A long-serving Egyptian academic at one of the world's leading universities was on Wednesday named as the UAE's latest Great Arab Minds winner for his “pioneering scientific contributions” to the rise of advanced technologies.
Abbas El Gamal, Hitachi America professor in the school of engineering at Stanford University in the US, was honoured in the Engineering and Technology category of the annual prize.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, hailed his achievements in helping to shape a rapidly evolving digital landscape in a message on social media.
What is the Great Arab Minds award?
Sheikh Mohammed launched the Great Arab Minds Award in January 2022, allocating Dh100 million ($27.2 million) to fund the initiative. The first winners were announced in 2023.
The award aims to “celebrate scientists, thinkers and innovators every year”. The winners’ contributions span various fields including medicine, natural sciences, economics, engineering, architecture and the arts.
"Professor Abbas has made pioneering contributions to network information theory, which laid the foundation for many modern digital networks around the world,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote on X.
"We congratulate Professor El Gamal, Egypt and the Arab world for this excellence, which shows that we are not just consumers of technology, but have the minds capable of creating it and shaping its scientific future – minds that deserve recognition and a platform worthy of their potential.”
Harnessing emerging technology
Prof El Gamal earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from Cairo University in 1972, followed by a master’s degree in statistics and a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1978.
He later served as director of the Information Systems Laboratory at Stanford from 2003 to 2012 and as chair of the Electrical Engineering Department from 2012 to 2017.
Prof El Gamal has been a driving force in network information theory, helping to further understanding of digital communications and lay the groundwork for modern network research.
He has helped generations of students master circuit design and computing, as well as supporting the development of CMOS image sensors, the core technology behind smartphone cameras and modern imaging devices.
He has published more than 230 papers and written influential works used as a resources for students and researchers around the world.
Family at heart of success
In an interview with the Stanford University website in 2021, he told how he took the first step on his academic journey by inheriting his uncle Mahmoud's engineering books when he started to learn English.
He credits his uncle as the reason he went on to become an electrical engineer, carving out an impressive career in which he has held 35 patents for innovations in the field.
After earning his degree at Cairo University, he went to the US on a Rotary Club scholarship to pursue his master's degree at Stanford.
He has taken time away from Stanford over the years to share his expertise in industry, helping to develop a company that made tiny telescopes to monitor brain neuron activity.
“I’m always trying to connect with the world. I’m asking myself continuously, 'What’s really going on with this?'” he said in the Stanford University interview. “I always want to be doing something relevant. I’d like to be remembered as someone who spent time on things that mattered. I never wanted to dig the hole deeper and deeper in one area or subject for no reason or goal.”
