# Ahmed Zewail

_Egyptian chemist_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/ahmed-zewail
Last updated: 2026-11-01

> Ahmed Hassan Zewail was an Egyptian-American chemist, known as the "Father of Femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field, and the first African to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was a professor of chemistry and physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he was the first Caltech faculty member to be named the Linus Pauling Chair of Chemical Physics and was the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 26 February 1946 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Damanhur ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P19))
- **Died:** 2 August 2016 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P570))
- **Place of death:** Pasadena ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Egypt; United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P27))
- **Occupation:** chemist; university teacher; inventor; physicist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P106))
- **Education:** University of Pennsylvania; Alexandria University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P69))
- **Official website:** caltech.edu/about/news/ahmed-zewail-1946-2016-51594 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P856))
- **Awards:** Guggenheim Fellowship; Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Davy Medal; Wolf Prize in Chemistry; NAS Award in Chemical Sciences; Albert Einstein World Award of Science; Priestley Medal; King Faisal Prize in Science; Order of the Nile; Tolman Award; Zeiss Research Award; Honorary doctor of the University of Lausanne; Mendel Medal; Fellow of the American Physical Society; honorary doctor of the University of Madrid Complutense ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P166))
- **X (Twitter):** _zewail_ ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624#P2002))

## Questions

**When was Ahmed Zewail born?**  
Ahmed Zewail was born on 26 February 1946 in Damanhur.

**Where did Ahmed Zewail study?**  
Ahmed Zewail was educated at University of Pennsylvania, Alexandria University.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Ahmed Zewail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Zewail) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q106624](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106624) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Ahmed Zewail HD2009 Othmer Gold Medal portrait.JPG by Douglas A. Lockard (CC BY-SA 3.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ahmed_Zewail_HD2009_Othmer_Gold_Medal_portrait.JPG)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Ahmed Zewail, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Ahmed Zewail HD2009 Othmer Gold Medal portrait.JPG — Douglas A. Lockard, CC BY-SA 3.0.

## Cite this page

"Ahmed Zewail". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/ahmed-zewail. Retrieved 5 November 2026.