Prof. Mostapha Bousmina decorated with the Cross of Commander of the Order of the Civil Merit of Spain

In the presence of several ministers and high-ranking Moroccan and Spanish dignitaries, H.E. Mr. Ricardo Diez-Hochleinter, Ambassador of Spain to Morocco, yesterday, June 16, 2022, on behalf of King Felipe VI of Spain, presented the decoration of Commander of the Order of Civil Merit to Professor Mostapha Bousmina, President of the Université Euromed de Fès, and to Professor José Manuel Roldan, former Vice-President of UEMF and former Rector of the University of Cordoba.

This high distinction was awarded to these two academic figures who have played an important role in bringing Spain and Morocco closer together academically. Pr. Bousmina is a physicist and physical chemist specializing in nanotechnology. He is currently President of the Université Euromed de Fès, Chancellor of the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology, and President of ASRIC (The African Scientific, Research and Innovation Council) under the African Union. He has a very flourishing scientific career and was ranked in 2021 by Stanford University among the top 2% of science researchers in the world and also as the Moroccan scientist with the greatest global impact.

His CV is impressive. He has over 220 indexed international publications, about a dozen international patents, some of which have led to the global commercialization of scientific instruments, over 500 international conferences with several as a plenary speaker, and he is a member of the World Academy of Sciences and Arts (initiated by the great Albert Einstein), the World Academy of Developing Countries, and the African Academy of Sciences. He is Editor-in-Chief of three international scientific journals and has received several international awards, notably the Morand Lambla Prize for Best International Researcher in the field of polymers and composite materials, the prestigious Canadian Steacie Fellowship with an endowment of 1.4 million dollars (equivalent to the Canadian Nobel Prize), and the Prize for the 20 Best Researchers in Canada awarded by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (Pr. Bousmina was first on the list of 20). He has held several scientific responsibilities, notably as President of NASAC (Network of African Science Academies), President of the Quebec Polymer Society, and a member of the Canadian Space Agency team for defining experiments to be conducted in Space in collaboration with NASA.

He built his career in Canada, where he was a research director and holder of the Research Chair in Nanotechnology before returning to Morocco to co-found the MAScIR Research Center (Moroccan Advanced Science, Innovation and Research) before being appointed by His Majesty The King to implement the Université Euromed de Fès. He is also a polyglot, fluent in six languages, and a lover of history and philosophy.