Morocco’s Nuclear-Physicist Rajaâ Cherkaoui El Moursli among world’s top 200 scientists on AD Scientific Index 2023

Rajaâ Cherkaoui El Moursli, a Natural Sciences and Physics professor at Université Mohammed V de Rabat, has featured among the world’s 200 most influential scientists on AD (Alper-Doger) Scientific Index 2023.

The 68-year old woman who is also laureate of L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her work on the Higgs Boson, stands on the ranking with a score of 215, making her the first in the kingdom, and in Africa. She is ranked 155thg globally.

The index also put spotlight on her publications and on her research work, alongside other Moroccan researchers, within the framework of the ATLAS international collaboration, and her participation in the historic discovery of the Higgs Boson, which allowed her to be among the researchers who have marked the history of science.

Actually, Pr. Cherkaoui is one of the precursors of the official participation of Morocco in this collaboration, which is one of the five major experiments carried out by the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) in order to study the history of universe.

“Entering into such a collaboration has helped us, as Moroccan researchers, to position ourselves internationally, and this is what has helped us to be ranked now among the first,” she told local media le360.ma, adding “it was a very big challenge, because there absolutely was no room for mistake”.

Pr. El Moursli, current head of nuclear physics laboratory at the science college of the Université Mohammed V de Rabat, believes her ranking on the AD Scientific index shows that perseverance pays off.

“It shows that persistent work pays off in the end. That it’s not over. And that’s why I say to all my younger colleagues: “Never hesitate! Don’t say that we are in a less advanced country or that we don’t have the means. We can achieve anything and we can do anything!” she also said.

Pr. Cherkaoui, who has devoted her life to promoting scientific research in Morocco, attaches particular importance to the presence of women in this field. Today, she hopes to be able to inspire more young girls and women to embark on the field of scientific research. “There must be role models and girls must also seek mentors to help them and provide them with advice,” said the researcher, adding that it is essential to shed light on the experience of women scientists, “to push young girls towards this path.”