millionth of a billionth of a second. Such a development—which literally changed our view of the dynamics of matter—holds great promise in the areas of technology and life sciences. Currently his research interests include the biological sciences, the complexity of molecular function and the new development of ultrafast diffraction for the imaging of transient structures in space and time with atomic-scale resolution.
Professor Zewail was educated in Egypt, received his B.S. (with first class honors) and M.S. from Alexandria University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His honors include more than 100 Prizes and Awards, Orders of Merit, and Orders of States from around the world. These include the Robert A. Welch Prize, Wolf Prize, King Faisal Prize, Benjamin Franklin Medal, Peter Debye Award, and the E. O. Lawrence Award. From Egypt he received the Order of the Grand Collar of the Nile, the highest state honor, and postage stamps were issued to honor his contributions to science and humanity.
He holds honorary degrees in the sciences, arts, philosophy, law, medicine, and literature from universities and institutions around the world including the U.S.A., England, Switzerland, Egypt, Belgium, Australia, Canada, India, Italy, Scotland, Korea, Sweden, France, China, Mexico, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, and Argentina. He is an elected member of national and international academies and societies, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Achievement, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, the Royal Society of London, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Sciences of Malaysia, and the French Academy of Sciences. He is on the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors of national and international foundations and universities, and holds the Honorary Chair at the United Nations University.
Professor Zewail is renowned for his public lectures and writings encompassing science and technology, education and world affairs, and for his tireless efforts to help the population of the have-nots. In his recent biography Voyage through Time—Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize, he gives an exposé of his life and work until the receipt of the Nobel Prize, and he suggests a concrete course of action for the world of the have-nots and for a new vision of world order.
Ahmed Zewail is the father of four children and lives in California.
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Curriculum Vitae
Ahmed H. Zewail
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, Mail Code 127-72
1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, U.S.A.
Linus Pauling Chair Director Editor
Professor of Chemistry Physical Biology UST Center Chemical Physics
& Professor of Physics & LMS Letters
Telephone: (626) 395-6536 (direct) (626) 395-2345 (626) 395-2195
FAX: (626) 792-8456 (direct) (626) 796-8315 (626) 405-0454
Secretary: (626) 395-6516 (626) 395-2611 (626) 395-5759
Email: zewail@caltech.edu
Home Page: http://www.zewail.caltech.edu
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
Director, Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science & Technology (2005-)
Director, NSF Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS), Caltech (1996-)
Linus Pauling Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics, Caltech (1995-)
Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1990-1994)
Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1982-1989)
Associate Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1978-1982)
Assistant Professor of Chemical Physics, Caltech (1976-1978)
IBM Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (1974-1976)
Predoctoral Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania (1970-1974)
Teaching Assistant, University of Pennsylvania (1969-1970)
Instructor and Researcher, Alexandria University (1967-1969)
Undergraduate Trainee, Shell Corporation, Alexandria (1966)
PROFESSORSHIPS
University of Amsterdam, John van Geuns Stichting Visiting Professor, Holland (1979)
University of Bordeaux, Visiting Professor, France (1981)
École Normale Supérieure, Visiting Professor, France (1983)
University of Kuwait, Visiting Professor, Kuwait (1987)
University of California, Visiting Scholar, Los Angeles, U.S.A. (1988)
American University in Cairo, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Egypt (1988)
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Rolf Sammet Professor, Frankfurt, Germany (1990)
Oxford University, Sir Cyril Hinshelwood Chair, Visiting Professor, Oxford, U.K. (1991)
Texas A&M University, Visiting Professor, U.S.A. (1992)
University of Iowa, Visiting Professor, U.S.A. (1992)
Collège de France, Visiting Professor, Paris, France (1995)
Katholieke Universiteit, Visiting Professor, Leuven, Belgium (1998)
University of Würzburg, Röntgen Visiting Professor, Germany (1999)
Université de Lausanne, Honorary Chair Professor, Switzerland (2000)
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University of Cambridge, Linnett Professorship, United Kingdom (2002)
United Nations University, Distinguished Chair of Science & Technology Policy, Tokyo,
Japan (2003-)
Huazhong University, Honorary Professorship, Wuhan, P.R. China (2004-)
Fudan University, Honorary Professorship, Shanghai, P.R. China (2004-)
École Normale Supérieure, Blaise Pascal Honorary Professorship, France (2004-2005)
Tohoku University, First Honorary University Professor, Sendai, Japan (2005)
ACADEMIC DEGREES
Alexandria University, Egypt (1967) B.S., First Class Honors
Alexandria University, Egypt (1969) M.S.
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S.A. (1974) Ph.D.
