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By Aliah Salih | This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

With AUC's centennial on the horizon, one question is top of mind: How should AUC celebrate its 100th birthday?

The University shared the task with the public through the Got an Idea? competition to find 100 ways to celebrate AUC's centennial. Then all the creative energy started to flow in.

Approximately 180 ideas have been submitted, ranging from the creative and innovative to the heartwarming and strange -- and it's becoming hard to choose. Though the committee is still in the process of selection and weighing out the potential of each idea, it doesn't mind sharing a few -- among many -- that stood out.

Most of the contributors are keen on having music and art as an inevitable part of the festivities -- because what is a celebration without some music? Some of the suggestions are having musicians from AUC perform their groundbreaking work, as well as bringing in alums who went on to become famous singers. This will definitely guarantee a centennial with a unique soundtrack of different voices, genres and energies. Other ideas assert the presence of the arts through AUCian contributions, which include visual arts and theatre. As for those who are not artists per se, one idea is to dig into your old photo boxes and find shots from your glory days at AUC to display in an art exhibition. Others suggest bringing together select community members and having them compose and write a custom AUC song.

Some of the most interesting ideas are telling the story of AUC through fashion, which is possibly one of the most entertaining ways of reflecting on the decades of fashion do's and don'ts. The suggestions are playing dress-up and snapping photos, or putting together an entire fashion show that showcases the different sartorial creations that AUC witnessed through its students, faculty and staff in the past 100 years. One even recommended having a 1919-themed party, and another went for a le Great Gatsby extravaganza. Overall, we suspect some outfits will be a hit and make a vintage-retro comeback.

Many of the ideas revolve around selecting 100 achievements made by AUC through social media channels, books documenting civic engagement and journals of AUC reflections. Other ideas focus on inviting international and Egyptian influential faculty and prominent alumni and having them speak about their intellectual research and success stories.

"Inviting 100 alumni influencers highlights what AUC is all about -- how it contributed to shaping the future of many prominent figures in society," explained Dina El Turky '05, '13. "These figures will show, mentor and assist students on how to give back to the University and society, which is another value we acquired at AUC -- to always give back to the community."

Nominate someone for Alumni of the Century here!

 

Keeping in line with AUC's achievements, one of the most intriguing suggestions is finding 100 people whose lives have been changed through AUC. This transformation could have been through academia, social awareness, financial aid, employment or something that hasn't even crossed anyone's mind. Through a hashtag like #BecauseOfAUC or #100GratefulAUCians, people can tell stories of how the University helped change their lives.

"It's my second semester at AUC, and I can sense the impact AUC has had on me. It's relatable, and I think it's a great way of thanking our University for 100 years of changing lives," said student Maisson Hatem Hussein, explaining her hashtag idea. "It would be a memorable hashtag. It would grab the eye, and have people share and read meaningful phrases. Our University will become more associated with positively changing people's lives."

Giving back, a distinct trait that makes AUC what it is today, seems to resonate with many. Countless people propose giving away 100 scholarships to prospective students, raising funds for 100 students and granting scholarships to distinct students from across Egypt. One of the most heartwarming ideas is 100 acts of charity, which calls for giving back to the AUC community and beyond through donating money, giveaways, supporting more entrepreneurs and offering training opportunities.

Some ideas look into the future and call for expansion, such as establishing new departments in the next 100 years and building another campus in 6th of October City. Other ideas are guaranteed to warm everyone's hearts, like finding and honoring the oldest AUCian alive, or highlighting 100 college sweethearts who found love at AUC.

"AUC is not only a place for education. It is also a place were families actually started, and many of them have lasted until today," said Engi Radwan '02, who met her husband back in the Tahrir Square campus. "Couples like my husband and I first met at AUC, and love stories were written over the years because of this place. We can show off to our kids and tell them how we started off as friends and how this University brought us closer through education, social networking, events and extracurricular activities -- and it all ended up in starting families. AUC will always have a special place in our hearts, and many families like mine will be forever grateful for it."

Some thought of leveraging the opportunity by planting 100 trees and spreading the word about sustainability. Other ideas are full of wishful thinking, like giving A's to all students, 100 free days of parking and a tuition discount of EGP 100,000. Still others aim to symbolize AUC's old school side and its modernity, like designing custom AUC postage stamps and creating virtual reality experiences through both campuses. "AUC's legacy is primarily all the AUCians who graduated since its founding and their contributions to Egypt and the world across all aspects of life," said Maged Farrag '93, parent of a current AUC student.

Farrag proposed creating a 360 video that would be shared on social media platforms as well as played on virtual reality headsets on campus and during centennial events. "We would make a 360 video shooting of the old and new campuses and blend it with archival photos and videos to bring it to life," he explained. "It would be like a time machine -- taking a journey into the campus memories across the years, bringing the old campus to life through an immersive experience. As AUCians, we cherish the moments we spent on campus, and the photos that we keep are part of our legacy."

In the end, AUC is brimming with all the ingenuity, which we know will generate a series of celebrations that reflect the University's artistic and intellectual outlook.

