Sameera Moussa
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Sameera Moussa (Arabic: سميرة موسى) (March 3, 1917-August 5, 1952) was an Egyptian nuclear scientist who held a doctorate in atomic radiation and worked to make the medical use of nuclear technology affordable to all. She organized the Atomic Energy for Peace Conference and sponsored a call for setting an international conference under the banner "Atom for Peace".
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[edit] Youth and college
Sameera Moussa was born in the Gharbia Governorate in 1917. During her early life she began to keep many chapters of the Qur'an and had the ability to memorize any sentence just by reading it. Her mother went through a fierce battle against cancer. After her mother's death, her father moved with his daughter Sameera to Cairo and invested his money in a small hotel in the El-Hussein region. At the insistence of her father, Sameera attended Kaser El-Shok Primary School, one of the oldest schools in Cairo. After she completed her primary education, she joined the Banat El-Ashraf School, which was built and managed by Nabawya Moussa, the famous political activist.
Despite the fact that Sameera got high grades in her Secondary education, she insisted on joining the Faculty of Sciences at Cairo University. In 1939, Sameera Moussa obtained a B.Sc. in radiology with First Class Honours after researching the effects of X-ray radiation on various materials. Dr. Moustafa Mousharafa, the first dean of the faculty, believed in his student enough to help her become a remarkable lecturer at the faculty. Afterwards, she became the first Assistant Professor at the same faculty and the first woman to hold a university post, being the first to obtain a Ph.D. degree in atomic radiation.
[edit] Nuclear Research
Sameera Moussa believed in "Atom for Peace" and said "I'll make nuclear treatment as available and as cheap as Aspirin". She worked hard for this purpose and throughout her intensive research, she came up with a historic equation that would help break the atoms of cheap metals such as copper, paving the way for a cheap nuclear bomb.
She organized the Atomic Energy for Peace Conference and sponsored a call for setting an international conference under the banner "Atom for Peace", where many prominent scientists were invited. The conference made a number of recommendations for setting up a committee to protect against nuclear hazards, for which she strongly advocated. Sameera also volunteered to help treat cancer patients at various hospitals especially since her mother went through a fierce battle against this disease.
[edit] Visits to the United States
Sameera Moussa received a scholarship from the Fullbright Atomic Program in order to be acquainted with the modern research facilities at California University. In recognition of her pioneering nuclear research, she was given permission to visit the secret US atomic facilities. The visit raised vehement debate in the United States Academic and Scientific circles since Sameera was the first "alien" to have access to such facilities.
She turned down several offers that required her to live in the United States and to be granted the American citizenship saying "Egypt, my dear homeland, is waiting for me".
[edit] Death
On August 5, 1952 after her first visit to America she intended to return home, but was invited to go on a trip. On the way, the bus rushed down from a height of 40 feet, which killed her immediately .
In recognition to her efforts, she was granted many awards . Among them were:
- 1953, when she was honored by the Egyptian Army.
- 1981, when she was awarded the Order of Science and Arts, First Class, by then-President Anwar Sadat.
