Salah Obayya’s journey as a pioneer in Photonics, Nanotechnology, leading to development of Green Technologies, began in the halls of academia, where his passion for innovation and education laid the groundwork for a career marked by groundbreaking research and transformative leadership. Born with an insatiable curiosity for light-based technologies, Obayya’s path would eventually bridge continents, disciplines, and generations.
After earning his doctorate from City, University of London, Obayya embarked on a distinguished academic career in the UK. By 2002, he secured a tenured position as an Associate Professor at Brunel University, followed by a professorship at the University of Leeds in 2006. His reputation as a pioneering thinker grew, leading him to the University of South Wales in 2008, where he became a Chair Professor and founded the Photonics and Broadband Communications (PBC) Research Center. There, he also directed postgraduate programs, nurturing the next wave of photonics experts. In 2012, Obayya returned to Egypt to join Zewail City of Science and Technology (ZC), a beacon of scientific advancement in the Arab world. As a Chair Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Photonics and Smart Materials (CPSM), he spearheaded initiatives to position ZC as a global hub for nanotechnology research. His leadership expanded as he took on roles as Vice Chairman of ZC and currently serves as the Director-General of Research Institutes, driving interdisciplinary collaboration and institutional growth.
Obayya’s research in green nanophotonics; a field dedicated to energy-efficient photonic technologies, has revolutionized the design of nano-devices critical for renewable energy, telecommunications, and sensing. His development of a world-class computational modeling toolkit enabled the optimization of photonic systems, earning him international acclaim. His peer-reviewed papers, introducing his methods, have been cited over 800 times, while his broader portfolio includes over 7,350 citations, with an h-index of 44 and i10-index of 196, reflecting his profound influence. His textbooks; Computational Photonics (2010), Computational Liquid Crystal Photonics (2016), and Computational Photonic Sensors (2018), are currently hailed as staple references at institutions like MIT, Purdue, and the National University of Singapore. Beyond publications, Obayya mentored 40 PhD graduates, 80 MSc/MRes/MPhil graduates and 15 postdoctoral research fellows, while securing $4.4 million in grants, cementing his role as both scholar and steward of scientific progress.
Additionally, Obayya’s commitment to the scientific community extends beyond his impressive research records. As Editor-in-Chief of Optical and Quantum Electronics (2023), he has shaped the discourse of photonics research on a global scale. Since 2007, he has also been an Associate Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, an Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Optical and Quantum Electronics, a Guest Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Optical and Quantum Electronics (2010), and founding member of Editorial Board of Materials Theory Journal (Springer). He also acted as Reviewer for many international Photonics Journals such as IEEE Journal of Lightwave Technology, IEEE Photonics Journal IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, IET Optoelectronics, OSA Optics Express, OSA Optics Letters, and many others. Moreover, he acted as Technical expert and Reviewer for a number of research funding councils and learnt societies such as Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK, Royal Society, UK, Royal Academy of Engineering, UK, National Academy of Arts and Sciences, Holland, Science and Technology Development Fund, Egypt, National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Egypt and others, thus, proving that his editorial leadership underscores his dedication to cross-border knowledge exchange.
Most recently, in May 2024, Salah Obayya was elected as an ambassador for the Reduced Inequality Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by Alumni UK and the British Council. In 2022, he was elected Fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), becoming the first Fellow from Egypt and the Middle East, and also became a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA) for his pioneering work in intelligent computational modeling of nanophotonic devices. That same year, he was appointed Chair of the Quantum Electronics and Photonics (QEP) Committee at the Institute of Physics (IOP), represented the IOP Optical Group Committee in the European Optical Society (EOS), and joined the OPTICA Awards Selection Committee. In 2021, he was named a Fellow of both the IEEE Photonics Society and the American Physical Society (APS). His earlier distinctions include being elected the first Arab and African Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA) in September 2019, and in 2018, he became a Fellow of the African Academy of Science (AAS) and Chairman of its Nanotechnology Group. His foundational recognitions date back to 2010, when he was elected Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Institute of Physics (IoP), and the Higher Education Academy in the UK, while also joining the boards of the Egyptian Society of Optical Science and Applications (ESOSA), the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (Egypt’s National Academy of Science), the Wales Institute of Mathematical and Computational Sciences (WIMCS), and the Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society (ACES).
Evidently, he was the recipient of many national and international awards and recognitions such as Research Project of the Year, THE Awards Arab World 2024, the recognition as an inaugural Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS, placing him in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide for his exceptional performance in various fields and the outstanding quality of his publication record, as of May 2024, OPTICA award for the 2023
Diversity and Inclusion Advocacy Recognition,2023, ACES Computational Electromagnetics Award, the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society’s Highest Award, 2021, African Union Kwame Nkrumah Continental Award for Scientific Excellence 2020 edition, January 2021, Ahmed Zewail Prize for Scientific Knowledge, for spreading the Science and Technology of Photonics for the wider Egyptian community, CCSS, Egypt, 2021, Order of Science and Arts of the first class, the most prestigious medal awarded by President of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in the National Science Day, Egypt, 2019, Best Scientific Book, COMSTECH-Awards-2017, 2019, State Appreciation Award, Egypt, 2019, UNESCO Chair, Paris, 2019, Honorary Special Chair Professor of Photonics, University of Nottingham, UK, 2017, for his outstanding world-class research record, elected Senior Associate by Board of Directors, International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, 2017, for his pivotal role in photonics research and education in Egypt, the Region and Africa, UAE President Khalifa Award for Distinguished Arab Professor in Scientific Research in April 2017, Doctor of Science (DSc) degree in Photonics from City University of London in Jan 2016; a degree awarded only to those who gained international distinction in their own fields, Arab Thought Foundation Award in Scientific Creativity (Lebanon), Dec. 2015; only one award in all fields of Science and Engineering is granted each year for one Arab Scientist, Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) Award in Engineering Sciences Creativity, Sept. 2014; only one award is granted each year for an Egyptian Scientist in Engineering Sciences, Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation (Jordan) Award for Arab Scientists in Engineering Sciences, Oct. 2014; only one award is granted each year for one Arab Scientists in Engineering Sciences, State Award of Excellence for Engineering Sciences from the Egyptian State, Sept. 2013; only one scientist is awarded this prestigious award every year, Incentive State Award for Engineering Sciences from the Egyptian State, Sept. 2005, and many others.
Today, Obayya remains at the forefront of photonics research, championing sustainable technologies and mentoring emerging scientists. His work embodies a lifelong mission of harnessing light to illuminate pathways toward a greener, more equitable world. From Cairo to global stages, Salah Obayya’s story is one of brilliance, perseverance, and an unyielding belief in science as a force for good.