By the way, to AUC's rugby team: We got your 12 ideas about being included. We won't forget you.

Find out more about the centennial here.

 

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Charles Watson led a life dedicated to the expansion of education and the promotion of Christian values abroad and specifically in Egypt. Born in Egypt on July 17, 1873, Watson received his early education in the country and his PhD from Princeton University's Theological Seminary in 1899. He began his career by taking charge of a mission church in Pittsburgh. Later, he worked as a teacher and pastor, promoting the works of his church at home and abroad. He was an active member of the Near East Christian Council, a special representative for the Foreign Ministry Board of North America at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and was part of an Egyptian commission to study a program of national education for the country in the early 1930s. He studied the educational system in Egypt in the early 1900s, and in 1915, organized the Board of Trustees of The American University at Cairo. The legacy of his life and values are still felt through the University today.
 

Liberal Arts

"We must have original and creative minds. To develop such minds is to render a supreme service to the country. Yet, this is no easy task. It calls for constant encouragement of the student to think for himself. It calls for the abandonment of the memorizing system of education. It calls for examinations and research work that will encourage independent thinking. It calls for discussions in classrooms and not mere recitations."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933
 

"Our institution is here to serve Egypt and the population of Egypt. ... The full recognition of this point is fundamental to any consideration of our program and plans. ... The American University at Cairo has from the beginning laid a unique emphasis on character training in education. ... Our education is directed not merely to the student's head and intellect, but also to his heart and moral character."

-- The Graduation Exercises, The College of Arts and Sciences June 5, 1925
 

Cocurriculars

"No one may secure the diploma of this University without doing more than merely pass examinations on a subject matter. He must give evidence of a total development of life and character that makes him worthy of being called a college graduate. This general development we endeavor to secure by what we call our extracurricular activities."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933

"In our education here, we strive to maintain and even deepen sympathy with the outside world. Not only are our social studies organized for an examination into the problems of Egypt, but the students are taken out to visit hospitals and orphanages, villages and the poorer sections of the city, prisons and factories, so that they may possess this quality so important for every leader, namely, sympathy with the people. ... Sometimes we are criticized for the large place we give in our curriculum to character training, to studies in ethics and to extracurricular activities, but we are persuaded that no part of our training is more important or will contribute more richly to the abiding goal of an independent Egypt."

-- "The Student, The School, and the Nation," Commencement Address May 28, 1937

"No one may secure the diploma of this University without doing more than merely pass examinations on a subject matter. He must give evidence of a total development of life and character that makes him worthy of being called a college graduate. This general development we endeavor to secure by what we call our extracurricular activities."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933 
 

Public Access to Education

"Our Division of Extension has been developed in recognition of Mr. Public and of his opinion. It not only recognizes his importance, but it also believes that he can be educated and that, if educated, he can become the greatest force [in] the improvement of a country. That is why this University, through its Division of Extension, has sought to affect public opinion by lectures, by the printed page, by the cinema, by radio, by general gatherings and, again, by smaller forums."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933
 

"The Department of University Extension ... has for its motto, 'Educate all the people.' In opposition to the familiar business term, '--- Company, Limited,' it has been called 'Education, Unlimited.'

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933
 

 

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ASMA AMLEH
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

Developing a more effective screening test for ovarian cancer

 

The Inspiration

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer. The symptoms are ambiguous, the disease has a high worldwide rate of mortality and morbidity, and the majority of women aren't diagnosed until the disease has reached its last stages. Yet the screening tests are limited, especially at the early stages. So we need to find new approaches to early diagnosis. With breast cancer, there's a lot of research and data available, and survival rates are higher. There is a lot to be done with ovarian cancer.

8th most common CANCER among women WORLDWIDE

 

The Process

 

This is a two-year research program, supported by AUC's Bartlett Fund for Critical Challenges. My initial research in this area began at AUC in September 2013 as part of a collaborative project with a researcher from Canada. After winning the Bartlett grant, I became the principal investigator, along with co-investigator Terri Ginsberg, assistant professor of film in AUC's Department of the Arts, for an interdisciplinary team that includes graduate and undergraduate students at AUC, a gynecologist from Mansoura University, a biostatistician in AUC's Department of Biology and a filmmaking instructor in AUC's Film Program. We're collecting and analyzing specimens from both healthy and diseased patients, and extracting RNA and sending them to be sequenced. At the end of the day, diseases affect gene expression. So we need to understand the specific expressions that indicate ovarian cancer.

5th most common CANCER among EGYPTIAN women

The IMPACT

Our goal is to develop a screening method to detect ovarian cancer in its earliest stages. Our method would be cost-effective, noninvasive -- based on a blood sample -- and derived from microRNA sequencing, the most specific and sensitive data marker available. This work is urgently needed. The impact would be immediate and powerful.

