Today we inaugurate the African Crystallographic Association (AfCA)!  Please be sure to catch the historic session at 11h45 GMT+2

to contribute to the development of education and research in crystallography and structural sciences in Africa. We hope to see AfCA become a strong voice for the
advancement of science in Africa.

Her postdoc (Graphene nanocomposites synthesis and characterization) was at
the Center of Nanotechnology located at the Zakir Hussain College of
Engineering and Applied Science in Aligarh Muslim University, India.  She is the Principal Investigator of jointly funded bilateral research projects with the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna, Russia; Wigner Research Center of Physics, Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest, Hungary, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China and the Central Laboratory of Solar Energy and New Energy Sources, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Bulgaria.

Recently, she received 200,000 EGP (€10000) from the Science and
Technology Development Fund of the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education
for green synthesis of graphene nanocomposites for energy applications.

Dr Abdel-Aal is a Steering Committee member of the African Light Source and African Crystallographic Association.

Professor Haile’s research centers on ionic conduction in solids. Her objectives are to understand the mechanisms that govern ion transport and to apply that understanding to the development of advanced solid electrolytes and novel solid-state electrochemical devices. Applications of fast ion conductors include batteries, sensors, ion pumps, and fuel cells.

Her group is investigating proton-conducting solid acid compounds, proton-conducting perovskites, mixed oxygen- and electron-conducting perovskites, oxygen-conducting oxides, and alkali-conducting silicates.

The group’s standard technique for the characterization of electrical properties is A.C. impedance spectroscopy. Ionic conductivity is closely tied to the crystal structure of and
structural transitions in the conducting solid. Crystal growth, structure determination by X-ray and neutron diffraction, and thermal analysis are also important aspects of Dr. Haile’s research.

Apart from its fundamental value as an area of science, strong-field laser physics has a wide range of applications, such as particle physics, plasma physics (in particular laser fusion), solid-state physics, novel X-ray sources, and attosecond science. In particular, attosecond science is an emerging, interdisciplinary field of research, in which the fact that most strong-field phenomena take place in the attosecond (10-18s) time range plays a very important role.

Dr. Faria has over 70 publications in this research area, in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and has participated in several conferences in Optical Physics, in many of which as an invited speaker.