HONORARY DEGREES
Oxford University, United Kingdom (1991) M.A., h.c. (Arts)
American University in Cairo, Egypt (1993) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium (1997) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (1997) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Université de Lausanne, Switzerland (1997) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Swinburne University, Australia (1999) D.U., h.c. (University)
Arab Academy for Science & Technology, Egypt (1999) H.D.A.Sc. (Appl. Science)
Alexandria University, Egypt (1999) H.D.Sc. (Science)
University of New Brunswick, Canada (2000) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy (2000) D., h.c. (Doctor)
Université de Liège, Belgium (2000) D., h.c. (Doctor)
Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center
Honorary Member of the Medical Staff, U.S.A. (2000) M.D. (Medicine)
Jadavpur University, India (2001) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Concordia University, Montréal, Canada (2002) LLD, h.c. (Law)
Heriot-Watt University, Scotland (2002) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Pusan National University, Korea (2003) M.D., h.c. (Medicine)
Lund University, Sweden (2003) D.Ph., h.c. (Philosophy)
Bo
( g aziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey (2003) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France (2003) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Oxford University, United Kingdom (2004) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Peking University, People’s Republic of China (2004) H.D.D. (University)
Autonomous University of the State of Mexico,
Toluca, Mexico (2004) D., h.c. (University)
University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland (2004) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan (2005) H.D.D. (University)
American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2005) D. H. L. (Humane Letters)
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005) D., h.c. (University)
National University of Cordoba, Argentina (2005) D., h.c. (University)
Cambridge University, United Kingdom (2006) D.Sc., h.c. (Science)
Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania (2006) H.D.D. (University)
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HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS, ACADEMIES, AND SOCIETIES
American Physical Society, Fellow (elected 1982)
National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. (elected 1989)
Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy (elected 1989)
St. Catherine's College, Fellow, Oxford, U.K. (elected 1991)
Sigma Xi Society (elected 1992)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 1993)
Académie Européenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres, France (elected 1994)
American Philosophical Society (elected 1998)
Pontifical Academy of Sciences (elected 1999)
American Academy of Achievement (elected 1999)
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences & Letters (elected 2000)
American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, Fellow (elected 2000)
Chemical Society of India, Honorary Fellow (elected 2001)
Indian Academy of Sciences, Banglore, India (elected 2001)
The Royal Society of London, Foreign Member, U.K. (elected 2001)
Sydney Sussex College, Honorary Fellow, Cambridge, U.K. (elected 2002)
Indian National Science Academy, Foreign Fellow, New Delhi, India (elected 2002)
Korean Academy of Science and Technology, Honorary Foreign Member (elected 2002)
African Academy of Sciences, Honorary Fellow, Nairobi, Kenya (elected 2002)
Royal Society of Chemistry, Honorary Fellow, U.K. (elected 2003)
Russian Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member (elected 2003)
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Foreign Member (elected 2003)
The Royal Academy of Belgium, Brussels, Foreign Member (elected 2003)
St. Catherine's College, Honorary Fellow, Oxford, U.K. (elected 2004)
European Academy of Sciences, Honorary Member, Brussels, Belgium (elected 2004)
The Literary & Historical Society, University College, Honorary Fellow, Dublin,
Ireland (elected 2004)
The National Society of High School Scholars, Honorary Member Board of Advisors,
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. (elected 2004)
Academy of Sciences of Malaysia, Honorary Fellow (elected 2005)
French Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member (elected 2005)
SPECIAL HONORS
King Faisal International Prize in Science (1989)
First Linus Pauling Chair, Caltech (1990)
Femtochemistry Conferences; Solvay, Nobel, and Int’l. series (1993-)
Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1993)
Leonardo Da Vinci Award of Excellence, France (1995)
Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry (1997)
Benjamin Franklin Medal, The Franklin Institute, U.S.A. (1998)
Egypt Postage Stamps, with Portrait (1998); “The Fourth Pyramid” (1999)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1999)
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Order of the Grand Collar of the Nile, Highest Honor of Egypt, conferred by
President Mubarak (1999)
Ahmed Zewail Fellowships, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (2000-)
Ahmed Zewail Prize, American University in Cairo (2001-)
BBC Documentary (2001)
Postage Stamp, issued by the country of Ghana (2002)
Ahmed Zewail Center for FemtoScience & Technology, Korea (2002)
Ahmed Zewail Prize for Creativity in the Arts, Opera Culture Center, Cairo (2004)
Zewail Foundation for Knowledge and Development, Cairo (2004)
Ahmed Zewail Prizes for Excellence and Leadership, International Centre for Theoretical
Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy (2004-)
Ahmed Zewail Award for Ultrafast Science and Technology, American Chemical Society
(2005-)
Film Documentary, “Nobelity” (2005)
Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences, Elsevier (2006-)
Albert Einstein World Award, World Cultural Council (2006)
SELECTED AWARDS AND PRIZES
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (1978-1982)
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1979-1985)
Alexander von Humboldt Award for Senior United States Scientists (1983)
National Science Foundation Award for especially creative research (1984; 1988; 1993)
Buck-Whitney Medal, American Chemical Society (1985)
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (1987)
Harrison Howe Award, American Chemical Society (1989)
Carl Zeiss International Award, Germany (1992)
Earle K. Plyler Prize, American Physical Society (1993)
Medal of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Holland (1993)
Bonner Chemiepreis, Germany (1994)
Herbert P. Broida Prize, American Physical Society (1995)
Collége de France Medal, France (1995)
Peter Debye Award, American Chemical Society (1996)
National Academy of Sciences Award, Chemical Sciences, U.S.A. (1996)
J. G. Kirkwood Medal, Yale University (1996)
Peking University Medal, PU President, Beijing, China (1996)
Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award (1997)
First E. B. Wilson Award, American Chemical Society (1997)
Linus Pauling Medal Award (1997)
Richard C. Tolman Medal Award (1998)
William H. Nichols Medal Award (1998)
Paul Karrer Gold Medal, University of Zürich, Switzerland (1998)
E. O. Lawrence Award, U.S. Government (1998)
Merski Award, University of Nebraska (1999)
Röntgen Prize, (The 100th Anniversary of The Discovery of X-rays), Germany (1999)
Faye Robiner Award, Ross University School of Medicine, New York (2000)
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Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement (2000)
City of Pisa Medal, City Mayor, Pisa, Italy (2000)
Medal of “La Sapienza” (“wisdom”), University of Rome (2000)
Médaille de l’Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France (2000)
Honorary Medal, Universite Du Centre, Monastir, Tunisia (2000)
Honorary Medal, City of Monastir, from The Mayor, Tunisia (2000)
Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Pennsylvania (2002)
G. M. Kosolapoff Award, The American Chemical Society, Auburn, Alabama (2002)
Distinguished American Service Award, ADC, Washington D.C. (2002)
Sir C. V. Raman Award, Kolkata, India (2002)
Arab American Award, National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan (2004)
Gold Medal (Highest Honor), Burgos University, Burgos, Spain (2004)
Slovak Academy of Science Medal, Bratislava, Slovak Republic (2005)
Gold Medal, Slovak Chemical Society (2005)
Grand Gold Medal, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic (2005)
Medal of University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005)
Medal of National University of Cordoba, Argentina (2005)
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Member of Advisory and Editorial Boards; Editor of scientific journals (Chemical Physics
Letters at present) and book series; Chairman and Member of Organizing Committees of
national and international conferences; Member of Boards including the following:
World Scientific Advisory Board (1994-)
Max Planck Institute, Board of Advisors (1994-)
American University in Cairo, Board of Trustees (1999-)
Bibliotheca Alexandria, Board of Trustees (2001-)
The Welch Foundation, Scientific Advisory Board (2002-)
Multilateral Initiative on Malaria, Patron (2003-)
Qatar Foundation, Board of Directors (2003-)
Chalmers University, Scientific Advisory Board, Sweden (2003-)
TIAA-CREF, Board of Trustees (2004-2007)
Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Advisory Board, Singapore (2005-)
École Normale Supérieure, Scientific Council, Paris, France (2005-)
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Some 450 articles have been published in the fields of science (authored and co-authored with
members of the research group), education, and world affairs.
