play videoplay video
Samira Moussa, nicknamed “Miss Korean of the East,” is the first Egyptian atomic scientist, the first woman to obtain a doctorate in atomic radiation, and the first Arab woman to obtain a doctorate, and the first woman to hold a teaching position at the university. She died in a car accident believed to be staged in California in 1952.
She believed in the principle of "atoms for peace", and one of her goals was to make the medical use of nuclear technology accessible to all people.
Among her sayings: “I will make nuclear treatment available and affordable like aspirin.” She worked hard towards this goal and during her extensive research, she came up with a historic equation that would help break down atoms of cheap metals like copper.
Birth and upbringing
Samira Moussa was born on March 3, 1917 in Sinbu al-Kubra, located in the Zefta district of Gharbia Governorate in Egypt. She has two brothers and one sister. Her father enjoyed a prominent social status among the people of his village, as his house was like a council where the townspeople met to discuss all political and social matters.
During her childhood, she attended the first “Sinbo” school, and memorized parts of the Holy Quran. She was fond of reading newspapers, and she also had a photographic memory that enabled her to memorize something once she had read it.
Samira rephrased the algebra book in the first year of secondary school and printed it at her father’s own expense (social networking sites)
Study and scientific training
After her mother died of cancer, she moved with her father to Cairo, where he bought a hotel in the Hussein neighborhood with the aim of investing some of his money in the Egyptian capital. She attended Qasr Al-Shouq Primary School, and then completed her secondary education at Al-Ashraf Girls’ Secondary School, which was founded by the feminist activist Nabawiya Musa.
She achieved first place in all academic levels, and what is mentioned about her genius is that she redrafted the government algebra textbook in the first year of secondary school, printed 300 copies of it at her father’s private expense, and distributed them free of charge to her colleagues in 1933.
The results of the Tawjihi certificate were topped in 1935, which was a rare achievement for girls at that time, as they were allowed to participate in the Tawjihi exams only from home, until this policy was changed with the establishment of the Princess Fayza School in 1925, the first secondary school for girls in Egypt.
As a result of her continuous positive excellence in her school, the government was providing financial support to the school that graduated the first student. This prompted the school principal, “Nabawiya Musa,” to buy a private laboratory, after learning of Samira’s desire to move to a government school that had a laboratory.
She joined the Faculty of Science at King Fouad I University (currently Cairo University), despite her father’s desire for her to join the Faculty of Arts, as was the custom for all girls at that time, but she decided to choose the Faculty of Science.
She caught the attention of the famous physicist Mustafa Mosharafa, who was the first Egyptian to hold the dean of the Faculty of Science, and she studied under him and learned a lot from him. She was also directly influenced by him, not only from a scientific standpoint, but also by the social aspects of his personality.
She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1939, and was at the top of her class. This qualified her to be appointed as a teaching assistant at the college, but the university administration did not agree, as it was not acceptable at that time for a woman to hold an academic position or position. But her supervising doctor threatened to resign from the university if he did not allow her appointment, so the university submitted to his wishes and she was actually appointed as a teaching assistant in the College of Science, thus becoming the first woman to hold this position.
She obtained a master’s degree for the research “Thermal Communication with Gases” from Cairo University with distinction. I got the opportunity to study in Britain through a 3-year scholarship. In just 17 months, she studied nuclear radiation and obtained a doctorate on “X-rays and their effect on various materials,” completing her dissertation ahead of schedule.
Dr. Mustafa Musharafa, Samira studied under him and learned a lot from him (social networking sites)
Practical experience
She invested the remaining period of her mission to conduct further research and studies on the atom and delve deeper into nuclear physics and its peaceful and medical uses. Through it, she arrived at an important equation - which was not accepted in the Western world at the time - that enabled the fragmentation of cheap metals such as copper and then the manufacture of an atomic bomb from it. Materials that may be accessible to everyone.
She had a noticeable interest in the political events at that time, as she wanted to make Egypt possess a nuclear weapon, believing that possessing nuclear weapons would achieve peace in the entire world, as she believed that any country that adopted the idea of peace must speak from a position of strength. .
She lived through the ravages of war and the atomic bomb tests that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagazaki in 1945, and her attention was drawn to Israel’s early interest in possessing weapons of mass destruction and its pursuit of nuclear armament in the region.
As a result of her brilliance in scientific research and laboratories, and her continuous research into ways to use the atom in what is beneficial and safe for humanity, she was given the nickname “Marie Curie of the East,” inspired by the Polish physicist and Nobel Prize laureate in physics, Marie Curie.
I received a scholarship from the Fulbright Atomic Program to learn about the modern research facilities at the University of California, USA.
In recognition of her pioneering nuclear research, she was granted permission to visit secret American atomic facilities. This was controversial and caused a stir in the scientific and security circles in the United States, as she was the first foreign person to visit this type of facility.
She rejected several offers asking her to reside in the United States and obtain American citizenship, stressing that her homeland, Egypt, is waiting for her.
Mustafa Musharafa defended Samira and threatened his resignation if the university did not allow her to be appointed as a teaching assistant (social networking sites)
Achievements
I worked to conduct important research in the field of nuclear energy and dreamed of providing this energy for peaceful purposes to serve humanity, especially developing countries.
The Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1948, only 3 months after the declaration of the establishment of Israel.
It organized the Atoms for Peace Conference, which was hosted by the College of Science and in which a large number of world scientists participated.
She was a member of many specialized scientific committees, headed by the “Energy and Atomic Bomb Prevention Committee,” which was formed by the Egyptian Ministry of Health.
She was keen to send missions to specialize in nuclear science, as she constantly advocated the importance of nuclear armament.
As part of her research, she reached an important equation that was not accepted by the Western world.
She conducted many researches that opened the door wide for those who came after her in this field.
Her social and charitable contributions
During her studies at the College of Science, she participated in all basic student events. She was one of the participants in the student revolution that broke out in November 1932 against the statements of the British Lord Samuel, which had the largest role in the Palestinian Nakba.
She was an active member of the Student Association for General Culture, which sought to eliminate illiteracy in the Egyptian countryside.
She worked with the social group Al Nahda, which focused on collecting donations to support poor families.
She joined the group to save homeless children and families in need, contributing to providing assistance to them.
Samira Moussa died in a traffic accident when she was 35 years old (social networking sites)
An accident or an assassination?
She died on August 5, 1952, at the age of 35, during her trip from Missouri to California, where she was invited by St. Louis University in Missouri to conduct her research in its advanced laboratories.
On her trip, she was met by a fellow doctoral student, said to be an Indian, and he drove the car through the unpaved roads of California to take her to the laboratories. A large transport vehicle appeared, crashing the car forcefully and throwing it from a height of 40 feet into a deep valley, causing the death of Samira, while the driver fled. Immediately after the car crashed, he was not found after that.
According to Egyptian newspapers, investigations into her death accident say that the driver had an assumed name, and that the reactor management did not send him to pick her up.
Some accounts accuse the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad) of assassinating her as punishment for her attempt to transfer nuclear science to Egypt and the Arab world in that early period.
Honoring the Egyptian scientist
The late President Mohamed Anwar Sadat awarded her the Medal of Sciences and Arts, First Class, in 1981. One of the Ministry of Education schools in her village was named after her, as well as one of the laboratories of the College of Sciences. A culture palace bearing her name was established in her village of Greater Sinbu in 1998.
Her story was recorded in an autobiography entitled “Assassination of the Arab Mind: A Biography of the First Martyr of Science, Dr. Samira Moussa.”
Source: websites