Fakiha Heakal was elected as an AAS Fellow in 2022. As a fellow, Fakiha Heakal contributes to the development of the Academy's strategic direction through participation in AAS activities and governance structures. This gears the Academy's vision of transforming African lives through science.
Fakiha Heakal is a distinguished Physical Chemistry Professor at Cairo University, Faculty of Science in Egypt, where she earned all her scholarly degrees. Her academic journey includes a notable higher diploma in "Electrochemical Engineering" from TIT, Japan (1979), complemented by extensive research experiences in advanced laboratories across Australia, Japan, and Germany. Heakal has supervised over 50 Ph.D. and M.Sc. students while contributing significantly to the scientific community with +155 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and two USA Patents. Recognized for her pioneering contributions, she founded electrochemistry schools utilizing EIS-based techniques at Cairo and Saudi Arabia Universities. Heakal's commitment to scientific excellence extends to her memberships in esteemed Societies like ISE, RSC, and ACS. She serves as an editor and reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed journals. Currently, she leads two projects as PI and Co-PI, funded by Egypt's Scientific, Technology & Innovation Funding Authority (STDF). Recently, Heakal played a pivotal role in a significant project for the Arab Research & Innovation Co-Funded Alliances (ARiCA).
She was appointed to the leadership team of the National Committee of Soil Science (NCSS) by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Egypt, 2021. Her remarkable achievements have garnered national and international recognition, including prestigious awards such as the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Award for Scientific Excellence in Science, Technology, and Innovation, 2020. Heakal's current research focuses on developing synthetic techniques to obtain well-designed nanostructured materials, vital for energy conversion and storage devices, sensors, green hydrogen, semiconductors, and biomaterials. She also holds the prestigious position of Deputy Manager of the Committee for Promoting Nonorganic Chemistry Staff Members in all Egyptian Universities at the Supreme Council of Universities. Heakal’s leadership and scholarly contributions were acknowledged as one of the top 2% impactful scientists in the world by recent Stanford University reports (Elsevier 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023).
