The Fez native is a source of pride for Morocco, having made a name for himself with a long list of awards for his innovations..
Rabat – Prominent Moroccan scientist Rachid Yazami has added a new award to his already long list of prizes by winning the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence in the UAE on Tuesday.
Vice President and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid congratulated the Moroccan scientist on Twitter for his achievement.
“We also honoured Rachid Yazami, French-Moroccan engineer and scientist with over 150 patents in battery technologies,” Dubai’s ruler wrote.
Congratulating Yazami for his professional career, Sheikh Mohammed said that Yazamicontributed to developing the mobile phone lithium-ion batteries and published over 250 scientific research papers.
We also honored Rachid Yazami, French-Moroccan engineer and scientist with over 150 patents in battery technologies. He contributed to developing the mobile phone lithium-ion batteries and published over 250 scientific research papers. We are proud of his achievements. pic.twitter.com/RCJwQsqbgj
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) February 4, 2020
“We are proud of his achievements,” he added.
Yazami shared a photo of himself with his award on his social media.
The medal recognizes the work of scientific researchers and innovations produced by global scientists.
The Sheikh ruler also honored Lourdes Vaga with an award. She is the director of the Research and Innovation Centre on CO2 and Hydrogen at Khalifa University.
Yazami has earned a number of prizes during his lifetime career. The latest was the Arab Investor Award in the “Green Application” category.
A Fez native and prominent battery researcher, Yazami is known for inventing the graphite anode that is still the number one electrode used in rechargeable lithium batteries. They are used in laptops, cameras, mobile phones, and other devices.
Yazami also found recognition in Morocco.
In 2014, King Mohammed VI honored Yazami with a decoration on Throne Day.
Yazami graduated from the Moulay Rachid and Moulay Driss high schools in Fez. He then obtained his baccalaureate in mathematical sciences in 1971.
After a year at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Yazami moved to the French city of Rouen where he joined preparatory classes for the grandes écoles, before enrolling at the Institut Polytechnique Grenoble (INP) in 1978.
Yazami began his career at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CRNS) in France, where he later became the research director in 1998.
Among other awards Yazami has harvested during his career, he won the Scientific Innovation Award as part of the Takreem initiative in November 2018.
Yazami also received the Charles Stark Draper award in 2014 from the Washington-based National Academy of Engineering in recognition for his work in developing reloadable lithium batteries more than 30 years ago.
