9 Great Western Modern-Day Achievers of Arab Origin

It’s common knowledge that Arabs, since the beginning of history, have been great achievers. So it should come as no surprise to know that many of these Arabs have carved their paths into the Western foreign world. Take a look at 9 of the World’s greatest modern-day achievers of Arab origin:

1. Jameel Sadik “Jim” Al-Khalili: Born in Baghdad, this Iraqi-British man is a  theoretical physicist, author, and broadcaster and is currently Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey.  He even has his own website and TV show!
   
2. Farouk El-Baz: An Egyptian-American space scientist who worked with NASA to help plan a scientific exploration of the Moon. He also helped with the selection of landing sites for the Apollo missions! This great achiever has his own website too!
3. Zaha Hadid: The late Iraqi architect is considered one of the world’s most important architects of the Modern Age. Zaha broke barriers when she became the first Muslim and woman to win the Pritzker Prize in 2004.
   
4. Andrew Clement “Andy” Serkis: An English film actor, director, and author, whose father is also Iraqi. You can probably recognize Andy in many films like Planet of the Apes and Star Wars. Remember Gollum from Lord of the Rings? Yeah, that’s Andy too!
   
5. Charles Elachi: This Lebanese man  has been a principal investigator on a number of research and development studies and flight projects sponsored by NASA and is currently vice president of the California Institute of Technology.
   
6. Ahmed Zewail: An American-Egyptian scientist who is known as the “father of femtochemistry”. Ahmed won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work and became the first Arab scientist to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field!
7. Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah: Born in Lebanon, was an electrical and electronics research engineer, mathematician and inventor. Hassan is sometimes referred to as the ‘Oriental Edison’ because he discovered the processes of nuclear fission and was also the first to invent a powered television by sunlight!
   
8. Shadia Habbal:  Syrian-American astronomer and physicist specialized in Space physics. She is a professor of Solar physics. She also played a key role in establishing the NASA Solar Probe Plus which, if launched, will be the first spacecraft to fly into the solar corona.        
9. Magdi Yaqoub: This Egyptian man is one of the world’s most respected cardiac surgeons. Aside from his great career as a successful heart surgeon, he also founded a children’s charity called ‘Chain of Hope’, in order to help children in war-torn and developing countries receive much needed cardiac care.
   

These 9 great achievers are only a small slice of the Arab achievement pie, and it is a great honor to learn about these people who have done and are still doing  so much for the world, whether it’s in the field of entertainment, science, or healthcare.

Let us know in the comment box below of any recent great Arab achievers that we haven’t included in this list.

Don’t forget to leave a smile 🙂 !