The following books have been published:
(1) Advances in Laser Spectroscopy, Vol. 1 (ed.), SPIE Publishing Co. (1977)
(2) Advances in Laser Chemistry, Vol. 3 (ed.), Springer-Verlag Series in Chemical
Physics (1978)
(3) Photochemistry and Photobiology, Proceedings of an International
Conference, Vols. I and II (ed.), Harwood Academic Publishers, New York,
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London, Chur (1983)
(4) Ultrafast Phenomena VII, with C. B. Harris, E. P. Ippen, and G. A. Mourou (eds.),
Springer Series in Chemical Physics 53, Springer-Verlag, New York (1990)
(5) The Chemical Bond: Structure and Dynamics (ed.), Academic Press, Boston
(1992)
(6) Ultrafast Phenomena VIII, with J.-L. Martin, A. Migus, and G. A. Mourou (eds.),
Springer Series in Chemical Physics 55, Springer-Verlag, New York (1993)
(7) Ultrafast Phenomena IX , with P. F. Barbara, W. Knox, and G. A. Mourou (eds.),
Springer Series in Chemical Physics 55, Springer-Verlag, New York (1994)
(8) Femtochemistry -- Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond, Vols. I and II,
World Scientific, New Jersey, Singapore (1994)
(9) Voyage Through Time -- Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize, American University
in Cairo Press (2002); appeared in 12 languages and editions
(10) Asr Al álm, Dar Al Shorouk, Beirut and Cairo editions (in Arabic) (2005);
appeared in the fifth edition since publication in June 2005
The following patent was issued in 1980:
“Solar Energy Concentrator Devices” - Ahmed H. Zewail and J. Samuel Batchelder, disclosed at
the California Institute of Technology, April 17, 1977; U. S. Patent 4,227,939 dated
October 14, 1980.
Some three hundred named, plenary, and keynote lectures have been given and include the
following: Bernstein, Berson, Bodenstein, Cavendish (Scott Series), Celsius, Condon, Aimé
Cotton, Coulson, Debye, Einstein (Berlin, New Delhi, Mexico), Eyring, Faraday, Franklin
(Benjamin), Gandhi, Helmholtz, Hinshelwood, Karrer, Kirkwood, Kistiakowsky, Lawrence,
London, Nobel, Novartis, Noyes, Onassis, Pascal (Blaise), Pauling, Perrin, Pimentel, Max
Planck, Polanyi, Raman, Roberts, Röntgen, Schrödinger, U Thant (United Nations), Thomson
(J. J.), Tolman, Watson, and Wilson. Also given are commencement addresses and public
lectures.
RESEARCH, PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND WORLD AFFAIRS
Current research is devoted to dynamical chemistry and biology, with a focus on the physics of
elementary processes in complex systems. In the Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS)
Center, collaborative multidisciplinary research has been established to address the role of
complexity in the primary function of real systems including enzyme catalysis, protein-RNA
transcription, electron transport in DNA, and the role of water in protein and DNA recognitions.
At the Center for Physical Biology, the focus is on Ultrafast Science and Technology (UST)
with techniques which include ultrafast diffraction, crystallography, and microscopy for the
imaging of transient structures in space and time with atomic-scale resolution.
A significant effort is also devoted to giving public lectures to enhance awareness of the value
of knowledge gained from fundamental research, and helping the population of developing
countries through the promotion of science and technology for the betterment of society.
click here to download the Curriculum Vitae in pdf
Autobiography
On the banks of the Nile, the Rosetta branch, I lived an enjoyable childhood in
the City of Disuq, which is the home of the famous mosque, Sidi Ibrahim. I was
born (February 26, 1946) in nearby Damanhur, the "City of Horus", only 60 km
from Alexandria. In retrospect, it is remarkable that my childhood origins were
flanked by two great places - Rosetta, the city where the famous Stone was
discovered, and Alexandria, the home of ancient learning. The dawn of my
memory begins with my days, at Disuq's preparatory school. I am the only son in
a family of three sisters and two loving parents. My father was liked and
respected by the city community - he was helpful, cheerful and very much
enjoyed his life. He worked for the government and also had his own business.
My mother, a good-natured, contented person, devoted all her life to her children
and, in particular, to me. She was central to my "walks of life" with her kindness,
total devotion and native intelligence. Although our immediate family is small,
the Zewails are well known in Damanhur.
The family's dream was to see me receive a high degree abroad and to return
to become a university professor - on the door to my study room, a sign was
placed reading, "Dr. Ahmed," even though I was still far from becoming a doctor.
My father did live to see that day, but a dear uncle did not. Uncle Rizk was
special in my boyhood years and I learned much from him - an appreciation for
critical analyses, an enjoyment of music, and of intermingling with the masses
and intellectuals alike; he was respected for his wisdom, financially well-to-do,
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and self-educated. Culturally, my interests were focused - reading, music, some
sports and playing backgammon. The great singer Um Kulthum (actually named
Kawkab Elsharq - a superstar of the East) had a major influence on my
appreciation of music. On the first Thursday of each month we listened to Um
Kulthum's concert - "waslats" (three songs) - for more than three hours. During
all of my study years in Egypt, the music of this unique figure gave me a special
happiness, and her voice was often in the background while I was studying
mathematics, chemistry... etc. After three decades I still have the same feeling
and passion for her music. In America, the only music I have been able to
appreciate on this level is classical, and some jazz. Reading was and still is my
real joy.
As a boy it was clear that my inclinations were toward the physical sciences.
