Mohammed congratulates Majed Chergui, winner of Great Arab Minds 2025 Award in Natural Sciences

 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, congratulated Professor Majed Chergui on winning the Great Arab Minds 2025 Award in the Natural Sciences category.

His Highness emphasised the importance of Arab scientific research and achievements in advancing societies, noting that science has long been a cornerstone of the Arab world’s cultural and civilisational progress.

In a post on X, His Highness said, "Civilisations are not sustained by past achievements. They renew their place in the world through the scientists of today. We congratulate the winner of the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences, Professor Majed Chergui, Emeritus Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, who has made pioneering contributions to capturing ultrafast motion at the atomic scale.

His Highness added, "Professor Majed Chergui dedicated his scientific career to developing tools and experimental methods that enable scientists to observe the movement of molecules and materials with unprecedented femtosecond precision. He played a key role in advancing ultrafast X-ray techniques, published more than 450 scientific papers, and has received over 23,000 citations worldwide. His work has established him as one of the most influential figures in ultrafast spectroscopy, materials science, and energy.

"Congratulations to Professor Majed Chergui on this achievement. And to those who believe that Arab scientific creativity belongs only to the past, the Great Arab Minds Award stands as proof that our present is home to figures who are no less impactful, no less accomplished, and no less ambitious.”

The Great Arab Minds initiative reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to honour pioneers, innovators, and ambitious individuals who open new horizons for their societies across science, medicine, literature, art, economics, and development.

Light-matter interactions

The 2025 Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences was awarded to Professor Chergui, Emeritus Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the study of light-matter interactions. His work has enabled scientists to observe ultra-fast motion in molecules and materials at the atomic scale with unprecedented precision.

Professor Chergui has dedicated his scientific career to exploring molecular dynamics that occur over extremely short timescales, opening new experimental approaches in chemistry and revealing phenomena that were previously inaccessible using conventional methods.

He has played a key role in the development of ultra-fast X-ray techniques, advancing understanding of how light interacts with matter and expanding research possibilities across chemistry, physics, materials science, and renewable energy.

Professor Chergui has also pioneered modern research tools, including two dimensional ultraviolet spectroscopy and ultra-fast circular dichroism, enhancing scientists’ ability to study complex biological systems and advanced solid materials.

He has published more than 450 scientific papers and recorded over 23,000 citations worldwide in the fields of ultrafast interaction physics, materials science, and energy. He has served on numerous international scientific committees, was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chemical Physics published by Elsevier, and founded the Journal of Structural Dynamics of the American Institute of Physics.

Professor Chergui is particularly recognised for developing scientific instruments that expanded the limits of experimental observation, paving the way for researchers to delve deeper into their fields.

Ultra-fast X-ray spectrometer

Among his most notable innovations is the ultra-fast X-ray spectrometer, which captures signals with femtosecond-level resolution and provides access to previously unexplored spectral regions. This instrument is particularly suited to the study of wide bandgap transition metal oxides.

Professor Chergui currently focuses on the use of nonlinear X rays to study solar materials, leveraging their ability to observe charge motion and propagation in solids in real time.

He continues to contribute to the development of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL), which have advanced nonlinear optics and spectroscopy since their emergence in the early 2010s in the United States, Japan, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and South Korea. His work has demonstrated the value of these technologies in the study of metal oxides.

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chair of the Higher Committee of the Great Arab Minds, informed Professor Chergui of his win during a video call. He highlighted Professor Chergui’s extensive body of scientific publications and experimental research across materials science, chemistry, physics, and light configurations, which continue to be widely cited by thousands of researchers and graduate students worldwide.

He stated that the establishment of the Great Arab Minds Award by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum addressed a major gap by creating a comprehensive and prestigious Arab recognition award covering key fields, including science, technology, engineering, economics, architecture, literature, and the arts, honouring Arab pioneers.

He emphasised that Professor Chergui, who, after decades of scientific contribution, has become recognised as the leading scientific awardee in the Arab world, and will remain an inspiring scientific figure for ambitious Arab youth seeking to leverage science and advance development, accelerating the building of knowledge-based economies and societies across a region rich in opportunities, talent, and potential.

The Natural Sciences Committee for the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award included Professor Sehamuddin Galadari, Senior Vice Provost of Research and Managing Director of the Research Institute at New York University in Abu Dhabi as chair, and members included Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, Dean of the Kennedy College of Sciences and Professor of Physics at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Dr. Latifa Elouadrhiri, Laboratory Directed Research (LDRD) Staff Scientist at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Dr. Jehane Ragai, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at American Cairo University, and Dr. Nader Masmoudi, Professor of Mathematics in the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University in Abu Dhabi.

The Great Arab Minds initiative is the largest of its kind in the Arab world and has become known as the "Arab Nobel,” dedicated to honouring exceptional thinkers and innovators.

This recognition is reinforced by the fact that the winner of this category in the 2024 edition, Professor Omar Yaghi, also went on to win the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

It highlights outstanding Arab success stories and inspires younger generations to play an active role in enriching humanity’s scientific and intellectual legacy.

WAM