El-Mansoura University granted an honorific PH.D to scientist Mostafa el-Sayed, professor of biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the ceremony, he said scientific research in Egypt is still weak and is given too few resources. He said some Arab countries have started increasing spending. Jordan's King Abdullah, for instance, has decided to allocate some 1 billion LE per year to a university with 400 professors for scientific research. He added Egypt's scientists abroad would be ready to cooperate with Egyptian institutions, although during their holidays only, adding that scientific research is carried out by a team and not by a single person. He also said that Egypt is still moving the first steps when it comes to research in nanotechnology, noting that world governments are resorting to nanotechnology in the hope to find new industries that rely on materials' changing properties. Kidney surgeon Mohamed Ghanim said there is definitely no scientific research in Egypt and that this country actually drives scientists away. "Egypt will have no research unless political leaders become convinced that a country can't do without scientific research if it wants to enjoy a certain position in the international community. However, this won't come out of the blue and priority must be given to spending on such domain" he said.
