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

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

This high distinction was awarded to these two university figures who played an important role in strengthening academic ties between Spain and Morocco. Prof. Bousmina is a physicist and physico-chemist specializing in nanotechnologies. He is currently President of the Euromed University of Fes, Chancellor of the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Techniques and President of ASRIC (African Council for Science, Research and Innovation) which depends on the African Union. He has a very successful scientific career and was ranked in 2021 by Stanford University among the top 2% of scientists worldwide and is also the Moroccan scientist with the greatest global impact.

His CV is impressive. He has more than 220 indexed international publications, about ten international patents, some of which have led to the commercialization of scientific instruments worldwide, over 500 international conferences including 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 Researcher internationally in the field of polymers and composite materials, the prestigious Canadian Steacie Fellowship with a grant of 1.4 million dollars (equivalent to the Canadian Nobel Prize) as well as the Top 20 Canadian Researchers Prize awarded by the Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science (Prof. Bousmina was first on the list of 20) and he has held several scientific responsibilities, notably as President of NASAC (Network of African Science Academies), President of the Quebec Society of Polymers, member of the Canadian Space Agency team for defining experiments to be conducted in Space in collaboration with NASA.    

He made his career in Canada, where he was research director and holder of the Research Chair on Nanotechnologies 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 Euromed University of Fes. He is also polyglot, fluent in six languages, and passionate about history and philosophy.