A research team led by Distinguished University Professor Hassan Azzazy in the Department of Chemistry developed a novel long-term dual disinfectant formula dubbed NanoGuard. The long-lasting disinfectant, which is now patented in the United States, can be sprayed on common surfaces such as doorknobs, stair rails and elevator buttons to protect them against microbial contamination and prevent the spread of microbes to individuals.
The NanoGuard team consisted of graduate students Saif El-Din Al-Mofty in the chemistry program as well as Obaydah Abd Alkader Alabrahim (MSc ’24) and Jude Majed Lababidi, a nanotechnology master’s student at AUC. “Our success was tied to our synergy. Every objective was lined up, and we worked together to overcome obstacles,” said Al-Mofty.
The team’s disinfectant is unlike others, keeping surfaces clean in the long term without requiring special application procedures. “We designed a new disinfectant that can be easily applied to surfaces and remain active against microbes for at least two weeks,” said Azzazy.
“We designed a new disinfectant that can be easily applied to surfaces and remain active against microbes for at least two weeks.”
The product fills a niche in the world of disinfectant formulas: “Most commercial disinfectants are short term and require repeated application, while current existing long-term disinfectants are expensive and require facility evacuation as well as specialists to apply them,” Azzazy explained.
The team developed a prototype of the disinfectant over the course of one year, first selecting the short-term chemical that would kill germs upon contact and later choosing the long-term chemical. Next, they sought a method to encapsulate the two selected chemicals within nanovesicles and tested the shelf life and stability of the formula during storage. Al-Mofty said, “Once we found the formulation that was stable, clean and easy to apply on surfaces, we proceeded to the next phase of making the product user-friendly.”
The researchers obtained a patent from the United States Patent & Trade Office to protect their intellectual property, and they are currently looking to connect with international manufacturers for possible licensing agreements to produce and later market NanoGuard. “My hope is for NanoGuard to become trusted, well-recognized and capable of protecting homes, universities and families from future pandemics,” said Al-Mofty.
The NanoGuard team was selected as a finalist for the 2024 Johns Hopkins International Healthcare Design Competition. The results of the NanoGuard research were initially published in Nanoscale Advances under the title “A novel long-acting antimicrobial nanomicelle spray.”
The candidates are current Vice President Kamala Harris representing the Democratic Party and former President Donald Trump, running on behalf of the Republican Party.
Middle East Policy
On the most basic level, our faculty experts predict that Middle East policy would remain constant between the two candidates. However, they agree that Trump may be more supportive of Israel and less sympathetic to the humanitarian crises in Palestine and Lebanon.
Mark Deets, assistant professor of history, expects Trump to cut back on some of the overseas assistance and aid: “Democrats generally spend more on development and Republicans on defense.” Deets explained that Harris is a “typical interventionist” who believes that American leadership is needed abroad, while Trump tends to take a “populist approach,” appealing to isolationists who believe the United States “should not be as involved in foreign affairs” with the exception of Israel.
Sean Lee, assistant professor of political science, corroborated this belief: “My suspicion is that U.S. policy would probably become less pro-Ukraine than it is right now if Trump wins the election, while the Middle East policy likely won’t change much.”
“Middle Eastern foreign policy can only move in one direction: the pro-Israel direction.”
Lee argued that, despite more humanitarian language surrounding President Joe Biden’s conduct, the Biden-Harris administration has not made an effort to enforce domestic U.S. law, much less international humanitarian law in Gaza. “Documents show that the Biden administration has gone against its own State Department experts who found that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to maintain arms transfers to Israel. Under Trump, the situation is likely to get worse,” Lee said.
For example, it wouldn’t surprise Lee to see Trump sign off on an annexation of the West Bank based on his 2020 “peace plan” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Likewise, “to the extent that there’s any pressure now for Israel to not maintain a permanent presence in Gaza, I wouldn’t be shocked if that goes away under a Trump administration,” he added.
In a nutshell, Lee believes that “Middle Eastern foreign policy can only move in one direction: the pro-Israel direction.” And while Deets would like to see the United States backing off from its support for Israel, he doesn’t “see it happening anytime soon, regardless of who wins.”
The Arab-American Vote
Following the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, many predict that the Arab-American vote will be a toss up. “The Biden-Harris administration has disappointed so many on its Gaza policy that a number of people are going to step back and either cast a throwaway vote or a third-party vote,” Deets said, sharing that some of these protest votes may swing in Trump’s direction.
“The feeling of abandonment by both candidates is especially true with the younger generation,” Deets added. “They’re very upset with Democrats for their support of Israel.” They’re also skeptical of Trump for his extreme support of Israel during his term and repeated use of the word ‘Palestinian’ as a slur, according to Deets.