The Next Steps

Part of our project is to empower women with the knowledge that regular checks for ovarian cancer are crucial. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women in Egypt are hesitant to discuss ovarian cancer. We want to normalize that conversation, so we're making a video to spread knowledge about ovarian cancer. Research is about discovery, but it's also about raising awareness.

The Future

This is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional project, where researchers from around the world bring their own expertise to the table. At AUC, we have a smart, hard-working research team, supported by all the resources and facilities we need: dedicated labs for cell culture, genomics and bioinformatics; technological support; an Academic Data Center and a tremendous library. By working together, we produce something beautiful and necessary.

 

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Training Social workers to respond to children in crisis

 

CARIE FORDEN
PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

The Inspiration

How do we protect children from neglect and abuse? That's a critical question in Egypt and around the world. I'm collaborating with UNICEF and Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity to answer it. We're trying to enhance the skills and capabilities of professional social workers -- the people who often have the best chance of improving the lives of children in these situations.

The Process

The team at AUC includes Yasmine Saleh '91, associate professor of practice in the Department of Psychology, and many students who have worked as interns and research assistants. Here's what we do: We conduct assessments to determine the kinds of training that social workers need to be effective in serving children -- for example, training in gender-based violence, alternative care, positive parenting and psychosocial support for trauma. Then we develop training courses with lots of hands-on activities, produce the materials to support them and lead the courses. We conduct evaluations of the training sessions to help ensure they are effective and improving social work practice. We also train new trainers so the work can spread far beyond us.

Saleh (left) and Forden engaging with social workers

The IMPACT

We've trained more than 400 social workers in Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut, Sharqiya and North Sinai; developed 33 days of training curricula; and certified nine local trainers. If we can sustain this approach, the potential impact of the project is huge: Social workers across Egypt will be better able to protect and support children, youth and families, and the changes that UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Solidarity are trying to implement will be embedded into the national system of social work training and practice.

93% of children aged 1 to 14 have been exposed to violent disciplinary practices by their parents or caregivers, including psychological and physical violence.

UNICEF, citing the 2014 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey, published by the Ministry of Health

The Next Steps

In the next two years, we plan to train and certify an additional 500 social workers. The chances of success are high. A recent call for a training of trainers on gender-based violence drew more than 300 applicants. We're also supporting the ministry's efforts to move from placing children in orphanages to placing them in alternative parental care and helping them create a new system to certify child protection social workers.

The Future

AUC is the ideal place to do this work. Our community psychology program -- focusing on collaboration with community partners, creating positive social change and building professional practice skills -- is unique in the region. We're able to attract high-caliber students; they're true partners in this project. AUC's reputation for excellence means that our community partners welcome the chance to work with us, and trainees see our programs as prestigious. And the University is truly committed to community engagement. Work like ours is valued and sustained, which then helps us ensure that social workers and the children they serve are valued and sustained.

 

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HASSAN EL-FAWAL
PROFESSOR OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
DEAN, SCHOOL OF SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
FOUNDING DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL 
HEALTH AND HUMAN ECOLOGY

Setting the foundation for the future of health care in Egypt

The Inspiration

My specific research area is environmental health, with a particular focus on developing diagnostic tests for a range of conditions. But I've always had a broad interest in breaking down barriers that impede meaningful progress for humanity. One such example is our focus on precision health to arrive at a gene-environment model within the demographic and socioeconomic context. One project we're keen on now, in collaboration with colleagues -- most notably Mohamed Salama, physician and clinical neurotoxicologist who recently joined AUC as associate professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology -- and international partners, is establishing a reference genome for Egypt. This is an essential first step in identifying unique vulnerabilities of the population to communicable and non-communicable diseases. In that regard, it is a mission that satisfies both the interests of protecting environmental health and early disease diagnosis.

 

El-Fawal with faculty researchers Ahmed Moustafa, associate professor of bioinformatics; Mohamed Salama, associate professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology; and Anwar Abdelnaser, assistant professor of environmental health

The Process

We're collaborating with a number of institutions in Europe and the Middle East. It's a vast, interdisciplinary project that requires the team efforts of medical health professionals, biomedical scientists and engineers, as well as the expertise of colleagues in the social sciences. In one way, we're doing what every good research project does: defining gaps in our knowledge, asking the relevant questions, designing an adaptable approach, running tests, analyzing big data and refining our methods. But we're doing these things at the most advanced level and with diverse expertise.

 

The Next Steps

A complete database that reflects the efforts of researchers and practitioners across Egypt will inform the country's health policy and its management of health care and will establish AUC as an enabling partner for researchers in Egypt. Not at all coincidentally, AUC has developed two graduate programs -- a master's and doctorate in global public health -- that focus on these issues. The graduate programs, in turn, are part of our new Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, which is designed to address worldwide challenges: food scarcity, environmental degradation, burgeoning populations, the spread of diseases associated with industrial development and much more.

The IMPACT

The reference genome for Egypt will provide a database for comparative studies and a repository for shared information on the genetic basis of health and disease to advance personalized medicine and health care among the Egyptian population. It will empower researchers and clinicians to better identify risk -- diagnosing diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and heart disease -- while mitigating risk or customizing treatment. Simply put, it is the future of health care in Egypt that should inform policy.

