Dr. Ahmed Hassan Zewail, one of the most influential names in chemistry, passed away on August 2 at his home in the United States. He was 70.
Born in Damanhour, Egypt, Dr. Zewail pioneered the field of femtochemistry, the study of chemical reactions in real-time on the femtosecond timescale. It was for this that he was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Although he spent most of his career in the US - most notably at the California Institute of Technology - Dr. Zewail was regarded as an inspirational figure and statesman around the world.
He was a professor at Tohoku University in 2005 where he was conferred an honorary doctorate and is remembered fondly as a great visionary and scientist.
Dr. Zewail is survived by his wife, four children and three grandchildren.
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