New Egyptian President a Scientist

The freshly-elected leader has promised to bolster research and education in the reborn nation.

Written byBob Grant

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Egypt's new president, Mohammed MorsiWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, FORCALGERIA

After a contentious and drawn out election process, the votes have been counted, and Egyptians have elected their next president—Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi. After the popular uprising that ousted longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, Morsi narrowly defeated former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq in an election that captivated the Middle East region and the world. Morsi holds a PhD in material science from the University of Southern California (USC) and served as a professor of engineering at California State University at Northridge.

During his campaign, Morsi promised to boost science research spending in Egypt to 2.5 percent of the country’s GDP. He also pledged to spend more on higher education, to increase faculty salaries, and to encourage innovation by fostering collaboration between research institutes and industry.

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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