Interview with Dr Moustafa A. Youssef

I had an idea about making interviews with all our department professors and TAs to know more about them, benefit from their experience and guide us in our future.

Let’s begin with the First interview with Prof. Moustafa A. Youssef

1- When you were young, have you ever dreamt of being an engineer?

No, most of the time I was looking forward to be a doctor till Secondary School, but my father did not want me to join the Faculty of Medicine. His refusal was due to the Injustice and favoritism in this faculty.

I was the Third Nationwide (in General Secondary School Certificate) .The first time my family knew that I want to study Engineering was in an interview in a TV show.

When I was very young, actually when I was in 6^th grade, I began working as a programmer. I made programs and some companies bought some of them. Although my favorite hobby was computer, I didn’t want my hobby to be my profession. However, it ended up with me studying in the Faculty of Engineering and Thanks GOD I didn’t regret or feel sorry about that.

2- Did you look for being a professor in our faculty or you just wanted to graduate as a regular student?

No, my aim from the very beginning was to be a professor.

3- What do you like best in our Faculty?

Being with the students in the class.

4- What do you most dislike ?

Mmmm…this is an embarrassing question... (Laughing)...The System in general which began to be improved.

5- Did you work as a professor in other Faculties?

I worked in University of Maryland, at College Park, as a research associate for 4 years and as a teaching assistant when I was a student and now working as Assistant Professor in Nile University,Egypt.

 

6-How do the students at the CSED be compared to other computer students you have worked at?

Mainly the difference between students in Egypt and USA is that under graduate here are better but graduate schools there are better. All participating in the educational process, there are available possibilities and System is very good.

7- What courses did you find most satisfying?

Oh this is long time ago…- Me (Rana) said: sure there were some professors you remember and you couldn’t forget them-

Dr Moustafa: yes...there are a lot of Drs…mmm… I always remember Dr Soher's courses ... Dr Nagwa'…that’s all I remember now

8- What are your points of strength and weakness?

Hard worker… there are lots of weaknesses…. (He answered after long time)… time management… I'm in need of time management…. This is one of them.

9- Do you like reading? What kind of books do you prefer?

Yes… I've just come from International Book fair… I like reading Technical books, Curricula vitae of people and historical books.

10- What are the things you would like to avoid in a job?

Jobs that are not challenging

11- What are the things in your jobs that you feel you have done particularly well?

Doing a research

12- What does "success" mean to you?

Making something that has never been made before.

13- What traits or qualities do you feel could be strengthened or improved in us?

You need to be under pressure...isA the next semester... Me(Rana) said: I was really under pressure last semester that’s enough (laughing)

  Dr Moustafa: No you didn’t. This was just the beginning. You will see next semester isA (laughing)

14- Tell me about the time when you had work problems or stresses that were really difficult for you?

PhD qualifier … you got an exam and you say I want to work in this problem (orally) and the committee tells you if you can proceed or not.

I remembered that my qualifier was after 2 years when I went to Maryland… all others had 2 years to finish their courses then begin to think about PhD and their qualifier, that would be after 5 years. But I made it only after 2 years … I hadn't finished my courses yet … last semester I had three courses each has its project…I had to write papers to conferences…I had my qualifier and before all of that I had my family…so I always remember this pressure but I wasn’t dealing with it as a pressure I was dealing with it as if I’m a producer so to do something good you must do it well… you must be hard worker…intelligence is not enough you must work. The ones who got Nobel Prize they didn’t get it because they are only intelligent but they are also hard worker.

Like what Ahmed Zewail said yesterday “even if I were so tired I wouldn’t sleep till I finish my work”

Me: yes I watched this interview...Dr Ahmed Zeweil goes to his office at 7:30 am; no media can contact him till afternoon… he sets in his office finishing his work, with students or just thinking … he doesn’t waste any time.

15- What about your company can you tell us more about it?

Mainly it’s about my PhD “location determination system in wireless environment”, if you have Wi-Fi network and you want to determine your laptop location without using extra hardware, and this has a lot of applications. Once we finished we made patent then after we finished it got the Invention of the year award 2003, UMD. It was nice to let people use your work and benefit from it.

16- Some people get to know strangers quickly; while others prefer to take their time letting people get to know them. Which type are you?

mmm… I will let them get to know me…I have a little shy character…I’m very friendly as you see I can talk to people but to begin it’s hard…but as a researcher you must be networking so I see it as a job not as characteristic.

17- Do you do personal planning? If so, what are your goals?

As an academic, I’m not looking forward to administration as a position, but my goal is to have a research like other colleges abroad and GOD help me on that.

18- If you were hiring someone for this job, what qualities would you look for?

The most important thing he must have great ambition.

Don’t look to others and do the same as they do then saying I’m perfect because they are perfect.

Compare yourself with yourself and consider the goals you are looking for.

If you wanna shoot to do something, sometimes you got less than what you want.

If you wanna get an "excellent" you may get "very good" but if u wanna get 100% you will at least get "excellent".

You must be hard worker. Intelligence only is never enough.

Me:Do you think that exams and grades can be the major factor to evaluate us?

Exams are nothing, you will forget courses if you really didn’t learn it well.

Grades are one way of evaluation, but it’s not the whole thing or the major factor.

Last year I took some students as interns in Nile College and Thank GOD they worked and we had two demos that presented in Mobicom (http://www.sigmobile.org/mobicom/)

And some of them had excellent grade and others had good so grades is not the major factor.

19-How would you describe yourself?

A hard worker who has a lot of hopes. I ask God to help me to achieve them.

It was very interesting interview I really enjoyed my time. Thanks Dr Moustafa for giving me this chance. Hope you all benefit from this interview and let me know your opinions.