 

The Future

AUC recently celebrated its centennial. To me, this project -- as well as the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology -- represents the dawn of our second century of service. It's about working together across borders, across disciplines in a spirit of progress and collaboration to find solutions.

Read about the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology.

 

 

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By Yakin Ouederni

Communicating in Arabic Sign Language with the tap of a phone

Baher Moursy '18, Heba Sakr '18, Youssef Khairalla '18 and Tamara Nagui '17 have always been driven by a desire to give back to their communities whenever the opportunity arises. So when it came time for them to decide on a graduation project in 2017, it was difficult to settle on one of the many ideas they thought of, but they were sure of one thing: Whatever it was, it needed to go beyond being just a thesis project.

After months of brainstorming, they came up with Eshara, a mobile application that translates Arabic Sign Language (ASL) into written Arabic in real time. Eshara works on any device with a camera, using video recognition technology to detect the hand movements of someone speaking ASL and simultaneously provide a written translation.

"Imagine a world in which a student can raise his or her hand in a classroom and sign what he or she is trying to communicate, and everyone else in the classroom reading or hearing the translation instantly," Khairalla said.

The Eshara logo was designed by Yasmine Nagui '16

Due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), the world that Khairalla speaks of can soon become a reality. Eshara relies on computer vision and machine learning, a subset of AI that uses systems to identify patterns and make decisions with little to no human intervention. Both fields are increasingly being used across a variety of areas such as health care monitoring, financial services and transportation. In Eshara's case, the group films people speaking ASL and then programs the software to recognize specific movements as words so that it may provide a written translation.

"Basically, we design and train several AI computing models to associate each ASL word gesture with its corresponding text," said Mohamed Moustafa, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the team's supervisor. "This work of action recognition is actually part of a bigger research topic known as human-computer interaction. Its applications are all futuristic."

Noting the great impact of machine learning on people's lives, Moustafa emphasized the importance of investing time into developing this field. "Self-driving vehicles are expected to be fully autonomous in a handful of years, bidirectional language translation is helping real-time conversations, and mature models are being developed to recommend your next online purchase," he said.

And it's exactly this type of impact that the team hopes to make with Eshara: creating programs that make people's lives easier by using AI to help underserved populations and inspire others to do the same. "We have the knowledge; we have the technology," Moursy said. "Why don't we use it for the good of society?"

"Be the Future" in Arabic Sign Language by (front row) Youssef Khairalla, Heba Sakr, Baher Moursy and (back) Amr AbdelGhani

Two years after presenting their idea to the thesis panel, the team members are still developing the app. Amr AbdelGhani '19 has since joined the team.

What the team members have now is the demo they created for the graduation project, which is capable of translating individual words and not full sentences. By the end of the year, they hope to accomplish two goals for the app: translating full sentences and being quick enough to produce words in real time. Development takes place in two stages: data collection then programming the machine.

Eshara app design

When the team members initially started conducting research, they were surprised to see that there was no project like theirs targeting ASL speakers in the Middle East. This made the data collection process much more difficult and time consuming. "It took us around a year to collect data for the demo," Moursy said.

One year for 16 words.

Data collection involves choosing words to include in the Eshara dictionary and then filming those words being spoken in ASL. To ensure Eshara's accuracy at all times of the day and in different locations, the team needed to film movements across a wide array of environments and with different people. With no ASL experience and no contacts with anyone who speaks it, the team members had to learn the movements and train their friends to shoot the videos.

"When filming the words, we needed a wide range of skin colors, hand sizes, backgrounds and lighting, and we had to film at different times of the day," Sakr said.

Their project stalled for one year when they lost funding, but AUC secured funding earlier in 2019, and the team got right back to work in July. Since then, they have expanded the dictionary to between 800 and 1,000 words. "Being part of the Eshara team resembles a great opportunity for me to help create something that can directly impact people's lives and has the potential to revolutionize communication with those who cannot hear," said AbdelGhani. "The current progress is unprecedented for Arabic Sign Language recognition, and I believe that we could potentially push this technology to achieve a breakthrough in scalable automatic ASL recognition. The passion and excitement of the team along with AUC's support make this project a fun and fulfilling journey."

Data Collection for Eshara

Turning AUC Tahrir Square into their workspace, the team members meet with ASL professionals and communities in Cairo that cannot hear or speak to film vocabulary. Khairalla, who is currently overseas, is helping with researching quicker and more efficient technologies for the app.

"Speed is our main concern," Moursy said. "The app needs to be able to translate full sentences in real time."

Sign language translating programs do exist for languages other than ASL, but what differentiates Eshara from all others is its accessibility. Most programs use censored gloves or 3D cameras to detect hand movements, while Eshara can be downloaded on mobile phones and works across different software.

"If someone who speaks Arabic Sign Language is sitting right next to me, there would be no way of communicating with him or her," Moursy said. "Eshara would allow me to just pull out my phone and carry out a conversation. We're not realizing that there's a whole demographic of people we aren't talking to."

