Visit by maths alumnus, now distinguished Jordanian scholar

03 August 2017

In 1987, Shaher Momani joined the Rheology group in the University's Mathematics Department, where he worked under the supervision of Professor Ken Walters FRS. The picture shows one of the weekly Friday-morning meetings of the Rheology group at the time (Momani is sitting at the table wearing a distinctive jumper). He successfully completed his Ph.D. degree in 1991 and then moved to Mutah University in his native Jordan.

Momani moved through the ranks at Mutah, before joining the University of Jordan, which is located in Amman, where he is currently Dean of Academic Research. Over the years, Momani has become a leading international researcher in the field of Fractional Calculus. He has already authored or co-authored 250 peer-reviewed papers in the subject.

In recent years, Professor Momani has received many honours and prizes, including one from King Abdullah of Jordan. In 2016, Professor Momani was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics by many scholars and Institutions throughout the Arab world, something that
attracted the enthusiastic attention and support of Queen Rania.

Professor Momani recently revisited Aberystwyth and met Professor Walters and Professor Simon Cox, the current Head of the Mathematics Department in IMPACS. He expressed his strong appreciation of the time he spent here, mentioning both the University and the Town. He is hoping that stronger links can be forged in the coming days between the Universities of Aberystwyth and Jordan.