Ahmed Zewail

“America was and still is able to make the necessary changes to maintain research institutions that are the envy of the world.”

“In adapting to life in the melting pot of America, I discovered that the same soft power of science has a huge influence in building bridges between cultures and religions - and has the potential to do so with the Muslim world.”

“From the dawn of history, science has probed the universe of unknowns, searching for the uniting laws of nature.”

“There is no 'master plan' on the road to the Nobel Prize. It represents a lot of hard work, a passion for that work and... being in the right place at the right time. For me, that place was Caltech.”

“As someone from, and directly involved with, this part of the world, I am convinced Arabs are qualified to regain their glorious past.”

“When I was a boy in Desuq, Egypt, a city on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, about 50 miles east of Alexandria, my family lived steps away from the local landmark, a mosque named for a 13th-century Sufi sheik.”

“Some leaders think time will solve the problem. Their hope is that Assad's regime will ultimately fall from the heavy toll of the horrors it has spawned. From past experience with such regimes, this scenario is unlikely to happen.”

“Syria is the proud heir of an ancient civilization that has a unique spectrum of minorities that encompasses Muslims and Christians of various denominations. There are at least ten such ethnic and religious groups.”

“The soft power of science has the potential to reshape global diplomacy.”

“The dream of my family was for me to be an educated person.”

“Some consider the removal of Dr. Mohammed Morsi a coup by the army against an elected president. Others treat it as the second revolution, or the continuation of the January 25, 2011, revolution.”

“On Sunday August 5, 2012, I was among a group of people who witnessed the Rover landing on Mars in real time at NASA's Caltech-managed Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.”

“The youth movement is aware that old visions can not take Egypt into the future.”

“On the banks of the Nile, the Rosetta branch, I lived an enjoyable childhood in the City of Disuq, which is the home of the famous mosque, Sidi Ibrahim.”

“Secularism will not work in Egypt any more than theocracy. What will work is governance that is guided by the Islamic values of the majority with protection of the minority rights.”

“In Egypt, every family is suffering from the deteriorated schooling and university system of the Mubarak regime. What families want most of all is to secure a good education for their children.”

“What the U.S. should do consistently is to support the liberty of the Egyptian people.”

“The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salifist parties are a real force in the Egyptian society.”

“Mubarak came to power as a hero who fought bravely in Egypt's wars and headed the nation's air force.”

“Investment in education and economic prosperity is the best way to cure fanaticism and for establishing a just peace in the Middle East.”