What started out as a graduation project turned into an initiative to include an often neglected demographic in society. Even AUC Tahrir Square, which started off as a meeting place for data collection, became a space for a community of people working toward a common cause.

"The ASL professionals were really excited about the project and even want to continue helping us for free," Sakr said, emphasizing how this project will allow ASL speakers to enter the workforce more easily, making way for diverse skills and talents that were previously not tapped into. "We're helping to create a better future for them because they can finally be able to take part in regular, everyday life like everyone else."

 

HASSAN AZZAZY
PROFESSOR AND CHAIR
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Building a low-cost sensor that monitors water quality

The Inspiration

I believe that clean water is a human right. Yet developing countries often lack the capacity to detect and remove toxic metals from their water supply. If you're exposed to those metals -- mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead -- in your water every day, they accumulate in your body. As they accumulate, they can severely affect your health. They can lower IQs in children, damage organs in people of any age and more. My research team is trying to develop a low-cost testing device -- a colorimetric sensor -- for toxic metals in water.

The Process

The first step was putting together a multidisciplinary team: graduate students with expertise in sensing technologies, nanotechnology and analytical chemistry. Together, we prepared innovative nanosensors, which have been granted patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office; assembled sensor strips; ran tests and compared results. Those results were qualitative; they provided only a yes/no answer for the presence of a specific toxic metal. Similar to pregnancy tests, the color of each sensor strip changes in the presence of a specific toxic metal. We have also developed a portable device that can measure the intensity of the developed color and, therefore, produce quantitative results -- numbers that can be used to assess the exact level of toxic metals in water.

The Next Steps

The next phase of our project is very exciting. We'll develop a tool that can help remove toxic metals from water. In everything we do, we're guided by the idea that our research should contribute practical solutions to address national and global challenges.

The IMPACT

Simply put, the devices we produce will help communities, especially those in remote locations dependent on underground water, to monitor their water quality. Local authorities will be able to assess the toxicity of metals in their water, giving them the information they need to warn community members of danger or to ensure that their water is safe for drinking or other uses.

Four toxic metals -- MERCURY, CADMIUM, ARSENIC AND LEAD -- are among the World Health Organization's Top 10 Chemicals of Major Public Concern.

The Future

AUC is one of the best places in Egypt to conduct innovative research. The high-caliber faculty, the industrious students, the advanced facilities and instruments -- these are all important factors. But the culture of AUC is important too. This is a University that encourages multidisciplinary research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Read about the newly inaugurated AUC and Alexandria University Center of Excellence for Water.

 

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Bridging the global radiology gap

By Nahla El Gendy

According to the World Health organization, in many medical cases worldwide, clinical considerations are not enough to make a correct diagnosis. radiology, or diagnostic imaging, allows doctors to see inside the body, providing detailed information that is crucial for proper disease diagnosis. As the World Health Organization put it, "diagnostic imaging is a prerequisite for the correct and successful treatment of at least a quarter of all patients worldwide."

The problem? Two-thirds of the world's population lacks access to basic radiology services, whether in the form of X-rays, ultrasounds, CAt scans, magnetic resonance or other procedures -- what HealthManagement.org describes as the "global radiology gap that now poses a threat to public health."

"With technological advances in the last two decades, radiology is expanding rapidly worldwide while the number of radiologists has not increased at the same rate," said Amr Abodraiaa, CEO and co-founder of Rology, a startup of the AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab), Egypt's first university-based accelerator. Abodraiaa became aware of the problem several years ago when he worked on a hospital management system with a startup company in Egypt. "it always concerned me how there was a constant delay in issuing patient reports," he said. "Patients would sometimes have to wait for two or three weeks to receive their final diagnostic reports."

Using artificial intelligence, Rology works to bridge this gap through an on-demand, web-based teleradiology platform that instantly and remotely matches radiology images originating from hospitals with professional radiologists in different parts of the globe. Rology can be easily accessed by radiologists worldwide and doesn't require special hardware.

" Rology helps hospitals provide their patients with a fast and accurate report," said Abodraiaa. "this is crucial because a patient's diagnosis and treatment can only start after the physician receives the radiology report."

Rology operations follow three main steps: upload, match and report. the hospital uploads the patient's medical images onto the system. Based on the first auto analysis, Rology then matches the scan with the optimal radiologist, depending on availability and subspecialty. Afterward, the radiologist writes the final diagnostic report and sends it back to the hospital through a quality control process.

"The health care sector in Egypt is ripe for innovations," said Ayman Ismail 
'95, '97, Abdul Latif Jameel Chair in Entrepreneurship, associate professor at AUC's School of Business and V-Lab founding director. "there is a huge need for expanding access, improving quality of care and reducing costs for health care services in Egypt, especially with the growing population and rising incomes. startups like Rology are using innovative technologies and business models to expand access to radiology services. At the AUC Venture Lab, we are now adding health care as a focus sector and working with entrepreneurs like Amr to introduce new innovations to this vital sector."