Mathematics, mechanics, and chemistry were among the fields that gave me a
special satisfaction. Social sciences were not as attractive because in those days
much emphasis was placed on memorization of subjects, names and the like, and
for reasons unknown (to me), my mind kept asking "how" and "why". This
characteristic has persisted from the beginning of my life. In my teens, I recall
feeling a thrill when I solved a difficult problem in mechanics, for instance,
considering all of the tricky operational forces of a car going uphill or downhill.
Even though chemistry required some memorization, I was intrigued by the
"mathematics of chemistry". It provides laboratory phenomena which, as a boy, I
wanted to reproduce and understand. In my bedroom I constructed a small
apparatus, out of my mother's oil burner (for making Arabic coffee) and a few
glass tubes, in order to see how wood is transformed into a burning gas and a
liquid substance. I still remember this vividly, not only for the science, but also
for the danger of burning down our house! It is not clear why I developed this
attraction to science at such an early stage.
After finishing high school, I applied to universities. In Egypt, you send
your application to a central Bureau (Maktab El Tansiq), and according to your
grades, you are assigned a university, hopefully on your list of choice. In the
sixties, Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Science were tops. I was admitted
to Alexandria University and to the faculty of science. Here, luck played a crucial
role because I had little to do with Maktab El Tansiq's decision, which gave me
the career I still love most: science. At the time, I did not know the depth of this
feeling, and, if accepted to another faculty, I probably would not have insisted on
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the faculty of science. But this passion for science became evident on the first day
I went to the campus in Maharem Bek with my uncle - I had tears in my eyes as I
felt the greatness of the university and the sacredness of its atmosphere. My
grades throughout the next four years reflected this special passion. In the first
year, I took four courses, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geology, and my
grades were either excellent or very good. Similarly, in the second year I scored
very highly (excellent) in Chemistry and was chosen for a group of seven
students (called "special chemistry"), an elite science group. I graduated with the
highest honors - "Distinction with First Class Honor" - with above 90% in all
areas of chemistry. With these scores, i was awarded, as a student, a stipend
every month of approximately £13, which was close to that of a university
graduate who made £17 at the time!
After graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science, I was appointed to a
University position as a demonstrator ("Moeid"), to carry on research toward a
Masters and then a Ph.D. degree, and to teach undergraduates at the University
of Alexandria. This was a tenured position, guaranteeing a faculty appointment
at the University. In teaching, I was successful to the point that, although not yet
a professor, I gave "professorial lectures" to help students after the Professor had
given his lecture. Through this experience I discovered an affinity and enjoyment
of explaining science and natural phenomena in the clearest and simplest way.
The students (500 or more) enriched this sense with the appreciation they
expressed. At the age of 21, as a Moeid, I believed that behind every universal
phenomenon there must be beauty and simplicity in its description. This belief
remains true today.
On the research side, I finished the requirements for a Masters in Science in
about eight months. The tool was spectroscopy, and I was excited about
developing an understanding of how and why the spectra of certain molecules
change with solvents. This is an old subject, but to me it involved a new level of
understanding that was quite modern in our department. My research advisors
were three: The head of the inorganic section, Professor Tahany Salem and
Professors Rafaat Issa and Samir El Ezaby, with whom I worked most closely;
they suggested the research problem to me, and this research resulted in several
publications. I was ready to think about my Ph.D. research (called "research
point") after one year of being a Moeid. Professors El Ezaby (a graduate of Utah)
and Yehia El Tantawy (a graduate of Penn) encouraged me to go abroad to
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complete my Ph.D. work. All the odds were against my going to America. First, I
did not have the connections abroad. Second, the 1967 war had just ended and
American stocks in Egypt were at their lowest value, so study missions were
only sent to the USSR or Eastern European countries. I had to obtain a
scholarship directly from an American University. After corresponding with a
dozen universities, the University of Pennsylvania and a few others offered me
scholarships, providing the tuition and paying a monthly stipend (some $300).
There were still further obstacles against travel to America ("Safer to America"). It
took enormous energy to pass the regulatory and bureaucratic barriers.
Arriving in the States, I had the feeling of being thrown into an ocean. The
ocean was full of knowledge, culture, and opportunities, and the choice was clear:
I could either learn to swim or sink. The culture was foreign, the language was
difficult, but my hopes were high. I did not speak or write English fluently, and I
did not know much about western culture in general, or American culture in
particular. I remember a "cultural incident" that opened my eyes to the new
traditions I was experiencing right after settling in Philadelphia. In Egypt, as
boys, we used to kid each other by saying "I'll kill you", and good friends often
said such phrases jokingly. I became friends with a sympathetic American
graduate student, and, at one point, jokingly said "I'll kill you". I immediately
noticed his reserve and coolness, perhaps worrying that a fellow from the Middle
East might actually do it!
My presence - as the Egyptian at Penn - was starting to be felt by the
professors and students as my scores were high, and I also began a successful
course of research. I owe much to my research advisor, Professor Robin
Hochstrasser, who was, and still is, a committed scientist and educator. The
diverse research problems I worked on, and the collaborations with many able
scientists, were both enjoyable and profitable. My publication list was increasing,
but just as importantly, I was learning new things literally every day - in
chemistry, in physics and in other fields. The atmosphere at the Laboratory for
Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) was most stimulating and I was
enthusiastic about researching in areas that crossed the disciplines of physics and
chemistry (sometimes too enthusiastic!). My courses were enjoyable too; I still
recall the series 501, 502, 503 and the physics courses I took with the Nobel
Laureate, Bob Schrieffer. I was working almost "day and night," and doing
several projects at the same time: The Stark effect of simple molecules; the
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Zeeman effect of solids like NO2- and benzene; the optical detection of magnetic
resonance (ODMR); double resonance techniques, etc. Now, thinking about it, I
cannot imagine doing all of this again, but of course then I was "young and
innocent".
The research for my Ph.D. and the requirements for a degree were
essentially completed by 1973, when another war erupted in the Middle East. I
had strong feelings about returning to Egypt to be a University Professor, even
though at the beginning of my years in America my memories of the frustrating
bureaucracy encountered at the time of my departure were still vivid. With time,
things change, and I recollected all the wonderful years of my childhood and the
opportunities Egypt had provided to me. Returning was important to me, but I
also knew that Egypt would not be able to provide the scientific atmosphere I
had enjoyed in the U.S. A few more years in America would give me and my
family two opportunities: First, I could think about another area of research in a
different place (while learning to be professorial!). Second, my salary would be
higher than that of a graduate student, and we could then buy a big American
car that would be so impressive for the new Professor at Alexandria University! I
applied for five positions, three in the U.S., one in Germany and one in Holland,
and all of them with world-renowned professors. I received five offers and
decided on Berkeley.
