Dr. Nazek El-Atab, a 2017 PhD alumna from Masdar Institute and current Post-Doc at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), delivered a seminar on Thursday, 5 December titled “Topologically Transformed Electronics” to MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering and MSc in Materials Science and Engineering students.
In her talk, Dr. El-Atab asked a key question in the field of microsystems: Can complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) – the technology that underpins the ever-shrinking integrated circuits in our electronic devices – be further innovated to extend Moore’s Law and find new applications in our increasingly connected world?
Dr. El-Atab offered her own research insights to address the question. Two main research projects she is working on include multi-dimensional integrated circuits for IoT applications, and ultra-flexible, ultra-stretchable inorganic solar cells with high efficiency.
Dr. El-Atab has become an internationally recognized scientist in a rather short period of time. While pursuing her MSc degree in Microsystems Engineering from Masdar Institute, followed by her PhD in Interdisciplinary Engineering, she worked under Dr. Ammar Nayfeh, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at KU. During her time at Masdar Institute, she received several awards for her research, including the 2015 For Women in Science Middle East Fellowship by L’Oreal-UNESCO, Best Paper Award in the Micro/Nano-systems section at the UAEGSRC 2016 conference, the 2016 IEEE Nanotechnology Student Travel Award in Japan, and the 2017 International Rising Talents Award by L’Oreal-UNESCO.
Post-graduation, she received the 2018 “Rafik Hariri University” Alumni Award, and was portrayed in the 2019 “Remarkable Women in Technology” by UNESCO.
Over the course of her fairly short but prolific academic career, she has published over 30 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference proceedings, 2 book chapters, 2books and has 6 US filed patents.
Erica Solomon
Senior Editor
07 December 2019
