MIT Arab Students Organization SciTech Awards

MIT ASO SciTech Awards
Awarded for Arab or Arab-American professionals and students who have outstanding contributions in science and technology.
Presented by The MIT Arab Students' Organization (ASO)
Country USA
First awarded 2003
Official website MIT MIT Arab Students Organization (ASO) SciTech Awards

The MIT Arab Students' Organization Science and Technology Achievement Awards, or simply, "MIT-ASO SciTech Awards," was initiated in 2003 to honor the achievements of Arabs, and Arab-Amercians, in U.S. institutions, who have had significant contributions in the fields of science and technology. The SciTech Awards are divided to four main categories: the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Young Professional Award, the Graduate Student Award, and the Undergraduate Student Award, in which the winners are selected by a selection committee of four MIT Arab and Arab-American professors who come from different science and technology related backgrounds. The Arab Students' Organization at MIT established the institution of these awards in hope of fostering a bold new vision of a scientifically inquisitive, technologically pioneering and knowledge empowered, Arab American community. The awards banquet links different generations of Arab and Arab-American science and technology specialists and presents a valuable opportunity for Arab and Arab-American students to interact with accomplished professionals from the community.

Every year, the Arab Students' Organization at MIT organizes the MIT ASO Science and Technology Awards Banquet to recognize outstanding Arab and Arab-American contributions to science and technology. The ceremony draws over 100 members of the Arab and Arab-American communities to celebrate the career-long accomplishments of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in addition to award the winners of three other categories listed below:

1. The Young Professional Award recognizes the early career achievements of a young Arab or Arab-American scientist or technologist.
2. The Student Awards, given to one undergraduate student and one graduate student, to recognize the academic and leadership achievements of outstanding Arab or Arab-American students in U.S. universities. Each of these three awards comes with a $1,000 cash scholarship.

Contents

Award Categories

Young Professional Award

The Young Professional Award recognizes the early career achievements of a young Arab or Arab-American scientist or technologist.

Graduate Student Award

The Graduate Student Award, given to one graduate student, to recognize the academic and leadership achievements of outstanding Arab or Arab-American students who are enrolled in U.S. universities. The Graduate Student Award comes with a $1,000 cash scholarship.

Undergraduate Student Award

The Undergraduate Student Award, given to one Undergraduate student, to recognize the academic and leadership achievements of outstanding Arab or Arab-American students who are enrolled in U.S. based universities. The Undergraduate Students Award comes with a $1,000 cash scholarship.

Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

1. Farouk El-Baz (Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University).

2. Hassan Ali (Professor Emeritus of Anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital).

3. Charles Elachi (Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and VP of Caltech).

4. Huda Zoghbi (Professor at Baylor College of Medicine).

5. Ahmed Zewail (Director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology at Caltech).

6. Mostafa El-Sayed (Director of the Laser Dynamics Laboratory at Georgia Institute of Technology).

7. Elias Zerhouni (Former Director of the National Institute of Health).

Selection

Selection of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

The selection of the lifetime achievement award is done internally within a selection committee at MIT.

Selection of recipients of other award categories

As for the other three awards, the Arab Students Organization calls for nominations every year. Students and professionals across the nation are welcome to nominate themselves or anyone that they deem fit for the award.

External links