[News Figures] World-Renowned Physicist 'Sofyan Taya' Killed in Israeli Airstrike

Professor Sofyan Taya, who died in the Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, was a world-renowned physicist and former president of Gaza Islamic University.

Professor Sofiane Taya.

His major fields were optics and physics, focusing on fiber and optical sensing, bio-sensing, electronics and communications, dye-sensitized solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, nonlinear optics, electromagnetic waves, and graphene applications. In particular, he studied the properties and interactions of light using lasers and optical fibers, contributing to various applications through research on optical communication and computing, optical sensors and imaging, and optical encryption and security. He is recognized as a physicist who enhanced the use of optical images in security by researching image information encryption using a heterodyne interferometer that measures the beat frequency of two interacting laser beams and optical image processing methods utilizing digital micromirror devices (DMD). Recently, he also researched graphene-based broadband solar absorbers to improve the utilization of solar thermal energy.

In addition, he devoted himself to education and talent development in optics and physics. Professor Taya’s research was internationally recognized and published in several academic journals. In 2021 and 2022, he was among the most cited scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University in the United States. According to ResearchGate, a social network for scientists, Professor Taya was ranked among the top 2% of researchers worldwide in the field of optics in 2021 and 2022. He also served as chairperson in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and space science at UNESCO, promoting research collaboration between UNESCO and Gaza Islamic University.

Meanwhile, on the 2nd (local time), the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education announced that Professor Taya died along with his family during an Israeli airstrike by fighter jets on Jabaliya, north of Gaza City. However, an Israeli military spokesperson did not comment on the incident. The Israeli military has long claimed that Gaza Islamic University is linked to Palestinian Hamas. After attacking the facility in October, the Israeli military issued a statement saying that the university was used as an important operational, political, and military center for Hamas and as a training facility for military intelligence agents.

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