Early in 1974 we went to Berkeley, excited by the new opportunities.
Culturally, moving from Philadelphia to Berkeley was almost as much of a shock
as the transition from Alexandria to Philadelphia - Berkeley was a new world! I
saw Telegraph Avenue for the first time, and this was sufficient to indicate the
difference. I also met many graduate students whose language and behavior I
had never seen before, neither in Alexandria, nor in Philadelphia. I interacted
well with essentially everybody, and in some cases I guided some graduate
students. But I also learned from members of the group. The obstacles did not
seem as high as they had when I came to the University of Pennsylvania because
culturally and scientifically I was better equipped. Berkeley was a great place for
science - the BIG science. In the laboratory, my aim was to utilize the expertise I
had gained from my Ph.D. work on the spectroscopy of pairs of molecules, called
dimers, and to measure their coherence with the new tools available at Berkeley.
Professor Charles Harris was traveling to Holland for an extensive stay, but
when he returned to Berkeley we enjoyed discussing science at late hours! His
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ideas were broad and numerous, and in some cases went beyond the scientific
language I was familiar with. Nevertheless, my general direction was established.
I immediately saw the importance of the concept of coherence. I decided to tackle
the problem, and, in a rather short time, acquired a rigorous theoretical
foundation which was new to me. I believe that this transition proved vital in
subsequent years of my research.
I wrote two papers with Charles, one theoretical and the other experimental.
They were published in Physical Review. These papers were followed by other
work, and I extended the concept of coherence to multidimensional systems,
publishing my first independently authored paper while at Berkeley. In
collaboration with other graduate students, I also published papers on energy
transfer in solids. I enjoyed my interactions with the students and professors, and
at Berkeley's popular and well-attended physical chemistry seminars. Charles
decided to offer me the IBM Fellowship that was only given to a few in the
department. He strongly felt that I should get a job at one of the top universities
in America, or at least have the experience of going to the interviews; I am
grateful for his belief in me. I only applied to a few places and thought I had no
chance at these top universities. During the process, I contacted Egypt, and I also
considered the American University in Beirut (AUB). Although I visited some
places, nothing was finalized, and I was preparing myself for the return.
Meanwhile, I was busy and excited about the new research I was doing. Charles
decided to build a picosecond laser, and two of us in the group were involved in
this hard and "non-profitable" direction of research (!); I learned a great deal
about the principles of lasers and their physics.
During this period, many of the top universities announced new positions,
and Charles asked me to apply. I decided to send applications to nearly a dozen
places and, at the end, after interviews and enjoyable visits, I was offered an
Assistant Professorship at many, including Harvard, Caltech, Chicago, Rice, and
Northwestern. My interview at Caltech had gone well, despite the experience of
an exhausting two days, visiting each half hour with a different faculty member
in chemistry and chemical engineering. The visit was exciting, surprising and
memorable. The talks went well and I even received some undeserved praise for
style. At one point, I was speaking about what is known as the FVH, picture of
coherence, where F stands for Feynman, the famous Caltech physicist and Nobel
Laureate. I went to the board to write the name and all of a sudden I was stuck
7
on the spelling. Half way through, I turned to the audience and said, "you know
how to spell Feynman". A big laugh erupted, and the audience thought I was
joking - I wasn't! After receiving several offers, the time had come to make up my
mind, but I had not yet heard from Caltech. I called the Head of the Search
Committee, now a colleague of mine, and he was lukewarm, encouraging me to
accept other offers. However, shortly after this, I was contacted by Caltech with a
very attractive offer, asking me to visit with my family. We received the red
carpet treatment, and that visit did cost Caltech! I never regretted the decision of
accepting the Caltech offer.
My science family came from all over the world, and members were of
varied backgrounds, cultures, and abilities. The diversity in this "small world" I
worked in daily provided the most stimulating environment, with many
challenges and much optimism. Over the years, my research group has had close
to 150 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting associates. Many of
them are now in leading academic, industrial and governmental positions.
Working with such minds in a village of science has been the most rewarding
experience - Caltech was the right place for me.
My biological children were all "made in America". I have two daughters,
Maha, a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas, Austin, and Amani, a junior at
Berkeley, both of whom I am very proud. I met Dema, my wife, by a surprising
chance, a fairy tale. In 1988 it was announced that I was a winner of the King
Faisal International Prize. In March of 1989, I went to receive the award from
Saudi Arabia, and there I met Dema; her father was receiving the same prize in
literature. We met in March, got engaged in July and married in September, all of
the same year, 1989. Dema has her M.D. from Damascus University, and
completed a Master's degree in Public Health at UCLA. We have two young sons,
Nabeel and Hani, and both bring joy and excitement to our life. Dema is a
wonderful mother, and is my friend and confidante.
The journey from Egypt to America has been full of surprises. As a Moeid, I was
unaware of the Nobel Prize in the way I now see its impact in the West. We used
to gather around the TV or read in the newspaper about the recognition of
famous Egyptian scientists and writers by the President, and these moments
gave me and my friends a real thrill - maybe one day we would be in this
position ourselves for achievements in science or literature. Some decades later,
8
when President Mubarak bestowed on me the Order of Merit, first class, and the
Grand Collar of the Nile ("Kiladate El Niel"), the highest State honor, it brought
these emotional boyhood days back to my memory. I never expected that my
portrait, next to the pyramids, would be on a postage stamp or that the school I
went to as a boy and the road to Rosetta would be named after me. Certainly, as
a youngster in love with science, I had no dreams about the honor of the Nobel
Prize.
Since my arrival at Caltech in 1976, our contributions have been recognized
by countries around the world. Among the awards and honors are:
Special Honors
King Faisal International Prize in Science (1989).
First Linus Pauling Chair, Caltech (1990).
Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1993).
Order of Merit, first class (Sciences & Arts), from President Mubarak (1995).
Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry (1997).
Benjamin Franklin Medal, Franklin Institute, USA (1998).
Egypt Postage Stamps, with Portrait (1998); the Fourth Pyramid (1999).
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1999).
Grand Collar of the Nile, Highest State Honor, conferred by President Mubarak
(1999).
Prizes and Awards
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (1978-1982).
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1979-1985).
Alexander von Humboldt Award for Senior United States Scientists (1983).
National Science Foundation Award for especially creative research (1984; 1988;
1993).
Buck-Whitney Medal, American Chemical Society (1985).
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (1987).
Harrison Howe Award, American Chemical Society (1989).
Carl Zeiss International Award, Germany (1992).
Earle K. Plyler Prize, American Physical Society (1993).
Medal of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Holland (1993).
9
Bonner Chemiepreis, Germany (1994).
Herbert P. Broida Prize, American Physical Society (1995).
Leonardo Da Vinci Award of Excellence, France (1995).
Collége de France Medal, France (1995).
Peter Debye Award, American Chemical Society (1996).
National Academy of Sciences Award, Chemical Sciences, USA (1996).
J.G. Kirkwood Medal, Yale University (1996).
Peking University Medal, PU President, Beijing, China (1996).
Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award (1997).
First E.B. Wilson Award, American Chemical Society (1997).
Linus Pauling Medal Award (1997).
Richard C. Tolman Medal Award (1998).
William H. Nichols Medal Award (1998).
Paul Karrer Gold Medal, University of Zürich, Switzerland (1998).
E.O. Lawrence Award, U.S. Government (1998).
Merski Award, University of Nebraska (1999).
Röntgen Prize, (100th Anniversary of the Discovery of X-rays), Germany (1999).
Academies and Societies
American Physical Society, Fellow (elected 1982).
National Academy of Sciences, USA (elected 1989).
Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy (elected 1989).
Sigma Xi Society, USA (elected 1992).
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 1993).
Académie Européenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres, France (elected 1994).
American Philosophical Society (elected 1998).
Pontifical Academy of Sciences (elected 1999).
American Academy of Achievement (elected 1999).
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (elected 2000)
Honorary Degrees
Oxford University, UK (1991): M.A., h.c.
American University, Cairo, Egypt (1993): D.Sc., h.c.
Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium (1997): D.Sc., h.c.
University of Pennsylvania, USA (1997): D.Sc., h.c.
Université de Lausanne, Switzerland (1997): D.Sc., h.c.
10
Swinburne University, Australia (1999): D.U., h.c.
Arab Academy for Science & Technology, Egypt (1999): H.D.A.Sc.
Alexandria University, Egypt (1999): H.D.Sc.
University of New Brunswick, Canada (2000): Doctoris in Scientia, D.Sc., h.c.
Universita di Roma "La Sapienza", Italy (2000): D.Sc., h.c.
Université de Liège, Belgium (2000): Doctor honoris causa, D., h.c.
From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1999, Editor Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel
Foundation], Stockholm, 2000
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and
later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is
sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this
document, always state the source as shown above.
Addendum September 2005
After the awarding of the Nobel Prize in 1999, I continued to serve as a
faculty member at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as the Linus
Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics, and the Director
of Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology (UST) and the
NSF Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS). Current research is devoted to
dynamical chemistry and biology, with a focus on the physics of elementary
processes in complex systems. A major research frontier is the new development
of “ultrafast diffraction and microscopy”, making possible the imaging of
transient structures in space and time with atomic-scale resolution.
I have also devoted some time to giving public lectures in order to enhance
awareness of the value of knowledge gained from fundamental research, and
helping the population of developing countries through the promotion of science
and technology for the betterment of society. Because of the unique East-West
cultures that I represent, I wrote a book Voyage Through Time - Walks of Life to the
Nobel Prize hoping to share the experience, especially with young people, and to
remind them that it is possible!
11
Some of the awards and honors received since the awarding of the Nobel Prize
are listed in the Curriculum Vitae.
For more updated biographical information, see:
Zewail, Ahmed, Voyage through Time. Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize. American
University in Cairo Press, Cairo, 2002, published in 12 editions and languages.
click here to get the Autobiography in pdf
Dr. zewail and the Nobel Prize
Press Release :
Press Release: The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
KUNGL. VETENSKAPSAKADEMIEN
THE ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
12 October 1999
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to
Professor Ahmed H. Zewail, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
for showing that it is possible with rapid laser technique to see how atoms in a molecule move during a chemical reaction.
The Academy’s citation:
For his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy.
This year’s laureate in Chemistry is being rewarded for his pioneering investigation of fundamental chemical reactions, using ultra-short laser flashes, on the time scale on which the reactions actually occur. Professor Zewail’s contributions have brought about a revolution in chemistry and adjacent sciences, since this type of investigation allows us to understand and predict important reactions.
Development of femtochemistry rewarded
What would a football match on TV be without “slow motion” revealing afterwards the movements of the players and the ball when a goal is scored? Chemical reactions are a similar case. The chemists’ eagerness to be able to follow chemical reactions in the greatest detail has prompted increasingly advanced technology. This years laureate in Chemistry, Ahmed H. Zewail, has studied atoms and molecules in “slow motion” during a reaction and seen what actually happens when chemical bonds break and new ones are created.
Zewail’s technique uses what may be described as the world’s fastest camera. This uses laser flashes of such short duration that we are down to the time scale on which the reactions actually happen - femtoseconds (fs). One femtosecond is 10-15 seconds, that is, 0.000000000000001 seconds, which is to a second as a second is to 32 million years. This area of physical chemistry has been named femtochemistry.
Femtochemistry enables us to understand why certain chemical reactions take place but not others. We can also explain why the speed and yield of reactions depend on temperature. Scientists the world over are studying processes with femtosecond spectroscopy in gases, in fluids and in solids, on surfaces and in polymers. Applications range from how catalysts function and how molecular electronic components must be designed, to the most delicate mechanisms in life processes and how the medicines of the future should be produced.
How fast are chemical reactions?
