Besides being a prime cause of poor economic growth, poor governance breeds corruption, which cripples investment, wastes resources, and diminishes confidence.

Ahmed Zewail

Categorized in : Poor Growth Corruption Confidence

Higher education should be based on quality, not quantity; receive merit-based funding; and be free of unnecessary bureaucracy. Not the least of the benefits of educational reform is to foster the pride of achievement at national and international levels.

achievement quality pride education

Egypt was the first democracy in the Middle East. Women were unveiled in the 1920s. Egypt is a country of civilization, of culture. It shouldn't be suffering.

women democracy suffering culture

In the Middle East, it is clear that peace will never be reached without solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A two-state solution must be found and enforced.

solution never conflict peace

The mosque was the neighbourhood house of worship, but it was also the place where my high school friends and I came to study.

school-friends place friends school

Like everywhere in the world, people of the Middle East aspire to liberty and justice. They wish to have a better life and a decent education for their children.

education life children people

Curiosity - the rover and the concept - is what science is all about: the quest to reveal the unknown.

reveal unknown curiosity science

The universe at large is full of questions that we still don't know anything about, and there will be always young people, brilliant, who are going to make new discoveries.

new know universe people

When I was a boy in Desuq, Egypt, a city on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, about 50 miles east of Alexandria, my family lived steps away from the local landmark, a mosque named for a 13th-century Sufi sheik.

mosque boy city family

Egypt does not possess rich natural resources. Its agricultural area is relatively small - less than 10 per cent of the total land. Its growth relies on tourism, Suez Canal tariffs, and foreign investment.

small egypt rich growth

Investing in science education and curiosity-driven research is investing in the future.

future research education science

A femtosecond is comparable to one second in 32 million years. It is like watching a 32-million-year movie to see one second.

watching see like years

Secularism will not work in Egypt any more than theocracy. What will work is governance that is guided by the Islamic values of the majority with protection of the minority rights.

will values egypt work

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.

mosque city childhood home

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salifist parties are a real force in the Egyptian society.

force brotherhood society real

There is no 'master plan' on the road to the Nobel Prize. It represents a lot of hard work, a passion for that work and... being in the right place at the right time. For me, that place was Caltech.

me hard-work work time

Egypt has great potential because of the latent power of its human capital.

potential great egypt power

I discovered how science is truly a universal language, one that forges new connections among individuals and opens the mind to ideas that go far beyond the classroom.

language mind science ideas

As recently as the September 11 event, the majority of Muslims were, as the rest of the world was, against its violence. However, if despair and humiliation continue in the population of more than one billion Muslims, the world will face increasing risks of conflicts and wars.

face rest violence world

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.

doctor me family reading

Reading was and still is my real joy.

still real reading joy