educational journey
Attia says he has a BA agricultural engineering From the Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, and after two years of working at King Saud University in Riyadh, he had the opportunity to obtain a Japanese government scholarship, to study a master’s and doctorate in Environmental and Civil Engineering at Tokyo University of Technology.
The Egyptian researcher adds to the site "Sky News Arabia" That during his study trip in Japan, he went through several scientific trips as a visiting researcher at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and then finally moved to the United States to do post-doctoral research at Clemson University in South Carolina.
and in United States of America Attia also worked as a Research Associate in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in Chicago, before finally joining the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Special mission
About his job at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Attia says that he was appointed as an environmental engineer and head of a research group at the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response at the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Egyptian researcher explains the nature of his job at the US Environmental Protection Agency:
- The focus of my research group is mainly on dangerous pollutants known as polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS), as it was recently estimated that they are present in the environment with a number ranging from about 5,000 to 9,000 compounds, and these compounds take many forms due to the variety of materials they contain.
- This intriguing substance is found in a number of ambient materials that we use every day, such as: furniture, textiles, adhesives, food packaging, heat-resistant cooking surfaces, electronic appliances, batteries and fire extinguisher contents, and even clothing.
- Researchers in recent decades have focused on finding ways to identify and quantify PFAS levels in the environment, and developing effective treatment techniques; To remove it and crack it in water as well as legalize its use and production.
This substance has captured the attention of the public and the research sector, due to its resistance to decomposition, as well as its severe toxicity and danger to the environment. Toxic compounds persist in existence.
The question here, Attia says, is how polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) have infiltrated our food chain, our water resources, and even our atmosphere in just eight decades since their invention.
Western: "It is not an exaggeration in any way if we say that PFAS compounds circulate in the blood of almost all living things on Earth, including newborns, and although these compounds have no effect on the color and smell of drinking water, many tap water and bottled water are contaminated Undoubtedly, in varying concentrations".
The Egyptian scientist points out that his research with his team is focused on treating water from PFAS compounds, specifically targeting the removal of micro pollutants, and evaluating different separation and decomposition techniques through the development of new materials and techniques for absorbing and/or cracking water pollutants and their derivatives.
And he adds: "The positive thing about the results of my research in general, is to have effective and economical alternatives, to separate the water pollutants and then crack them; So that almost all end products are harmless to the environment".
Plans and Partnerships
Speaking to the site "Sky News Arabia"Mohamed Attia talked about the scientific partnerships he is currently working on, as he says that he is working on building many scientific partnerships with universities and major companies with the aim of converting his team’s scientific discoveries into commercial products.
He points out that there is a discrepancy in the time it takes for the technology to come to light, as some materials capable of selectively separating pollutants have already been converted into commercial products, while some other discoveries may need a longer period, until the appropriate use is determined.
As for his professional plans in the current period, the Egyptian researcher says that he intends to continue in the research field, in parallel with extending a network of relationships towards US decision-makers and legislators, pointing out that the US Environmental Protection Agency is the largest global body working in two directions, the first: research and development, and the second: the issuance of environmental laws and legislation, "So I am currently working on gaining experience in both directions".
At the end of his speech, Attia stressed the importance of the role of practical research, saying: "By 2023, legislation will be issued to determine the permissible concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl pollutants (PFAS) in drinking water.".
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This prestigious job was the last stop at which Attia finally landed his travel papers, after a journey rich in learning and knowledge, as he is now working in the US Agency to develop and test advanced systems for treating water from industrial pollutants developed, which have harmful and toxic effects on human health and environment.
educational journey
Attia says he has a BA agricultural engineering From the Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, and after two years of working at King Saud University in Riyadh, he had the opportunity to obtain a Japanese government scholarship, to study a master’s and doctorate in Environmental and Civil Engineering at Tokyo University of Technology.
The Egyptian researcher adds to “Sky News Arabia” that during his study trip in Japan, he underwent several scientific trips as a visiting researcher at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and then finally moved to the United States to conduct post-doctoral research at Clemson University in South Carolina.
and in United States of America Attia also worked as a Research Associate in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in Chicago, before finally joining the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Special mission
About his job at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Attia says that he was appointed as an environmental engineer and head of a research group at the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response at the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Egyptian researcher explains the nature of his job at the US Environmental Protection Agency:
- The focus of my research group is mainly on dangerous pollutants known as polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS), as it was recently estimated that they are present in the environment with a number ranging from about 5,000 to 9,000 compounds, and these compounds take many forms due to the variety of materials they contain.
- This intriguing substance is found in a number of ambient materials that we use every day, such as: furniture, textiles, adhesives, food packaging, heat-resistant cooking surfaces, electronic appliances, batteries and fire extinguisher contents, and even clothing.
- Researchers in recent decades have focused on finding ways to identify and quantify PFAS levels in the environment, and developing effective treatment techniques; To remove it and crack it in water as well as legalize its use and production.
This substance has captured the attention of the public and the research sector, due to its resistance to decomposition, as well as its severe toxicity and danger to the environment. Toxic compounds persist in existence.
The question here, Attia says, is how polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) have infiltrated our food chain, water resources, and even our atmosphere in just eight decades since their invention.
He continues: “It is not an exaggeration in any way if we say that PFAS compounds are present in the blood of almost all living things on Earth, including newborns, and despite the lack of influence of these compounds on the color and smell of drinking water, many tap water Bottled water is undoubtedly polluted with varying concentrations of it.”
The Egyptian scientist points out that his research with his team is focused on treating water from PFAS compounds, specifically targeting the removal of micro pollutants, and evaluating different separation and decomposition techniques through the development of new materials and techniques for absorbing and/or cracking water pollutants and their derivatives.
And he added, “The positive thing about my research results in general is to have effective and economical alternatives for separating water pollutants and then cracking them, so that almost all final products are harmless to the environment.”
Plans and Partnerships
Speaking to Sky News Arabia, Mohamed Attia talked about the scientific partnerships he is currently working on, as he says that he is working to build many scientific partnerships with universities and major companies with the aim of turning his team’s scientific discoveries into commercial products.
He points out that there is a discrepancy in the time it takes for the technology to come to light, as some materials capable of selectively separating pollutants have already been converted into commercial products, while some other discoveries may need a longer period, until the appropriate use is determined.
As for his professional plans in the current period, the Egyptian researcher says that he intends to continue in the research field, in parallel with extending a network of relations in the direction of US decision-makers and legislators, pointing out that the US Environmental Protection Agency is the largest global body working in two directions, the first: research and development, and the second: the issuance of environmental laws and legislation, “that is why I am currently working on gaining experience in both directions.”
At the end of his speech, Attia stressed the importance of the role of practical research, saying: “By 2023, legislation will be issued to determine the permissible concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl pollutants (PFAS) in drinking water, and the agency relied on the results of many laboratory research, in order to determine form and content of legislation.