Prof. Mahmoud Abou Zaid:

Birth and Origin: -
• Born in Abu Homs in Beheira governorate on 26 July 1935 AD.
• Bachelor of Civil Engineering Cairo University, July 1957.
• Master of Irrigation, University of California, USA, January 1959.
• Ph.D. in Groundwater, University of California, USA, September 1962.
• Fellow of the Institute of Economic Studies, World Bank for Reconstruction and Development since 1972 (EDI).
• Visiting professor at Bari Institute, Italy, in irrigation and drainage since 1981.
  The most important positions held by: -
• Demonstrator, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University from 1957 until 1959.
• Researcher in the General Administration of Groundwater Research at the Ministry of Irrigation from 1963 until 1966.
• Senior Researcher in the General Directorate of Planning and Follow-up of the Ministry of Irrigation from 1966 until 1969.
• Technical Director of the Office of the President of the Egyptian General Authority for drainage projects from 1969 until 1973.
• Technical Director of the Office of the Minister of Irrigation from September 1973 until June 1975.
• Director of the Water Distribution Research Institute and director of the water use rationalization project from June 1975 to October 1979.
• Head of the National Water Research Center in the Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources. The Center has twelve research institutes from October 1979 to 1997.
• Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation from 1997 to February 2011.
• Chairman and member of a number of regional and international committees in the fields of irrigation, drainage and water resources.
• Presented more than 157 published papers and 15 books in all fields of irrigation, drainage and water resources.
• Represented Egypt in many international, regional and local conferences in the fields of irrigation, drainage and water resources. He oversaw the organization of many international conferences in Egypt and abroad.