Dr. Najat Saliba
Director, AUB Nature Conservation Center,
Professor Chemistry Department Faculty of Arts and Sciences, (AUB)
Dr. Najat A. Saliba is a Full Professor at the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Arts and Science at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She is also the Director of the AUB-Nature Conservation Center (AUB-NCC). Dr. Saliba developed innovative methods to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of water pipe (WP) smoke and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) at the design and smoke levels. She determined the major contributing sources of elevated levels of pollution in the city and assessed the contribution of dust storms originating in nearby deserts. The data she generated is used by local government and research agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank in their publications. At AUB-NCC she leads in offering innovative solutions to local rural environmental challenges through public participatory and citizen science approaches. Her recent work at AUB-NCC has focused on waste management and water contamination. Her outputs made headline news in local and international media outlets and culminated in over 85 peer-reviewed articles that are highly cited. She is the recipient of the 2019 L’Oreal-UNESCO International Award for Women in Science, the National Order of the Cedar from the President of the Lebanese Republic, the Honorary Cedar Shield from the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research Award in the Environmental Category in 2016 and along with a multidisciplinary team, the 2018 American Psychological Association (APA) Prize for Interdisciplinary Team Research.