Professor Salah Arafa is a tenured faculty member at the Physics Department, School of Sciences and Engineering of the American University in Cairo (AUC). He joined AUC in 1968. Before joining the University, he worked as a physics researcher at the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority from 1962 till 1968.
Arafa holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Chemistry (1962), M.Sc. in Nuclear Physics (1966), and a Ph.D. in Solid State Physics (1969); all from Cairo University.
In 1967-68, he was a research fellow of the International Seminar in Physics, Uppsala University, and later in 1971-1972 was a visiting Scientist at the Physics Department of Uppsala University, Sweden.
He joined the American University in 1968 and was the Chair of the Science Department twice and served as senator at large in the University Senate.
Professor Arafa is well known as one of the leading Social Entrepreneurs in Egypt and the Arab World. He was selected a Senior Ashoka Fellow in 2004 and was awarded as the Man of the Year for Environment and Development in 2009. Since 1974, Arafa is involved in many Civil Society activities and is today the chairman and founder for few of the leading NGOs in Egypt. He has also served as consultant to many international organizations: US-AID, UNICEF, GTZ, EU, and UNDP. He is a member of the National Committee on Climate Change and also a member of the Research Council on Environment and Development at the Egyptian Academy for Scientific Research and Technology.
Professor Arafa’s work in the fields of Experimental Physics, Advanced Materials, Renewable Energies, Climate Change Impacts, Sustainable Community Development, Child Protection and Eco-communities is nationally and internationally recognized.
