Ashraf Mansour FAAS () is an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

scientist and professor of

polymer physics Polymer physics is the field of physics that studies polymers, their fluctuations, mechanical properties, as well as the kinetics of reactions involving degradation and polymerisation of polymers and monomers respectively.P. Flory, ''Principles of ...

. He is the Founder & Chairman of Board of Trustees of

German University in Cairo The German University in Cairo (abbreviated to GUC; ar, الجامعة الألمانية بالقاهرة ') is a private non-profit university in New Cairo, Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a tr ...

(GUC).

Education and career

Mansour obtained his doctorate and habilitation in polymer physics from the

University of Ulm Ulm University (german: Universität Ulm) is a public university in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1967 and focuses on natural sciences, medicine, engineering sciences, mathematics, economics and computer sci ...

in 1992. In 1994, Mansour started the process of creating a German University in Egypt. The

(GUC) is the first German university to be established outside Germany and outside European borders. It was established on the basis of a presidential decree in 2002 issued by former President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

, German Chancellor

Gerhard Schroeder Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–19 ...

, and a number of prominent figures in both Egyptian and German academia and industry. In 2003, the GUC was inaugurated outside Cairo's city limits. Mansour secured the building of a whole new technical university in New Cairo City, funded almost 15 million euros from Egyptian donors, and engaged the help of the faculties of Stuttgart and Ulm universities in order to make his concept a reality. They assisted in building and setting up the labs technically and brought their German curriculum with them. The initiative received funding from the DAAD in the amount of about 600,000 euros as a part of its Export of German Degree Courses programme. Students, scholars, and researchers from the GUC are additionally supported by the DAAD and the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...

during various study and research stays. He is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the university. After the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, Ashraf was tipped by the

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF; ar, المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة, ', also Higher Council of the Armed Forces) is a statutory body of between 20 and 25 senior Egyptian military officers and is headed by Fi ...

(SCAF) to head the

Ministry of Higher Education {{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A Ministry of Higher Education is a government department that focuses on the provision or regulation of institutions of higher education. In some countries these exist as ministries compounde ...

in 2014 but the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities protested his appointement.

Hossam Eisa Hossam Eisa is an Egyptian politician and academic. He served as deputy prime minister and minister of higher education of Egypt from July 2013 until 1 March 2014. Education Eisa holds a PhD in law from the University of Sorbonne in France. Car ...

remained in the position and was replaced by

Ashraf El-Shihy Ashraf El Shihy (in Egyptian Arabic أشرف محمد عبد الحميد الشيحي), is an Egyptian politician, the Minister of Higher Education and Minister of Scientific Research, under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the government of ...

in September 2015.

Awards and recognitions

In 2008, Mansour received the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

, and he is an honorary senator of the University of Ulm. Mansour was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

African Academy of Sciences The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985. The AAS elects fellows ( FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and ...

in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansour, Ashraf Egyptian scholars Egyptian physicists Honorary Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences Egyptian scientists University of Ulm alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people