Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid announces scientific medal winners

Professor Rachid Yazami and Dr Lourdes Vega received the award on Tuesday

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, with Dr Lourdes Vega. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's Twitter account
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Two leading scientists have been announced winners of the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence.

Professor Rachid Yazami and Dr Lourdes Vega each received the prestigious accolade at a ceremony on Tuesday.

Prof Yazami, from Morocco, has contributed to the development of lithium-ion batteries for mobile phones.

Dr Vega is director of the Research and Innovation Centre on CO2 and Hydrogen at Khalifa University.

Writing on Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, congratulated the pair.

“Today, we honoured two scientists,” he said, before outlining Dr Vega’s achievements.

He said the scientist was the author of 200 academic papers as well as being an editorial board member on five scientific journals.

“She has raised over $50 million for her research,” he wrote.

“We also honoured Rachid Yazami, French-Moroccan engineer and scientist with over 150 patents in battery technologies,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“He contributed to developing the mobile phone lithium-ion batteries and published over 250 scientific research papers. We are proud of his achievements.”

Last year, the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence acknowledged the work of Dr Lihadh Al-Gazali, a pioneering genetics researcher, and Dr Ali Al Mansouri, a chemical engineering professor.