Rology is already making an impact in Egypt. "We have helped hospitals and radiology centers in various Egyptian governorates to improve their operations by issuing almost 60,000 accurate and timely diagnostic reports since we started operating in October 2017," said Abodraiaa.

Rology currently works with 54 hospitals and private radiology centers across Egypt and has recently started operating in Saudi Arabia and Kenya, with plans to expand its services to new markets in Africa and the Middle East by 2020. "We have five main countries in our expansion plan for this year, including Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Congo," said Abodraiaa. "it's just the start."

 

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Here's a look through the major milestones in AUC's 100-year legacy in Cairo.

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Early 1900s

• Charles Watson studies educational system in Egypt

1912

• Charles Watson completes report outlining vision for AUC

1919

• AUC officially incorporated in Washington, D.C.

1920

• Student Union formed
• First 142 students begin classes equivalent to the final two years of high school

1921

• School of Oriental Studies opens

1923

• First commencement

1924

• Division of Extension (forerunner to the School of Continuing Education) established
• New York State Board of Regents recognizes AUC degrees as equivalent to junior college degrees

1925

• First campus newspaper, The AUC Review, issued

1926

• Old Boys Club created for alumni

1927

• AUC offers four years of secondary school and four years of college

1928

• First University-level bachelor's degrees awarded to three students
• Ewart Memorial Hall opens
• AUC welcomes first female student, Eva Habib el-Masri '31

 

1929

• Hill family starts AUC's first endowment fund with $450,000

1931

• Old Boys Club develops into Alumni Association
• Gillespie family donates $65,000 to build Oriental Hall

 

1937

• Om Kolthoum starts performing in Ewart Hall

Om Kolthoum

1938

• Campus Caravan replaces The AUC Review

1940

• King Abdullah of Jordan visits AUC

1941

• AUC hosts concerts in Ewart Hall for allied soldiers in Egypt and classes for U.S. soldiers

1942

• AUC students petition Ministry of War to allow an instructor to teach them military formations, which soon replaced acrobatics and team sports

1944

• Watson decorated by King Farouk: High Decoration of the Order of Ismail -- one of the highest honors conferred by the Egyptian government at the time

1950

• First graduate degree awarded in Arabic language and literature

1951

• Last preparatory class graduates, making AUC strictly a University-level institution

Helen Keller speaking at AUC, 1952
 

1952

• Helen Keller visits AUC

1953

• Hill House formally dedicated as the first student dormitory on campus
• Social Research Center founded

1954

• Egyptian Presidents Gamal Abdul Nasser and Mohammed Naguib attend AUC's Arabic Language Day Convocation

1956

• English Language Institute opens
• AUC engages in relief efforts for Egyptians affected by Suez Crisis
• AUC Archives acquires Creswell Collection

1959

• Hill House rededicated as a library

1960

• AUC Press established

 

1961

• AUC's name changes from "at Cairo" to "in Cairo"

 

• Social Research Center's Ethnographic Survey of Egyptian Nubia, supported by the Ford Foundation, launched

1964

• Buildings purchased from the Greek community (Greek Campus)
• AUC purchases Falaki land to build a student dormitory

The Falaki Building

1966

• Science Building completed

1967

• Center for Arabic Study Abroad established and based at AUC
• Egyptian government sequestrator assigned to AUC until 1975, when replaced by the counselor position

1960s - 1970s

• Distinguished Visiting Professor program launched at AUC

1972

• AUC Press obtains exclusive English-language rights to the works of Naguib Mahfouz

1974

• Ministry of Higher Education recognizes all but three AUC degrees as equivalent to those offered by Egyptian universities
• Sports programs win representation in National Universities Sports Union

1975

• Egyptian government relinquishes control of AUC
• Protocol established between Board of Trustees and the Egyptian government

1978

• AUC Press publishes first Naguib Mahfouz novel in English

1979

• Desert Development Center approved

1982

• New Greek Campus library completed
• AUC receives largest single donation at the time ($5 million) from Abdul Latif Jameel
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education grants AUC full accreditation

 

1985

• Egypt's first University bookstore opens
• AIESEC AUC founded. AIESEC is the world's largest youth-driven organization

1987

• First documentation of AUC history in The American University in Cairo, 1919 -1987, written by Lawrence R. Murphy, former AUC faculty member

1988

• Naguib Mahfouz wins Nobel Prize. AUC Press was his English-language publisher and worldwide agent
• Last undergraduate commencement in Ewart Hall (February 1988)

1989

• Abdul Latif Jameel Building for Middle East Management Studies inaugurated
• Core Curriculum introduced
• Model United Nations starts -- first in the Middle East
• AUC simulates Earth Day and Environmental Action

1990

• Model Arab League starts
• AUC launches Gulf War Scholarship to assist students affected by Iraq War

1991

• AUC opens Zamalek hostel and classroom building

1992

• Rare Books and Special Collections Library inaugurated

 

