Karimat El-Sayed

Karimat El-Sayed
Born	Egypt
Alma mater	Ain Shams University; University College London
Occupation(s)	Scholar, crystallographer, professor
Known for	Crystallography, women's education advocacy

Karimat El-Sayed is an Egyptian scholar specializing in crystallography and a prominent supporter of women's education. She holds a professorship in crystallography at Ain Shams University and has completed a three-year tenure as president of the Education Division within the International Federation of Crystals.

Biography

Coming from a family with a strong academic background, El-Sayed's father was an Arabic instructor, while her siblings pursued careers in medicine and science. Although her father encouraged her academic ambitions, her mother expressed concerns regarding the family's social standing and sought to arrange her marriage after El-Sayed completed studies in mathematics and physics at Ain Shams University. She obtained her doctorate in 1965 from University College London, working under the supervision of Kathleen Lonsdale, where she investigated the relationship between atomic vibrations and the thermal expansion of materials.

In 1975, she established the women's division within the Physics Department at King Abdul-Aziz University. Additionally, El-Sayed has led the Education Division of the International Federation of Crystals and presided over the Egyptian Committee on Crystallography during the 2014 International Year of Crystallography.

Views

El-Sayed highlights the vital role women play in scientific fields, pointing out that a majority of researchers involved in materials-related patents are female. She actively mentors emerging women scientists by drawing attention to pioneers such as Marie Curie and by serving as an inspirational figure herself.

Awards

• 2003: Recipient of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science.

Personal life

She is married to Salah A. Tahoun, a soil scientist and faculty member at Zagazig University's Agriculture Faculty. The couple has three children. Her postdoctoral investigations focused on trace impurities within metals, contributing valuable insights; notably, the invention of transistors illustrated how minimal additive elements can profoundly influence material characteristics.