Chemical reactions can, as we all know, take place at very varying velocities - compare a rusting nail and exploding dynamite! Common to most reactions is that their velocity increases as temperature rises, i.e. when molecular motion becomes more violent.
For this reason researchers long believed that a molecule first needs to be activated, ‘kicked’ over a barrier, if it is to react. When two molecules collide, nothing normally happens, they just bounce apart. But when the temperature is high enough the collision is so violent that they react with one another and new molecules form. Once a molecule has been given a sufficiently strong ‘temperature kick’ it reacts incredibly fast, whereupon chemical bonds break and new ones form. This also applies to the reactions that appear to be slow (e.g. the rusting nail). The difference is only that the ‘temperature kicks’ occur more seldom in a slow reaction than in a fast one.
The barrier is determined by the forces that hold atoms together in the molecule (the chemical bonds) roughly like the gravitational barrier that a moon rocket from Earth must surmount before it is captured by the Moon’s force field. But until very recently little was known about the molecule’s path up over the barrier and what the molecule really looks like when it is exactly at the top, its ‘transition state’.
Hundred years of research
Svante Arrhenius (Nobel laureate in Chemistry 1903), inspired by van’t Hoff (the first Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 1901) presented just over a hundred years ago a simple formula for reaction speed as a function of temperature. But this referred to many molecules at once (macroscopic systems) and relatively long times. It was not until the 1930s that H. Eyring and M. Polanyi formulated a theory based on reactions in microscopic systems of individual molecules. The theoretical assumption was that the transition state was crossed very rapidly, on the time scale that applies to molecular vibrations. That it would ever be possible to perform experiments over such short times was something no-one dreamed of.
But this is exactly what Zewail set out to do. At the end of the 1980s he performed a series of experiments that were to lead to the birth of the research area called femtochemistry. This involves using a high-speed camera to image molecules in the actual course of chemical reactions and trying to capture pictures of them just in the transition state. The camera was based on new laser technology with light flashes of some tens of femtoseconds. The time it takes for the atoms in a molecule to perform one vibration is typically 10-100 fs. That chemical reactions should take place on the same time scale as when the atoms oscillate in the molecules may be compared to two trapeze artists “reacting” with each other on the same time scale as that on which their trapezes swing back and forth.
What did the chemists see as the time resolution was successively improved? The first success was the discovery of substances formed along the way from the original one to the final product, substances termed intermediates. To begin with these were relatively stable molecules or molecule fragments. Each improvement of the time resolution led to new links in a reaction chain, in the form of increasingly short-lived intermediates, being fitted into the puzzle of understanding how the reaction mechanism worked.
The contribution for which Zewail is to receive the Nobel Prize means that we have reached the end of the road: no chemical reactions take place faster than this. With femtosecond spectroscopy we can for the first time observe in ‘slow motion’ what happens as the reaction barrier is crossed and hence also understand the mechanistic background to Arrhenius’ formula for temperature dependence and to the formulae for which van’t Hoff was awarded his Nobel Prize.
Femtochemistry in practice
In femtosecond spectroscopy the original substances are mixed as beams of molecules in a vacuum chamber. An ultrafast laser then injects two pulses: first a powerful pump pulse that strikes the molecule and excites it to a higher energy state, and then a weaker probe pulse at a wavelength chosen to detect the original molecule or an altered form of this. The pump pulse is the starting signal for the reaction while the probe pulse examines what is happening. By varying the time interval between the two pulses it is possible to see how quickly the original molecule is transformed. The new shapes the molecule takes when it is excited - perhaps going through one or more transition states - have spectra that may serve as fingerprints. The time interval between the pulses can be varied simply by causing the probe pulse to make a detour via mirrors. Not a long detour: the light covers the distance of 0.03 mm in 100 fs!
To better understand what happens, the fingerprint and the time elapsing are then compared with theoretical simulations based on results of quantum chemical calculations (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1998) of spectra and energies for the molecules in their various states.
The first experiments
In his first experiments Zewail studied the disintegration of iodocyanide:
ICN -->I + CN. His team were able to observe a transition state exactly when the I-C bond was about to break: the whole reaction takes place in 200 femtoseconds.
In another important experiment Zewail studied the dissociation of sodium iodide (NaI): NaI --> Na + I. The pump pulse excites the ion pair Na+ I– which has an equilibrium distance of 2.8 Å between nuclei (Fig. 1) to an activated form [NaI]* which then assumes covalent bonding. However, its properties change when the molecules vibrate; when the nuclei are at their outer turning points, 10-15 Å apart, the electron structure is ionic, while at short distances it is covalent. At a certain point on the vibration cycle, just when the nuclei are 6.9 Å apart, there is a great probability that the molecule will fall back to its ground state or decay into sodium and iodine atoms.
Figure 1
Potential energy curves showing ground state and excited state for NaI. The upper curve shows the molecule vibrations in excited NaI. When the distance between the sodium nucleus and the iodine nucleus is short the covalent bond dominates, while the ion bond dominates at a greater distance. The vibrations may be compared to those of a marble rolling back and forth in a dish. As the 6.9 Å point is passed there is a chance that the marble will roll down to the lower curve. There it may end up in the pit to the left (return to ground state) or fly out to the right (decay into sodium and iodine atoms respectively).
Zewail also studied the reaction between hydrogen and carbon dioxide: H + CO2 --> CO + OH a reaction that takes place in the atmosphere and in combustion. He showed that the reaction crosses a relatively long state of HOCO (1 000 fs).
A question that has occupied many chemists is why certain chemical bonds are more reactive than others and what happens if there are two equivalent bonds in one molecule: will they break simultaneously or one at a time? To answer this kind of question Zewail and his co-workers studied the disassociation of tetrafluordiiodethane (C2I2F4) into tetrafluorethylene (C2F4) and two iodine atoms (I):
They discovered that the two C-I bonds, despite their equivalence in the original molecule, break one at a time.
