The story of Aya began at a young age. Inspired by Dr Ahmed Zewail, a Noble prize winner and his achievements, her passion for science was ignited in the 4th grade and has grown ever since.
Aya applied for the Newton Mosharafa program delivered by the British Council in 2016 and received a full PhD scholarship at the University of Sheffield in the UK. She successfully completed her PHD under the title of: Towards a greener approach in landfill leachate treatment using microalgae and plasma pre-treatment.
Landfilling results in the production of a complex, toxic and hazardous type of wastewater: landfill leachate (LL). Aya's project mainly focuses on integrating both physical (using plasma) and biological (using the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris) treatments for an effective eco-friendly and sustainable LL treatment approach.
As a result of the project, Aya and her team concluded that her isolated Microalgae "Chlorella vulgaris CCAP 211/141", when diluted in Plasma, was able to efficiently remove 79% of the dirt in the water and decrease the water Ph.