Egypt's Nobel-laureate scientist Zuwail dies of illness in US

CAIRO - Egypt's renowned Nobel-laureate scientist Ahmed Zuwail, also carrying American citizenship, died of illness at the age of 70 on Tuesday in the United States, the Egyptian state TV reported.

Known as "the father of femtochemistry," Zuwail was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999 due to his researches in the field.

"The procedures have started to move Zuwail's body from the United States back to Egypt for burial," the Egyptian state TV reported.

Zuwail revealed in a TV show in 2013 that he suffered some cancerous spinal tumor but said he was recovering and he passed the serious stage of the illness.

Born in February 1946 in Beheira province, Zuwail later moved to the coastal city Alexandria where he got his bachelor degree in science and later his Master's degree from Alexandria University. He later moved to the United States for completing his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Being the first Arab scientist to win a Nobel Prize, Zuwail worked before his death as director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology at California Institute of Technology in the United States.