RWTH Water Expert Hani Sewilam Appointed as Minister in Egypt

Professor Hani Sewilam, deputy head of the Department of Engineering Hydrology at RWTH and Rector’s Delegate for African Countries, has been appointed Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation in Egypt as part of a recent cabinet reshuffle.

In addition to his work at RWTH, Sewilam is a professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology and director of the Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES) at the American University in Cairo (AUC). He is also the director of the UNESCO Chair in Hydrological Change and Water Resources Management.

After studying in his Egyptian home city of Zagazig and then in Southampton, UK, Sewilam came to RWTH Aachen University in 2002 for his doctorate, which he was awarded with honors.

From 2018 to 2020, Sewilam was already a member of a technical advisory group set up by the Egyptian government to resolve conflicts regarding the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

This year, Sewilam received the 2022 Water Energy Food Ecosystem Nexus Award in recognition of his research in sustainable resource management.