- Ismail Serageldin
infobox person
caption=Ismail Sergeldin speaking at the closing ceremony ofWikimania 2008
birth_date=1944
birth_place=Giza ,Egypt Ismail Serageldin (born
1944 inGiza ,Egypt ) is the director of theBibliotheca Alexandrina . He also chairs the Boards of Directors for each of the BA's affiliated research institutes and museums and was a Distinguished Professor atWageningen University inthe Netherlands . He is a member of the Senate in Egypt (Majlis Al-Shura).He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from
Cairo University and Masters' degree and a Ph.D. fromHarvard University and has received 22 honorary doctorates.He has published over 50 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. cite web | url = http://www.serageldin.com/CV.htm | title = Prof. Serageldin, Curriculum Vitae | accessdate = 2008-01-16 | publisher = The Library of Alexandria, Egypt] He is sometimes referred to as the "most intelligent man in Egypt".cite web | url = http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/wissenschaft/meine_lieblingsstadt__1.652316.html | title = Meine Lieblingsstadt (My favourite city) | accessdate = 2008-01-16 | publisher = Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Switzerland]He speaks Arabic, French and English. He is married and has one son.
Education
1964 B.Sc. (First Class Honors)
Cairo University
1968 M.R.P. (With Distinction)Harvard University
1972 Ph.D.Harvard University Honorary degrees
1996 Doctor of
Sociology ,University of Bucharest ,Romania
1996 Doctor ofAgricultural Science ,University of Melbourne ,Australia
1997Doctor of Science ,Indian Agricultural Research Institute ,India
1998 Doctor ofInternational Affairs ,American University ,Washington DC ,USA
1998 Doctor of Science,Punjab Agricultural University ,India
1998 Doctor of Science,Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University ,India
1998 Doctor ofNatural resource management ,Ohio State University ,USA
1999 Doctor of Science,Tamil Nadu Agricultural University ,Coimbatore ,India
1999 Doctor of Science,Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University , Hyderabad,India
1999 Doctor ofEconomics andManagement ,CNAM ,Paris ,France
1999 Doctor of Science,Egerton University ,Kenya
1999 Doctor ofAgricultural Science ,University of Tuscia ,Italy
2000Doctor of Humane Letters ,American University in Cairo ,Egypt
2002 Doctor of Science,SNHU ,Manchester New Hampshire ,USA
2003 Doctor of Science,McGill University ,Montreal ,Quebec City ,Canada
2004 Doctor of Letters,University of Technology ,Sydney ,Australia
2004 Doctor of Letters,Paul Sabatier University ,Toulouse ,France
2005Doctor of Laws ,University of Minnesota ,Minneapolis ,USA
2006 Doctor of Letters,Université de Nantes ,Nantes ,France
2007 Doctor of Science,Azerbaijan State Economic University ,Baku ,Azerbaijan
2007 Doctor of Society Development,Khazar University , Baku, Azerbaijan 2008 Doctor of Letters,Laval University , Quebec, CanadaCurrently
Serageldin is currently the director of the Library of Alexandria, and chairman of the board of the seven affiliated research institutes and the three affiliated museums.
He serves as Chair and Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts which includes the Institut d'Egypte (Egyptian Academy of Science), TWAS (Third World Academy of Sciences), the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the
Brookings Doha Center and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is Co-Chair of the African Biotechnology Panel (with Calestous Juma).Previous appointments
He worked in a number of capacities at the
World Bank since joining in 1972. Economist in education and human resources (1972-76); Division Chief for Technical Assistance and Special Studies (1977-80), and for Urban Projects in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (1980-83); Director for Programs in West Africa (1984-87), Country Director for Central and Occidental Africa (1987-89), Technical Director for all Sub-Saharan Africa (1990-92), and Vice-President for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (1993-98). In addition, he was active in promotingNGO -Bank relations, and served as Co-Chairman of the NGO-Bank Committee (1997-99). Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked as a consultant in city and regional planning, and taught at Cairo University and Harvard University.He is former Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, 1994-2000), founder and former Chairman of the
Global Water Partnership (1996-2000) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest, amicrofinance program (1995-2000). He was Chairman of the World Commission for Water in the 21st Century (August 1998-March 2000).Publications and speeches
Over 50 books and monographs (edited or authored) and 200 articles, book chapters, and technical papers on various topics, including: "Nurturing Development" (1995), "Sustainability and the Wealth of Nations" (1996), "Architecture of Empowerment" (1997), "Rural Well-Being: From Vision to Action" (1997, with David Steeds), "The Modernity of Shakespeare" (1998), "Biotechnology and Biosafety" (1999, with Wanda Collins), "Very Special Places" (1999) and "Promethean Science" (2000, with G. Persley).
References
External links
* [http://www.serageldin.com/ Dr. Serageldin's Official page]
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