 

1993

• Noam Chomsky speaks at AUC
• University Senate established
• AUC one of only three universities in the region to receive a Sasakawa Peace Foundation grant
• Academic programs organized into three schools: Humanities and Social Sciences; Business, Economics and Communications; Sciences and Engineering
• First AUC Research Conference

1994

• AUC Archives acquires Hassan Fathy collection
• AUC's 75th anniversary
• New mission statement

1995

• Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Tantawi and Pope Shenouda III speak at AUC
• AUC Professor Kent Weeks rediscovers Tomb KV5 in Valley of the Kings

1996

• AUC Press establishes Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature

1997

• AUC purchases land in New Cairo

1999

• U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton speaks in Ewart Hall
• AUC becomes first University outside the U.S. to receive accreditation from the Computer Science Accreditation Board (now ABET)

2000

• Her Majesty Queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah '91 visits AUC. Distinguished guests in the first years of the century included Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice and Ahmed Zewail
• AUC Archives acquires Van Leo collection

2003

• New Cairo Campus design completed and cornerstone laid by Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak '77, '82
• Egyptian Chair in Coptic Heritage established -- the only such program in Egypt
• Social Research Center's 50th anniversary

2004

• AUC signs New Cairo campus construction contract
• AUC establishes Leadership for Education and Development program

2005

• Department of Law established
• Volunteers in Action student club holds first campus wedding for orphan brides

2006

• John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement founded

2007

• AUC Press publishes 1,000th book

2008

• First day of class on the New Cairo campus

 

 

2009

• New Cairo campus inauguration
• AUC's 90th anniversary

2010

• PhD program begins in applied sciences and engineering
• AUC launches three schools: School of Business, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Graduate School of Education
• 50th anniversary of AUC Press
• Principals' Academy first in the region
• First visually impaired student graduates from AUC
• AUC first and only University in Egypt to be accredited by the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education

2011

• AUC launches The Cairo Review of Global Affairs
• New freedom of expression policy
• Center for Translation Studies launched
• Management Center accredited by Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training

Cancer Marathon, November, 2012
 

2012

• First cohort of Yousef Jameel GAPP Public Leadership fellows enter AUC
• Undergraduate chemistry program first in Egypt to be internationally accredited
• Special Olympics Day held on campus for the first time
• First TEDxAUC
• AUC hosts Terry Fox Run for the first time to raise funds for cancer hospital
• AUC releases region's first Carbon Footprint Report
• Graduation of first undergraduate class to study entirely on the New Cairo campus

Commencement, February 2012

2013

• Academy of Liberal Arts and Academic Advising Center launched; freshman program revamped
• Cairo International Model United Nations celebrates 25th anniversary

MUN 25th Anniversary Model United Nations Celebration

• Eduniversal ranks seven master's programs top in Africa
• AUC establishes career centers in national universities
• Greek Campus leased to become Egypt's first downtown technology park
• Partnership between AUC and MIT Enterprise Forum
• D-Kimia, Egypt's first University spinoff, markets affordable hepatitis C tests

• Research Institute for a Sustainable Environment successor to Desert Development Center
• First nanotechnology master's students graduate
• Faculty housing first in Egypt to embed green design, green roof

2014

Yosra El Maghraby ('04, '08, '14), a construction engineer and AUC's first-ever PhD

• First PhD student graduates
• Triple-crown accreditation for School of Business
• AUC pioneers free online courses in Arabic (MOOCs) with Edraak
• AUC ranked top green campus in Africa, top third worldwide in GreenMetric Ranking

The Venture Lab startup space

• AUC Venture Lab launched as the first University incubator in Egypt, ranked by UBI Global among top in region
• AUC's strategic plan completed

AUC New Cairo campus grounds, October 2012

• Architecture program first in region to receive international validation
• AUC faculty join Egypt's Presidential Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research
• AUC tops QS World University Rankings in Egypt
• School of Continuing Education celebrates 90 years
• First AUC Community Day celebrates campus unity, unveils eagle mascot

 

The Eagle mascot at AUC Community Day

• AUC portal lights up in blue for World Autism Day

Autism Awareness Day at AUC

2015

• AUC only college outside North America in Princeton Review's Green Colleges Guide
• AUC partners with Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation on cardiac research
• AUC partners with Ministry of Justice to train judges, enhance legal education
• AUC launches region's first cocurricular transcript

• Highest number of applicants in AUC's history; selectivity rate for incoming students among top 100 universities in the United States
• QS Rankings place AUC among world's top universities
• AUC third outside the United States to receive NASPAA accreditation for public policy, public administration master's programs
• AUC featured in UN's Greening Universities Toolkit as a global exemplar of sustainability

• Neighborhood Initiative launched

2016

• First graphic design students graduate
• AUC first University outside the U.S. to host Digital Pedagogy Lab Institute Cairo
• AUC hosts first community psychology conference in Africa and the MENA region
• First AUC Research Day
• First cohort of Al Ghurair STEM Scholars join AUC
• Students and alumni compete in Rio 2016 Olympics
• AUC receives donation of more than 5,000 books from the private library of the late Egyptian journalist Mustafa Amin

