Dr SAMiRA MOUSA “My country awaits me” Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 1 Dr. Samira Moussa 1- Bio-Data Life: 03/03/1917 – 05/08/1952 (Age 35) Born: Gharbia Governorate, North Egypt Died: Pacific Coast, San Francisco, United States Occupation: Nuclear Physicist, Medical Physicist Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 2 2- Who was Dr. Moussa? • Dr. Samira Moussa was a nuclear physicist who dedicated her research to finding ways to make nuclear technology as cheap as possible for cancer treatment, following the death of her mother by the same disease. • She was the first woman earn a PhD in atomic radiation, the first woman to gain an assistant professor position at Cairo University and globally she was one of the first advocates for nuclear hazard protection. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 3 3-Life. • Born at the beginning of the 20th century, Dr. Moussa was primarily raised by her father. He was a political activist in the Gharbia region, an important region due to its history in Egyptian cotton and textiles. Her mother died after a fierce battle with cancer when Dr. Moussa was young, influencing her future career. • From an early age, Samira excelled in school, always favouring the STEM subjects. Upon completing her primary and secondary education with an extremely high GPA (Grade Point Average) Samira set her sights on The University of Cairo. It was noted that she achieved grades high enough to allow her to join the school of Engineering (the course with the highest entry requirements), but instead she chose to go into the school of Science, despite most women going into the Humanities. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 4 -Life. • In 1939 she graduated with a First Class with Honours Degree in Radiology, with her research focusing on the effects of X – Rays on different materials. • Soon after this, she began working on her PhD where she focused on using Nuclear Science for peaceful means – researching how radiation can be used to identify cancer cells. Through this she would become an important figure in the field of medical physics. She finished her PhD study in England, solidifying herself as the first woman to achieve a PhD in atomic radiation. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 5 4- Career. • Unlike many scientists in the 40’s, Samira was dedicated to using atomic energy exclusively for peaceful uses and was an excellent medical physicist. At time she was one of the few scientists who was an expert on X – Rays, which was crucial as X – Ray technology was extremely clumsy and costly to run. X – Rays are extremely useful in the field of medicine, even today they are used daily by millions of doctors across the globe to identify fractures and breaks in bones, so rather than abandoning the technique Moussa worked to fix the many issues it had, including: a need for shorter exposure times, easier fluoroscopic procedures, improving the flexibility of x-ray beams, decreasing patient exposure, and increased mobility. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 6 - Career. • In addition to this she constantly volunteered in hospitals and eventually began the first steps delivering on her promise as seen in her popular quote “I’ll make nuclear treatment as available and as cheap as Aspirin”. She developed an equation that would allow the atoms of cheap metals (e.g. Copper) to be split – accessing their nuclear energy. Unfortunately, this excellent discovery would go on to be abused in Nuclear Warfare, and whilst studying in England this prompted Moussa to famously set up the Atomic Energy for Peace Conference Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 7 5- Atomic Energy For Peace. Due to the massive potential for warfare that Nuclear Energy possessed, the field faced a real threat of being abandoned. However politicians and scientists alike knew the potential for positive applications for the technology and as such set up the Atoms for Peace event. The conference featured many prominent scientists and had a banner “Atoms for Peace”, where a number of recommendations for protections against nuclear hazards were made. This included setting up a committee dedicated to protecting against nuclear hazards (including nuclear warfare). Moussa was a strong advocate for this. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 8 6- Death by Assassination. • Due to her outstanding work Samira Moussa received The Fulbright Scholarship in Atomic Radiation in the 1950’s and was invited to do some research at the University of St. Louis, Missouri. Again, she would be (rightfully) praised due to the outstanding level of her research and she was actually offered American Citizenship and a Green Card, so that she could stay and continue her work. She famously refused saying “My country awaits me”. • Just before leaving she was invited to visit some nuclear labs in California. Many were upset at this gesture due to a mix of racism, xenophobia and misogyny, as she would be the first non US citizen to have access to these facilities. • It is stated that on 05/08/52 on her way to the facility the road was extremely windy and right next to a valley. The car she was in crashed, falling from 40 feet, killing her immediately, with the driver jumping out just before and never being found. • Dr. Moussa was a prime target due to her being a prominent scientist and political figure. As well as this, the investigation into her death was never completed (the reason for this is still unknown) and when the facility was asked who drove the car they replied that they had never sent anybody to pick her up. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 9 7- Legacy. • Due to conflict/war and the de-development of Egypt via colonialism there are few scientists of note whose work survives to today. Even in primary schools, X – Rays go hand in hand with medicine and as such Dr. Samira Moussa was granted several awards posthumously, as her work was invaluable. • Due to her untimely death and the fact that a majority of her work was written in Arabic, her work would never get officially published, leading to her not being featured in curriculums despite the abundance of X – Radiation used in medicine, and science, today. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 10 8- About Nuclear energy - Fission definition An atom contains protons and neutrons in its central nucleus. In fission, the nucleus splits, either through radioactive decay or because it has been bombarded by other subatomic particles known as neutrinos. The resulting pieces have less combined mass than the original nucleus, with the missing mass converted into nuclear energy. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 11 - Nuclear energy • Enormous energy is present in the bonds that hold the nucleus together. This nuclear energy can be released when those bonds are broken. The bonds can be broken through nuclear fission, and this energy can be used to produce electricity. • In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart, which releases energy. All nuclear power plants use nuclear fission, and most nuclear power plants use uranium atoms . • During nuclear fission, a neutron collides with a uranium atom and splits it, releasing a large amount of energy in the form of heat and radiation. • More neutrons are also released when a uranium atom splits. • This process is called a nuclear chain reaction. This reaction is controlled in nuclear power plant reactors to produce a desired amount of heat. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 12 - Nuclear fuel—uranium Uranium is the fuel most widely used by nuclear plants for nuclear fission. Uranium is considered a nonrenewable energy source, even though it is a common metal found in rocks worldwide. Nuclear power plants use a certain kind of uranium, referred to as U-235, for fuel because its atoms are easily split apart. Although uranium is about 100 times more common than silver, U-235 is relatively rare. Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 13 Digital Architecture- Matariah Engeneering Faculty - Helwan University 4/9/2019 14
