Nobel Prize Is Next…Get to Know Egyptian Researcher Elham Fadaly

Egyptian Researcher Elham Fadaly received her PhD in Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.

The PhD was for her significant breakthrough in semiconductor technology, including the high quality hexagonal SiGe that exhibits efficient light emission up to room temperature.

Recently, Physics World magazine announced that Fadaly and her team at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands won the Physics World 2020 Breakthrough of the Year.

The team created a silicon-based material that emits light efficiently at wavelengths in the range of the optical telecommunications window, the team unlocked a door of opportunities for silicon devices.

“Scientists have long been chasing the dream of having a silicon-based light source for nearly 50 years due to the important role it will play in the future with data communication via light,” Fadaly said.

“Now that we have the proof of concept that we can generate efficient light emissions from silicon-based materials, the next step is to fabricate a light source out of this material and employ it in optoelectronic devices,” she added.

In addition, Fadaly was a researcher in the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at the Delft University of Technology and received her Master of Science (MSc) in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology – Nanoelectronics from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

Furthermore, the researcher affirmed that she is really proud to be an Egyptian and Arab female who can set an example that girls can do something in such complicated fields.

“Given that the percentage of females in physics is quite low, I’m proud to have done it -- for myself, my family and my community,” the researcher stressed. Nonetheless, she noted that “this isn’t really a single-person achievement at all.”

“When science wasn’t as advanced as it is today, people like Einstein were able to make a breakthrough on their own. Now, we’re at the edge of science, and we need collaborations to make breakthroughs – especially if they’re experimental,” she clarified.

Fadaly was born in Bani Sweif where she spent her education in Arabic schools. Thus, her transition to AUC was “quite challenging” after she was awarded a full scholarship from the USAID-funded Leadership for Education and Development (LEAD) program. In 2013, she received her Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Electronics Engineering from AUC.

Her major AUC memory is her semester abroad during her junior year at Drexel University, Pennsylvania, calling it “the biggest step."

She talked about her lifelong dream of studying abroad and pursuing her graduate studies.

“There, I attended courses and labs in the physics of electronic devices, and I was fascinated," she mentioned. "When I came back, I decided that was the field I want to continue in."

Meantime, the researcher expressed her sincere gratitude for AUC, asserting that if it wasn't for this opportunity to attend that exchange program, her life would’ve been different.

Undoubtedly, Fadaly inspired many people out there with her extraordinary breakthrough to the extent that people predict that she will surely add a Nobel Prize to her achievements.