RHU computer and communication engineering alumna and research scientist at KingAbdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Dr. Nazek El-Atab, is one of the ten Innovators Under 35 MENA as officially announced by MIT Technology Review on December 28, 2020.
The recognition is for her work in developing a corrugation technique that allows the transformation of large-scale inorganic rigid solar cells into their ultra-flexible and ultra-stretchable version, with negligible degradation in the original efficiency and enhanced thermal performance for wide-ranging deployment.
The technique has received the first international fund from Lockheed Martin and is covered by several international media TechXplore, SciTechDaily, IEEE Spectrum, PV Magazine, MIT Tech Review (German Edition), and BBC (under press). Moreover, it has been also published in three high-impact journals, Advanced Energy Materials, ACSApplied Materials & Interfaces, and MRS Advances.
Dr. El Atab showcased this technology herself at the world's largest tech event, Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, USA, in January 2020, attracting interest from various consumers, Amazon Lab126 and OPPO.
Each year since 1999, MIT Technology Review announces an annual list of exceptionally talented young innovators whose work has the greatest potential to transform the world. This is the third year for the award in the MENA region.
Earlier in 2020, Dr. El Atab has been elevated to the grade of IEEE Senior Member. Dr. El Atab is the 2018 RHU Annual Alumni Award Recipient and one of the 23 women celebrated at the 2019 UNESCO Remarkable Women in Technology Exhibition. Dr. El-Atab has received several awards for her research, including 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 for Women in Science. You can link here to Dr. El Atab's full biography.
This is a great honor and makes RHU extremely proud. Congratulations!