2017

• AUC first University in the region to offer a blended degree, pairing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education
• Udacity partnership on blended learning
• AUC first in the region to host LafargeHolcim Sustainable Architecture Competition
• Middle East Strategy Task Force names AUC as one of few American universities in the region that are potential "hubs of excellence"
• AUC takes initiative to transfer nearly 5,000 Islamic, Coptic, Pharaonic, Greek and Roman antiquities to the protection of the Egyptian government. AUC had been in legal possession of these antiquities since the 1960s, ensuring their preservation

• Eduniversal ranks 10 AUC graduate programs among top in Africa
• HUSSLab launched, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• First AUC Research Week
• First University FabLab in the region, launched by AUC students
• Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy first worldwide to receive triple crown accreditation in the field of public affairs education
• AUC hosts NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition -- held for the first time in the MENA region
• AUC delegation takes home six of seven awards at Egypt's first World Youth Forum
• AUC's Career Center launches USAID-funded program to establish 20 University Centers for Career Development in 12 public Egyptian universities

2018

• Middle States Commission on Higher Education reaffirms its accreditation of AUC through the 2026- 2027 academic year
• Tobacco-Free Community initiative launched
• Center for Arabic Study Abroad celebrates 50th anniversary
• First University cashless program in the region, AUC Coin
• Department of Accounting accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom
• For ninth consecutive year, Cairo International Model United Nations receives Outstanding Delegation awards at National Model United Nations conference in New York
• Master of Arts in television and digital journalism fully accredited by Egypt's Supreme Council of Universities
• AUC hosts International Branch Campuses model forum
• AUC named on the Forbes list of top U.S. colleges overseas
• Actuarial science and biology programs accredited by ABET
• King's College London and Harvard University partnerships established. AUC now has more than 170 international partnerships

• New Cairo campus celebrates 10th anniversary
• Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology launched
• Centennial coin designed by students, minted by the Egyptian government

• AUC signs agreement with Naguib Sawiris to establish and renovate the Tahrir Cultural Center on the Tahrir Square campus
• Alumni Council established

2019: AUC celebrates 100th anniversary

 

 

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• C. David Welch, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
• Black and white old archival photos, scans, Visit Religious Leaders Pope Shenouda
• Sir Magdi Yacoub, cardiothoracic surgeon, Imperial College London, Heart of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation
• John Casson, former UK UK Ambassador to Egypt
• Ahmed Okasha, Psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University
• Muhammad Tantawi, former Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar
• Mohamed Farid, Executive Chairman, The Egyptian Exchange
• Yoon Soon-Gu, former South Korean Ambassador to Egypt
• Helen Keller, American author, political activist and lecturer
• Helmy Fauzy, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia
• Sanjay Bhattacharyya, former Indian Ambassador to Egypt
• Louis Greiss '55, Egyptian journalist and writer
• Edith Piaf, French singer and actress
• Thomas Friedman (ALU '74), Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Fadwa El Guindi '60, award-winning international anthropologist
• Omar Sherif, iconic Egyptian actor
• Former Egyptian President Mohammed Naguib
• Charles Elachi, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and planetary science, California Institute of Technology
• Taha Hussein, literary scholar and former Minister of Education
• Edward Said, professor of English and comparative literature, Columbia University
• Noam Chomsky, professor Emeritus of linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Gro Harlem Brundtland, sustainability movement founder
• David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
• Youssef Chahine, award-winning film director
• Amre Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League; Egypt's former Foreign Minister
• Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States
• Ahmed Kamal Aboul Magd, law professor, Cairo University
• Fekry Abaza, Egyptian journalist and political activist
• Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry
• Om Kolthoum, legendary Egyptian singer
• Frank G. Wisner, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
• Yahya Haqqi, Egyptian writer and novelist
• Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz
• Richard W. Murphy, former U.S. Ambassador
• Yusuf Idris, Egyptian playwright and novelist
• Youssef El-Sebai, Egyptian novelist and former Minister of Culture
• Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State of the United States
• Muhammed El-Sa'di, former President of Al Azhar University
• Boutros Ghall, sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Abbas Ammar, Egypt's Former Minister of Education
• Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Laureate and AUC Trustee
• Don Cheadle, American actor
• Michael Dukakis, former U.S. presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor
• Stephen Walt, professor of International Affairs, Harvard University
• Kofi Annan, Nobel Laureate and seventh Secretary General of the United Nations
• Condoleeza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
• Ahdaf Soueif (MA '73), Egyptian novelist
• John Prendergast, New York Times bestselling author, former Director of African Affairs, U.S. National Security Council
• Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
• Hans Kung, Swiss theolgian
• Shibley Telhami Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland
• James Zogby, founder and President of the Arab American Institute
• Mary Robinson, first female president of Ireland
• Timothy Garton Ash, professor of European Studies, University of Oxford
•