Prof. Attia A Ashour

Prof. Attia Abdel Salam Ashour was born in Dumyat (Egypt) on 13 September 1924. He obtained his B.Sc in Mathematics from Cairo University in 1944, DIC (1948), PhD (1948), DSc (1967). He started his teaching career as a Research Assistant, Mathematics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, 1944-1945, and then went on to become a post-graduate student, Imperial College, London University, 1945-1948. He successively became Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Assistant Professor and Professor of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, 1948-1984. He was Head of the Mathematics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University: 1959-1960, 1965-1969, 1971-1976, 1980-1984. Prof. Ashour was appointed Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics, Cairo University, in 1984. Prof. Ashour was a visiting scientist at Queen Mary College, London University in 1954; at the Physics Institute, Bonn University, 1955; 1955-1956, at the Institute de Radium, University de Paris; 1962-1963, Exeter University, UK; and 1972, Physics Department, Ibadan University, Nigeria. He was an external examiner for BSc examinations (Mathematics) and PhD theses (Mathematics and Physics) at several British, Indian and Nigerian Universities.

He was Director of the Advanced Schools on the Physics of the Earth, International Centre of Theoretical Physics, Trieste Italy, 1977,1980, 1994, and visiting professor, Institute of Geophysics, Potsdam, GDR, 1969,1980(on the invitation of the GDR Academy of Sciences). Prof. Ashour is past president of the Mathematical and Physical Society of Egypt and the editor of the Proceedings of the Society. He is a member of the Egyptian Mathematical Society, the Egyptian Academy of Sciences, the Egyptian Geophysical Society, the “Institut d’Egypte,” and the Egyptian Academy of the Arab Language (1990). On the international scene, Prof. Ashour is a Member of the Editorial Boards of the Journals: Africa Mathematica, Arab Journal of Mathematics, and Journal of Geophysics. Moreover, he is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) since 1954; Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, 1964; Chairman of the Inter-divisional Working Group on Internal and External Fields of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, 1973-1979; Vice-President of 6 International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) 1971-1975; and President of IUGG 1975 -1979. Dr Ashour was Chairman of the IUGG Committee on Geodesy and Geophysics, 1974-1983, and is currently a member. He is a former President of the Arab Union of Mathematicians and Physics, 1975-1977; Vice –President of the African Mathematical Union, 1976-1986; Elected Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, 1985; Founding Fellow and Vice –President of the African Academy of Sciences, 1985; President of the International Center of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Nice, France, 1992-1996; and Member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, 1988-1994.

For some time, Prof. Ashour was a member of the Advisory Board to the Director General of UNESCO on Science and the 21 Century. Prof. Ashour was awarded the Order of Merit of Arts and Sciences, First Grade, three times: 1966, 1986 and 1988; The Order of Merit of Republic of Egypt, Fifth Grade, 1954 and of the Second Grade 1984; Chevalier dans I’Ordre de la Palme Académique, France, 1985; The Medal of the African Mathematical Union, 1990; and the Chevalier dans I’Ordre National du Merite France, 1995. The field of research of Professor Ashour co-authored the books covering the Mathematics Syllabus of the General Certificate of Education as early as 1958. He was the Chief Editor of four books on Geophysics written specially for the scientists in the Developing countries. Prof. Ashour has authored more than 50 scientific papers in as many years. Prof. Attia Ashour was elected a Fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences in 2000.