This could be significant as Arab-Americans represent a large number of voters in certain swing states such as Michigan. “I don’t know exactly what the polls are now in Michigan, but it’s one of those states where that issue could throw the election,” said Deets. In 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in Michigan — home to over 200,000 Arabs — by a mere 11,000 votes.
“The Biden-Harris administration has disappointed so many on its Gaza policy that a number of people are going to step back and either cast a throwaway vote or a third-party vote.”
The protest vote has gained traction through national movements such as Uncommitted and Abandon Harris, which have been lobbying Arab-American voters. Many have turned their support to Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, and other independent or third party candidates.
U.S. Domestic Policy
Alaa El Hadidi, adjunct faculty in AUC’s Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research, broke down current American voter priorities into the following: Middle East policy and human rights, China policy, the economy, migrants and the environment.
While policies can be static, El Hadidi said to watch the different attitudes between the two parties, especially with foreign policy. “They have very different approaches to the region; however, the place of the Middle East in the overall American strategic interest will remain the same.”
This extends to each party’s China policy: “One of the very few things both parties agree on is that the rise of China is a threat and that they need to rival the country’s major economic trade partnerships in the Gulf and beyond, though each candidate has their own approach.”
Domestically, El Hadidi thinks human rights will be a huge voter issue. “The last time America was so polarized was during the Vietnam War, which happened almost at the same time as the civil rights movements,” he said. Today, the issue of human rights manifests through the Middle East policy, abortion rights and the migrant issue.
On migration, El Hadidi recalled Trump’s immigration ban on eight Muslim countries. “We can expect Trump to be more stringent on immigration rules, whether from Latin America or the Middle East.” Meanwhile, a Harris administration would be more flexible on immigration and more vocal about humanitarian crises, including along the U.S.-Mexico border.
One final issue to watch is the environment. “Trump now has his famous slogan to encourage increased production of fossil fuels: ‘Drill, baby, drill.’ With the Democrats, environmental policy is a dilemma. On one hand, they want cheap oil, but on the other, they want less oil produced,” said El Hadidi, explaining that the Biden-Harris environmental policy is costly to consumers.
On November 5, Americans will head to the polls to elect their next president. Our faculty shared their thoughts on how the candidates — and their policies — differ.
In 1979, the Egyptian American Club (EAC) announced its first annual Halloween Party, launching a long tradition that would dominate the AUCian Halloween scene for decades to come. News@AUC dove into the Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library archives and dug up old issues of the student newspaper, The Caravan, revealing an unmatched world of spooky celebration.
In the years to come, prizes for creative costumes would include Nile cruises and multi-day trips to Sharm El-Sheikh or Hurghada. The costume contests would be taken very seriously as participants were not only tasked with wearing a creative costume, but also performing a skit or dance. The performances were often evaluated by celebrity judges, attracting attendees from outside AUC who could come as guests of University affiliates. Overcrowding even became an issue, with attendance reaching over 1,250 people in peak years.
Attendees would take to The Caravan, which would cover the event, to write reviews and critiques about the Halloween parties, sometimes publishing feedback for several months afterward. Below are some highlights and snippets from the archives, with a timeline starting in 1979, when it all began.
1979: First annual EAC Halloween Party with 320 attendees sold out almost immediately; beginning of the costume contest; the EAC continued to run the Halloween Party for the next three or four years
1983: First annual Student Union (SU) Halloween Party, complete with a costume contest
1985: SU Halloween Party receives 700 attendees with performers in the contest practicing their acts for more than a week leading up to the party. The 29 competitors were judged on music choice, costume and performance. The top two winners won Nile cruises, while third place won three nights for two in Hurghada. One act involved a kidnapping in which three AUC security guards participated by making arrests
1987: The Caravan reported that “Despite the fuss over the entertainment, almost everyone said this year’s party was the best they could remember,” with compliments paid to the dancing and the disc jockey’s music
1988: Only six acts — “fewest ever” at the time — compete in the costume competition; 1,000 student attendees
1989: Sold-out party with 1,250 attendees; ticket resales emerge at more than eight times the price of the original tickets (outsider guests willing to pay EGP 50 for tickets originally priced at EGP 6)
1991: The SU chose the theme of “hell” for the party, welcoming 1,200 attendees at a sold-out venue; only two acts performed and around 300 attendees dressed in costume in a decline from years past
1993: Replacement of costume contest shows by a “Miss Halloween” title without any acts
1995: Last digitally archived Caravan issue to cover the Halloween Party
1996-1998: AUC’s bi-weekly bulletin “The Channel” continues to mention the SU Halloween party yearly. In 1998, “The Channel” concluded its final year as the main source of information on campus, marking the last mention of the Halloween party in the digital archives
2024: The SU hosted a graveyard-themed party in the University Garden on October 24, complete with a haunted house, horror movie and carnival games, reviving the old tradition of an AUC Halloween party
