Broadly-speaking, Dr. AbdelGawad's research interests are on the borderline of theory and practice. His Ph.D. research at Rice University, Houston TX, USA, concluded in 2011, was on the mathematical modeling of mainstream object-oriented (OOP) type systems. In his Ph.D. thesis, Dr. AbdelGawad defined NOOP as the first mathematical (domain-theoretic) model to included full nominal type information as found in OO programming languages such as Java, C#, Scala, Kotlin, and C++, and he used NOOP to prove the identification of type inheritance and subtyping in nominally-typed OOP. Dr. AbdelGawad is currently constructing an order-theoretic and category-theoretic model of generic OO type systems. Dr. AbdelGawad is interested in progressing object-oriented programming by improving our understanding of the type systems of OO programming languages.
Dr. AbdelGawad also has interest in computer security research. In his M.Sc. thesis, on Computer Security Algorithms, at the Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt, Dr. AbdelGawad defined 2DEM---the 2D Encryption Mode.
In 2013, Dr. AbdelGawad published his Ph.D. research at ISDT'13 (the International Symposium on Domain Theory 2013) in Changsha, China [Turing Award is the Nobel Prize of Computer Science. ISDT'13 was attended by Emer. Prof. Dana Scott: a Turing Award-recipient for his development of Domain Theory]. In 2015-2016 Dr. AbdelGawad became a Visiting Scholar (Foreign Expert) at the College of Mathematics and Econometrics, Hunan University, Changsha, China. During his one-year research visit to China, Dr. AbdelGawad got more familiar with Category Theory and its applications to the sciences, in addition to lecturing on his modeling of OOP using Domain Theory.
Dr. AbdelGawad is currently also strongly interested in the analysis of quantum algorithms (such as Shor's algorithm, Grover's algorithm, and quantum annealing) and in developing quantum algorithms in different application areas. He is also interested in the development of quantum programming languages (QPLs), and in exploring the use of categorical tools and other mathematical tools (such as monoidal categories, partial products, and infinite mutual coinduction) in modeling quantum phenomena (such as superposition, entanglement, measurement, and interference) and in modeling quantum processes and quantum programming. Dr. AbdelGawad is also interested and has experience in researching cryptography, (quantum) machine learning, (classical and quantum) digital image processing, modeling relational databases, and network simulation.
Dr. AbdelGawad has a strong interest in improving STEM education (particularly math education and computer programming education) using classical (and quantum) computers, electronic devices, video games, and toys (e.g., Lego, ZomePad). Dr. AbdelGawad strongly shares with many scientists and researchers the dream, and goal, of making mathematics and programming appeal to much wider sections of the society and the general public.
Dr. AbdelGawad is currently the admin of the Quantum Technology News page on Facebook (in Arabic & English). His current webpage is at http://eng.staff.alexu.edu.eg/~moez. He also has two personal FB pages (one is an English-only page). Dr. AbdelGawad can be contacted by email at moez@alexu.edu.eg or moez@cs.rice.edu.
Sidenotes:
* Dr. AbdelGawad's acquaintance with quantum computing (QC) started in 1998, while earning his Masters degree. In 2016-2019, computer giants like IBM, Google, D-Wave, and Microsoft, vastly developed their quantum computing platforms. In July 2019, Dr. AbdelGawad's extended abstract (on modeling generic OOP using Category Theory) got accepted for poster presentation at ACT'19 (Applied Category Theory 2019) by the Quantum Group of the Computer Science Department, Oxford University, UK. Dr. AbdelGawad's interest in QC sharply increased following these two events. (See rationale for quantum venture for more.) In Fall 2019, Dr. AbdelGawad taught a graduate course at the Computer and Systems Engineering department (CSED), Faculty of Engineering, Alex. Univ., Egypt (titled 'Quantum Computing: An App-Oriented Approach'; based on the QCEngine quantum simulator).
* Dr. AbdelGawad's publications record is intentionally short (two journal papers, three conference papers, and a number of conference extended abstracts). Dr. AbdelGawad is not a firm believer (nor a disbeliever) in 'publish or perish'. He is an adamant believer that quality beats quantity, and he believes that quality research needs much time, effort and dedicated attention. Except very briefly in China, Dr. AbdelGawad never attempted to 'play the numbers game' and he always inexorably prefers to publish his work in technical reports and preprints over publishing it in phony research journals or conferences---even when many reputable journals and conferences nowadays are run less ideally as closed clubs (nepotism) and as (research-recycling) businesses.
* Popular preprints of Dr. AbdelGawad include three preprints on 'induction, coinduction, and fixedpoints', which Dr. AbdelGawad published only on arXiv. Others include his arXiv-only preprints on partial graph products, on nominal typing versus structural typing in OOP, and on the subtyping relation in generic OOP being a fractal.
* Even though an Egyptian citizen by blood and bringup (he is an Alexandrian, i.e., from Alexandria in particular, where Euclid lived), Dr. AbdelGawad loves to travel much, and he is sort of a global citizen (Sprechen Sie Deutsch? ... I love French much, but ... Je n'parle pas le francais!). Dr. AbdelGawad was born in Juelich (near Aachen, which is near Bonn), Germany, where he lived the first two years of his life. Dr. AbdelGawad later lived in Sheffield, England, for four years during his childhood. As an adult, after living in Alexandria for twenty-one years, Dr. AbdelGawad lived in Houston TX, US for seven years, in Changsha, China for one year, and in Lausanne, Switzerland for six months. In 2005-2006, Dr. AbdelGawad also briefly visited each of Saudi Arabia (where he performed Hajj), Amman (Jordan), Aachen (Germany. Yes, he visited his birthplace!), and Evian (France). In 2015, with his (back then) one-child little family, he also briefly visited Hong Kong for five days (what an experience on its own!).
* Dr. AbdelGawad is currently married and has three nice little daughters, born in 2015, 2016, and 2020.
* Dr. AbdelGawad loves playing with and solving Rubik's cube (math again!), recreational games (Mekorama, or Sokoban, anyone?), and, of course, loves (quantum) programming ... and he also loves diverse readings (e.g., Qur'an and Qur'an interpretations, improving his German, novels, history books, ... etc.). Time-permitting, Dr. AbdelGawad also likes fresh-air walking, jogging, playing soccer, and, indoors, he enjoys playing ping pong (table tennis).