Speaker
Nidhal Guessoum, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah
Nidhal Guessoum is professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. He has made notable contributions in astrophysics, science and Islam/religion, education, and the public understanding of science. He has published several well-received books, including Islam’s Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science; The Story of the Universe (in Arabic, four editions); and most recently The Young Muslim’s Guide to Modern Science. In December 2020, Prof. Guessoum was named among the Top 100 most influential leaders in space exploration by the digital platform Richtopia. In 2018 he was ranked 22nd among top Arab thought leaders by the Swiss think tank the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. He has chaired international task forces on science and education in the Muslim world and served on the board of trustees of the John Templeton Foundation and other organizations. In addition, he has lectured at many renowned universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Cornell, Wisconsin, Malaya, and NYU Abu Dhabi, and been interviewed by a wide variety of media outlets, including Al Jazeera, the BBC, Fox News, France 24, Le Monde, NPR, Sky News Arabia, and The Times.