At the Society of Women Engineers, we are delighted to share the achievements of accomplished Arab women engineers from around the world who are inspiring others in their STEM journey.
Join SWE in celebrating National Arab American Heritage Month and cheering on the Arab community and their contributions worldwide.
Sarah Bint Yousif Al Amiri
Sarah Bint Yousif Al Amiri is the minister of education for the United Arab Emirates. She was previously the minister of state for public education and advanced technology and minister of state for advanced sciences. Al Amiri is former chairperson of the UAE space agency, where she played an important role in the Emirates Mars Mission called Hope, the Arab world’s first mission to Mars. She worked on DubaiSat-1 (the first Emirati Earth observation satellite) and DubaiSat-2, and KhalifaSat — the first completely Emirati-made satellite. Al Amiri has a bachelor’s and master’s in computer engineering from American University of Sharjah. Gulf Business named her among the 100 most powerful Arabs in 2025, BBC listed her as one of the 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2020, and the World Economic Forum recognized her as one of 50 Young Scientists in 2015.
Dr. Rana el Kaliouby
Rana el Kaliouby, Ph.D., is co-founder and managing partner at Blue Tulip Ventures, which invests in pre-seed and seed founders building human-centric AI at the intersection of AI and health and wellness, future of work, and sustainable living. She is the host of the Pioneers of AI weekly podcast and author of the book, Girl Decoded. Dr. el Kaliouby was previously the co-founder of Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spinoff specializing in bringing emotional intelligence to digital experiences, which she later sold. She frequently speaks about innovation, women in technology, ethics in AI, diversity and leadership, and presented a keynote on human-centric AI at SXSW 2026. She has been recognized on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list and Forbes’ Top 50 Women in Tech. Dr. el Kaliouby earned a bachelor’s and master’s at the American University in Cairo, a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, and a post doctorate at MIT, all in computer science.
Sara Sabry
Sara Sabry is the first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space, and the first woman from the African continent to go to space. She is the founder and executive director of Deep Space Initiative — a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing accessibility and opportunity to space for all. Sabry earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, master’s in biomedical engineering, and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in aerospace sciences at the University of North Dakota, where she is conducting research at the NASA-funded Human Spaceflight Lab. She is also Egypt’s first woman analog astronaut and the recipient of an International Astronautical Federation Emerging Space Leader award. Sabry was a New Shepard (NS-22) astronaut on Blue Origin’s suborbital space flight in 2022 and only the second citizen astronaut through the Space for Humanity program, selected from more than 4,000 qualified applicants.
Nora Al Matrooshi
Nora Al Matrooshi is an astronaut and engineer from the second cohort of the UAE astronauts program at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai. She is the first Emirati and Arab woman astronaut and one of only four representing the UAE. Al Matrooshi graduated from NASA’s astronaut candidate class in 2024, making her a fully qualified astronaut available for future space missions. She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and worked as a piping engineer and a technical specialist before undergoing training to become an astronaut. In 2025, she was named in Entrepreneur Middle East’s Special Edition of 50 Visionary Women and Gulf Business named her among the 100 most powerful Arabs. Al Matrooshi was on the cover of Technology Magazine’s July 2025 edition, and her professional journey inspired the production of an upcoming Emirati feature film.
Dr. Tahani Amer
Tahani Amer, Ph.D., is the acting astrophysics associate director for flight programs at NASA’s science mission directorate. She has held several roles at NASA prior to her current position, including deputy director of the joint agency satellite division, program executive for the Mars samples receiving project, and senior technologist, among others. Dr. Amer hails from Cairo and was inspired to pursue engineering by her father, also an engineer. As a child, she discovered a love for math, which translated to success in the engineering space. She earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, a master’s in aerospace engineering, and a Ph.D. in engineering management at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Amer has overseen several missions for NASA, including the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb), and CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF).
Dr. Noor Shaker
Noor Shaker, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of SpatialX.ai, an AI-driven health tech company focused on cancer management through artificial intelligence. She previously founded two other AI-focused companies, GTN and Glamorous AI; the latter was acquired by American firm X-Chem, where she also served as senior vice president and general manager. Dr. Shaker has received multiple recognitions for her work in AI, including BBC 100 Women 2019, MIT Innovator Under 35 Europe in 2018, and the 2018 UK Rising Star Award. She has a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering, master’s in artificial intelligence, and a Ph.D. in machine learning, affective computing, and computer games. Dr. Shaker is co-author of the book, AI in Digital Pathology: From Implementation to Impact, available later in 2026.
Read about more Arab women engineers and their inspirational journeys.
