Center for Materials Science (CMS)

The Center for Materials Science (CMS) is a multidisciplinary research center that focuses on developing novel materials for applications in demanding technologies, especially those that can contribute to alleviating current problems in the health, energy and water needs of the country. The CMS research scope is broad and involves the design and synthesis of nanomaterials for improved health and environment conditions. The applications include novel smart drug and gene delivery vehicles, nanostructures for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine research and water treatment materials. The development of functional materials for energy and industrial applications focuses on hydrogen storage, gas absorption and separation, heterogeneous catalysis, and solar-to-chemical energy conversions. 

CMS aims to have a positive impact at Zewail City across its different centers and with the research community in Egypt at-large through collaborations and the utility of its resources, which include several state-of-the-art research instruments. The main educational mission of the CMS, which is also linked to industrial developments, is involvement in advanced undergraduate and graduate teaching. This is an integral part of the CMS objective. 

As part of its outreach mission, the CMS has already initiated collaborations with a number of national and international research institutes and universities. On the local side, for instance, the CMS now has links with the University of Mansoura, Assiut University, Cairo University and Suez Canal University, in addition to Egypt's National Research Center. Other partnership protocols with some international research universities are in progress and these include the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan in the United States. 

The center is jointly directed by Dr. Ibrahim El-Sherbiny and Dr. Mohamed Alkordi. Dr. El-Sherbiny recently won the 2013 Dr. Venice Kamel Award for Scientific Creativity for Young Researchers in the field of materials science and its applications.