Ahmed Hassan Zewail

Egyptian-American Nobel laureate who revolutionized femtochemistry

Ahmed Hassan Zewail (1946–2016) won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering femtochemistry - the study of chemical reactions at atomic scale time resolution. Born in Damanhur, Egypt, he developed laser techniques allowing scientists to observe molecular motion at quadrillionths of a second (10⁻¹⁵ seconds).

His work at Caltech established the foundation for:

• Ultrafast electron microscopy
• 4D imaging of matter
• Real-time observation of transitional states