The Eastern Herald
Prof. Hala Sultan Saif Al-Easa earned a Bachelor of Science double major in Chemistry and Physics from Qatar University in 1982, Masters in Chemistry from the State University of New York in Buffalo, the USA in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (Natural Products) from the University of Reading, UK, in 1990.
In 1993, she was awarded The Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, in 1996 she was awarded the Ideal Woman Award in Qatar, and in 2008 she received the State Incentive Award in Pure and Applied Sciences (Chemistry). In 2011, the university awarded her the honorary membership of the Qatar University Alumni Club, and in 2015 she was selected among 175 globally influential figures in chemistry, and in 2016 the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) awarded her fellowship.
She joined Qatar University in 1986 and served in several positions, as she worked as a researcher at the Scientific and Applied Research Center from 1986 to 1990. Then, she joined the Department of Chemistry at the College of Science as an assistant professor in 1990. In 1997 she was promoted to the rank of associate professor and in 2006 she became a professor.
During her years at the university, she held many administrative positions. She was the Head of the Chemistry Department at the College of Science from 2001 to 2004, and the Head of the Cultural and Scientific Exchange Unit at Qatar University from 2001 to 2005. In 2013, she was appointed the Head of the Chemistry Department at the College of Arts and Sciences until 2016 and then held the position of Associate Dean for Scientific Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences from 2016 to 2017.
During her work at the university, she taught 23 different courses in chemistry, and participated in the membership and chairing of 24 committees at the university level, 23 committees at the college level, and 38 committees at the department level. She also supervised several MA and Ph. D. theses at the University of Nantes in France, Ludwig Maximilian in Munich, and Cairo University.
Prof. Hala provided many services at the local, regional and international levels. Locally, she was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Science and Technology Park at Qatar Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of the Science and Technology Park at Qatar Foundation, and a member of the main committee for developing the national implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants for the State of Qatar, the national coordinator of the national implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and a member of the National Strategic Committee for Substances Management State Chemical and Head of the National Implementation Plan Coordination Group for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. She is currently and since 2018 a member of the Board of Trustees of the Qatari Women's Forum in Katara, she also held the position of Vice-Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Sixteenth International Olympiad for Juniors, which was held in Qatar from December 3 to December 13, 2019, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. As well a member of the Natural Sciences Committee of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education since April 2021.
Regionally, she was nominated by the State of Qatar for the position of director of Technology and Science for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 2003, and she visited as an expert for both the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to develop a strategy for the national implementation plan of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2008.
Internationally, she represented the State of Qatar as an expert in the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention in the United Nations Environment Program from 2005 to 2008 and was chosen as Vice-Chair of the Committee. She also represented the State of Qatar as an expert in the Chemical and Pesticide Review Committee of the Rotterdam Convention of the United Nations Environment Program and the FAO regarding the application of the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade from 2008 to 2013 and during her work in this committee was elected to be a committee chair in 2012, and this is the first time that the committee has been chaired by an Arab head of international nationality. She is also a member of the editorial board of some scientific journals in the field of chemistry and science.
She presented 25 public lectures in the field of chemistry in international conferences and workshops and participated in 62 local, regional and international conferences. She also published 22 research papers in her exact field of specialization and jointly authored two books on the chemistry of marine algae in the Arabian Gulf and the chemistry of grassland plants in Qatar.
She retired in September 2021 and was appointed to the university as an Emeritus Professor at QU in the same year.