MIT-ASO Science and Technology Awards

Overview:

The MIT Arab Students’ Organization Science and Technology Achievement Awards, or simply, “MIT-ASO SciTech Awards,” was initiated in 2003 to honor the achievements of Arabs, and Arab-Amercians, in U.S. institutions, who have had significant contributions in the fields of science and technology. The SciTech Awards are divided to four main categories: the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Young Professional Award, the Graduate Student Award, and the Undergraduate Student Award, in which the winners are selected by a selection committee of four MIT Arab and Arab-American professors who come from different science and technology related backgrounds. The Arab Students’ Organization at MIT established the institution of these awards in hope of fostering a bold new vision of a scientifically inquisitive, technologically pioneering and knowledge empowered, Arab American community. The awards banquet links different generations of Arab and Arab-American science and technology specialists and presents a valuable opportunity for Arab and Arab-American students to interact with accomplished professionals from the community.

Every year, the Arab Students’ Organization at MIT organizes the MIT ASO Science and Technology Awards Banquet to recognize outstanding Arab and Arab-American contributions to science and technology. The ceremony draws over 100 members of the Arab and Arab-American communities to celebrate the career-long accomplishments of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in addition to award the winners of three other categories listed below: 

  • The Young Professional Award recognizes the early career achievements of a young Arab or Arab-American scientist or technologist.
  • The Graduate Student Achievement Award recognizes the academic and leadership achievements of outstanding Arab or Arab-American graduate students in U.S. universities. The award comes with a $1,000 cash scholarship.
  • Undergraduate Student Achievement Award recognizes the academic and leadership achievements of outstanding Arab or Arab-American undergraduate students in U.S. universities. The award comes with a $1,000 cash scholarship.

Selection Procedure:

Selection of the Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient:

The selection of the lifetime achievement award is done internally within a selection committee at MIT that is compromised of four MIT senior Arab or Arab-American professors that work in different fields within science, engineering, and technology.

Selection of the recipients of other award categories:

As for the other three awards, the Arab Students Organization calls for nominations every year. Students and professionals across the nation are welcome to nominate themselves or anyone that they deem fit for the award. The nominations will be then put together and forwarded to the SciTech Selection Committee, the committee previously mentioned that is responsible for voting on who is most fit for receiving each award.

Our list of previous Lifetime Achievement Award Winners can be found below:

1. Farouk El-Baz (Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University).
2. Hassan Ali (Professor Emeritus of Anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital).
3. Charles Elachi (Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and VP of Caltech).
4. Huda Zoghbi (Professor at Baylor College of Medicine).
5. Ahmed Zewail (Director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology at Caltech).
6. Mostafa El-Sayed (Director of the Laser Dynamics Laboratory at Georgia Institute of Technology).
7. Elias Zerhouni (Former Director of the National Institute of Health).
8. Fawwaz Ulaby (Former Provost of KAUST).