Prof. Alaa Salem
Future Earth Coasts (FEC) proudly announces Prof. Alaa Salem as the newest addition to the FEC Academy. Alaa Salem is a professor of sedimentary geology in the Faculty of Science at Kafrelsheikh University in Egypt. Alaa received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. His research interests fall within sedimentary and environmental geology, and evolution of coastal wetlands. Alaa has gained several international experiences from world-class High Education Institutes in many countries as in USA, Sweden, Germany, UK, China, and Poland. He has published on sedimentary petrology, on the ecological safety measures from the sediments of coastal lagoons of the Nile Delta, and on the Holocene climate change and its influence on early agriculture from the Nile Delta.
Alaa is a member of several international professional societies and has initiated Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai and his affiliated institution, as well as between the University of Warsaw in Poland and his institution. Alaa has presented several lectures in foreign universities to graduate students and faculty on the outcomes of his research activities. He has also invited several scientists from world-class institutions from France, China, Poland and the UK with whom he is involved in bilateral collaborations to present lectures in Kafrelsheikh University. Alaa co-designed a long-term collaborative scheme with State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research (SKLEC), ECNU through which he cultivated young graduate students and postdocs.
In response to the national aims of facing challenges of environmental threats affecting the Nile Delta, Alaa and his research team together with colleagues from SKLEC in Shanghai are involved in research projects related to the distribution of pollutants in lagoons of the Nile Delta, microplastic pollution along the Nile River, and the impact of climate change on the Nile Delta coasts.
Alaa is a partner of the “Joint International Laboratory of Deltas (JointDelta) project on Estuarine and Coastal Research” endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade, as an affiliated project under the Mega-Delta Programme. Alaa also serves as a jury member of the L’Oreal UNESCO For Women In Science (FWIS) Awards in Paris since 2019.
With his extensive expertise in coastal and sedimentary systems, global collaborations, and dedication to addressing pressing environmental challenges, Prof. Salem’s membership in the FEC Academy will significantly advance our collective efforts to promote sustainable coastal resilience. His leadership in international research and education aligns seamlessly with FEC’s vision, and we look forward to his contributions in shaping innovative solutions for vulnerable deltaic regions worldwide.