Research is extra interesting when the results are unexpected. Zewail studied what may be thought the simple reaction between benzene, a ring of six carbon atoms (C6H6) and iodine (I2), a molecule consisting of two iodine atoms. When the two molecules become sufficiently close together they form a complex. The laser flash causes an electron to be shot from the benzene molecule into the iodine molecule. This then becomes negatively charged while the benzene molecule becomes positively charged. The negative and positive charges cause the benzene and the nearest iodine atom to be rapidly drawn to one another. The bond between the two iodine atoms is stretched when one of them is sucked in towards the benzene, whereupon the other atom breaks free and flies away. All this happens within 750 fs. Zewail found, however, that this is not the only way individual iodine atoms can be formed: sometimes the electron falls back onto benzene. But it is already too late for the iodine atoms: like a stretched rubber band breaking, the bond between the two atoms breaks and they fly apart.
Research Explosion
A much studied model reaction in organic chemistry is the ring opening of cyclobutane to yield ethylene or the reverse, the combining of two ethylene molecules to form cyclobutane. The reaction may thus go directly via one transition state with a simple activation barrier as shown schematically on the left in Figure 2. Alternatively, it may proceed through a two-stage mechanism (right) so that first one bond breaks and tetramethylene is formed as an intermediate. After crossing another activation barrier the tetramethylene in turn is converted to the final product. Zewail and his co-workers showed with femtosecond spectroscopy that the intermediate product was in fact formed, and had a lifetime of 700 fs.
Figure 2
How does the reaction from the cyclobutane molecule to two ethylene molecules actually proceed? The left-hand figure shows how the state energy varies if both bonds are stretched and broken simultaneously. The right-hand figure shows the case where one bond at a time breaks.
Another type of reaction studied with femtosecond technology is the light-induced conversion of a molecule from one structure to another, photoisomerisation. The conversion of the stilbene molecule, which includes two benzene rings, between the cis- and trans- forms was observed by Zewail and his co-workers.
They concluded that during the process the two benzene rings turn synchronously in relation to one another. Similar behaviour has also recently been observed for the retinal molecule, which is the colour substance in rodopsin, the pigment in the rods of the eye. The primary photochemical step, when we perceive light, is a cis-trans conversion around a double bond in retinal. With femtosecond spectroscopy other researchers have found that the process takes 200 fs and that a certain amount of vibration remains in the product of the reaction. The speed of the reaction suggests that energy from the absorbed photon is not first redistributed but is localised directly to the relevant double bond. This would explain the high efficiency (70%) and hence the eye’s good night vision. Another biologically important example where femtochemistry has explained efficient energy conversion is in chlorophyll molecules, which capture light in photosynthesis.
Femtosecond studies following Zewail’s work are being performed intensively the world over, using not only molecular beams but also processes on surfaces (e.g. to understand and improve catalysts), in liquids and solvents (to understand mechanisms of the dissolving of and reactions between substances in solution) and in polymers (e.g. to develop new material for use in electronics). Another important research field is studies of biological systems. Knowledge of the mechanisms of chemical reactions is also important for our ability to control the reactions. A desired chemical reaction is often accompanied by a series of unwanted, competing reactions that lead to a mixture of products and hence the need for separation and cleansing. If the reaction can be controlled by initiating reactivity in selected bonds, this could be avoided.
Femtochemistry has fundamentally changed our view of chemical reactions. From a phenomenon described in relatively vague metaphors such as ‘activation’ and ‘transition state’, we can now see the movements of individual atoms as we imagine them. They are no longer invisible. Here lies the reason why the femtochemistry research initiated by this year’s Nobel Laureate has led to explosive development. With the world’s fastest camera available, only the imagination sets bounds for new problems to tackle.
Further reading
“Extended version in English” by Professor Bengt Nordén.
M.A. El-Sayed, I. Tanaka and Y. Molin “Ultrafast Processes in Chemistry and Photobiology” Blackwell Science 1995 306 pp, ISBN 0-86542-893-X.
S. Pedersen, J.L. Herek and A.H. Zewail “The Validity of the Diradical Hypothesis: Direct Femtosecond Studies of the Transition-State Structures”. Science Vol 266 (1994) 1359-1364.
A.H. Zewail “The Birth of Molecules” Scientific American December 1990 p 40-46.
V.K. Jain “The World’s Fastest Camera” The World and I, October 1995 p 156-163.
Nobel Symposium: Femtochemistry & Femtobiology: Ultrafast Reaction Dynamics at Atomic-Scale Resolution (Editor: V. Sundström) World Scientific, Singapore 1996.
Ahmed Zewail was born in 1946 in Egypt where he grew up and studied at the University of Alexandria. After continued studies in the U.S.A. he graduated for PhD in 1974 at the University of Pennsylvania. After two years at the University of California at Berkeley he was employed at Caltech where he has the Linus Pauling Chair of Chemical Physics since 1990. Zewail is Egyptian and American citizen.
Professor Ahmed H. Zewail
California Institute of Technology
Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics
Mail Code 127-72
Pasadena, California 91125
USA
The amount of the Nobel Prize Award is
SEK 7, 900, 000.
For more information about Dr. zewail plz visit his official website at http://www.zewail.caltech.edu/
An Overview Of Dr. Zewail Life :
Birth and education:
Ahmed Zewail was born on February 26, 1946 in Damanhur (60 km south-east of Alexandria) and raised in Disuq. He received his first degree from the University of Alexandria before moving from Egypt to the United States to complete his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed post doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley.
Academic Career:
After some post doctorate work at UC-Berkeley, he was awarded a faculty appointment at Caltech in 1976, where he has remained since. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1982, and in 1990, he was made the first Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Physics.
Research :
Zewail's key work has been as the pioneer of femtochemistry—i.e. the study of chemical reactions across femtoseconds. Using a rapid ultrafast laser technique (consisting of ultrashort laser flashes), the technique allows the description of reactions on very short time scales - short enough to analyse transition states in selected chemical reactions.
In 1999, Zewail became the third ethnic Egyptian to receive the Nobel Prize, following Anwar Sadat (1978 in Peace) and Naguib Mahfouz (1988 in Literature). Other international awards include the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1993) and the Robert A. Welch Award (1997). In 1999, he received Egypt's highest state honour, the Grand Collar of the Nile.
Cambridge University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Science in 2006.
Zewail is married, and has four children.
Reference:
1) http://www.zewail.caltech.edu/
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/
