Nazek El-Atab
- Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Principal Investigator, Smart, Advanced Memory devices and Applications lab
Professor El-Atab's research focuses on enhancing an increasingly digitized world by utilizing multifunctional memory devices for emerging applications such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality.
Biography
Nazek El-Atab is an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the principal investigator of the Smart, Advanced Memory Devices and Applications (SAMA) Lab. El-Atab joined the University in October 2017. She received her B.Sc. in computer and communications engineering in 2012 from Rafik Hariri Canadian University in Lebanon, and her M.Sc. in microsystems engineering in 2014 and Ph.D. in interdisciplinary engineering in 2017 from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in the UAE, under a cooperative program with MIT and funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research.
Her research focuses on the design and fabrication of multifunctional electronic devices that integrate sensing, memory, and computation, with applications in neuromorphic sensing, intelligent edge systems, and adaptive electronics. Her group develops novel memristive and memory-based devices using emerging materials and soft systems to enable energy-efficient sensing and processing directly at the hardware level.
El-Atab is an IEEE Electron Devices Society Distinguished Lecturer. She serves as associate editor-in-chief of Applied Nanoscience (Springer Nature) and associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, IEEE Electron Device Letters, Nano Select (Wiley) and Microelectronics Engineering (Elsevier). She has published more than 100 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference proceedings, authored two books and two book chapters, and holds seven filed U.S. patents.
El-Atab has received several awards for her research, including the 2015 For Women in Science Middle East Fellowship from L’Oréal-UNESCO and the 2017 L’Oréal-UNESCO International Rising Talents Award. She was featured among the 2019 “Remarkable Women in Technology” by UNESCO. She also participated in the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany, was selected as a 2020 UC Berkeley EECS Rising Star, named among the MIT Technology Review Arabia “Innovators Under 35” in 2020, recognized among the BCG V60 Women in Sustainability, and selected as a NEOM Changemaker in 2021. She has been listed among the 2023 “Rising Stars” by Advanced Materials (Wiley) and among the 2024 “Emerging Leaders” by the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (IOP).
Her research has been widely covered in international media, including IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, BBC, MIT Technology Review, and Sky News Arabia.
Research Interests
Professor El-Atab’s current research focuses on designing and developing innovative smart memory electronic devices for futuristic in-memory sensing and computing applications. El-Atab and her team aim to enhance an increasingly digitized world for emerging applications like artificial intelligence, IoT and augmented reality.
Awards and Distinctions
- Recognized in the Top 47 shortlist for the Advanced Science Young Innovator Award, Wiley, 2025
- Featured in Women in Materials Science: Celebrating Excellence in the Advanced Materials Family, Wiley, 2025
- V60 Women in Sustainability Award , Boston Consulting Company (BCG), 2024
- Rising Star, The Advanced Materials journal, Wiley , 2023
- NEOM Changemaker, NEOM, 2021
- IEEE Electron Devices Society Distinguished Lecturer, Electron Devices Society , 2021
- Selected to participate in the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany, 2021
- Innovators under 35, MIT Technology Review Arabia, 2020
- UC Berkeley EECS Rising Stars , UC Berkeley, 2020
- portrayed in the Remarkable Women in Technology, UNESCO, 2019
- Hariri Canadian University” Alumni Award, 2018
- International Rising Talents Award , L’Oreal-UNESCO, 2017
- Nanotechnology Student Travel Award, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2016
- Women in Science Middle East Fellowship , L’Oreal-UNESCO, 2015
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Interdisciplinary Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates, 2017
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Microsystems Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates, 2014
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
- Computer and Communications Engineering, Hariri Canadian University, Lebanon, 2012
Related Media
Selected Publications
D. Kumar, H. Li, D. Kumbhar, M. Rajbhar, A. Syed, U. Das, G. Milente, N. El-Atab “Highly Efficient Back-end-of-Line Compatible Flexible Si-Based Optical Memristive Crossbar Array for Edge Neuromorphic Physiological Signal Processing and Bionic Machine vision” Nano-Micro Letters, 16 (1), 238, 2024
AA Alsharif, AM Syed, X Li, NA Alsharif, G Lubineau, N El‐Atab, “Hybrid 3D Printing of a Nature‐Inspired Flexible Self‐Adhesive Biopatch for Multi‐Biosignal Sensing” Advanced Functional Materials, 2406341, 2024. (Selected for Inside Back Cover)
D. Kumar, H. Li, U. Das, A. Syed, N. El-Atab “Flexible Solution Processable Black Phosphorus Based Optoelectronic Memristive Synapse for Neuromorphic Computing and Artificial Visual Perception Applications,” Advanced Materials, 35 (28), 2370201, 2023 (Advanced Materials Rising Stars Special Issue – Selected for Front Cover).
D. Kumar, L. Joharji, H. Li, A. Rizk, A. Nayfeh, N. El-Atab, “Artificial Visual Perception Nervous System Using Solution-Processable MoS2-Based in-Memory Light Sensor” Nature Light Science and Application, 12 (1), 109, 2023 (Selected for Front Cover).
F. Alam, J. Ubaid, H. Butt, N. El-Atab “Swift 4D Printing of Thermo-responsive Shape Memory Polymers Using Vat Photopolymerization” Nature npg Asia Materials, 15 (1), 65, 2023.
Questions and Answers
Why KAUST?
KAUST is the best place for conducting high-impact research due to the available state-of-the-art facilities, world-class faculty, and competitive environment.