"It's important to look at the world as it is and to see where it's going and where do we stand from it," said Zewail, who is also a Linus Pauling Chair at the California Institute for Technology (Caltech).

Humanity, he explained, has gone through three main revolutions that have changed its entire face. The first is the agricultural revolution which promoted nutrition and food production, the second is the industrial revolution which initiated the production of engines and the third is information science and technology.

However, information technology should not be understood as the production of new mobile phones and gadgets, he stressed. "Mobile phones are created, sold to the world and with that money, countries are venturing into outer space. This is what information technology really means," he said.

So, Where Is Science Going?

Taking a look at science around the world Zewail explained that it's important to note its development at three major levels. The first is the matter, which is the smallest of small parts, the atomic level. The second is the universe, which is the biggest scale including the study of the cosmos. And the third is the study of life and the redefinition of medicine.

In the frontier of the very small matter, the purpose is the taming of the atom; the emergence of the visible micro-universe. "Atomism as a concept involves the study of the components of the atom, its language, its count, seeing it at rest and most recently seeing it in motion," he elaborated.

In the past, the ruling dogma was that you couldn't see the atom move from one place to the other. However, Zewail explained that his studies on the femtosecond, which earned him the Noble prize, proved that it was possible to see the atom at rest. "We now know that if we can see the atom at rest then we can in fact change the world. We're now able to understand the psychology of the atom," he said.

At the time, he said, the technological applications for the study of the femtochemistry, which is essentially the study of chemical reactions at the level of the femtosecond (one millionth of a nanosecond) was not known. "Today, however, one of the applications being studied is its use in the field of dentistry in root canal procedures. When operations are done at this speed, which is faster than it takes for the pain signal to reach the brain, the procedure could be done without anesthesia," he said.

The emergent phenomenon is the coherence of apparent chaos and the understanding of it complexities and functions. "Each drop of water here," he said, holding up a glass of water, "has millions of molecules, each with three atoms. When we drop a stone here, waves are created. How can we understand that at an atomic level? What just happened here?" he questioned.

The second level of scientific study is that of the universe. The universe is expanding. It began with a big bang and we've been able to send satellites to space and land on planets. But, Zewail explained, the universe is accelerating with dark energy and dark matter. "With all the technological abilities known to us today, we still don't know more than 80 per cent of the universe. We still don’t understand a lot of it," he said.

The exploration of the cosmos could help bring solutions to many of the problems that plague the world today. For example, he said, one of the biggest threats that face the globe is that of energy; a problem that even oil-rich countries are aware of. "Space exploration could help us solve this when we find that gases on these planets could be used as alternative sources of energy," he said.

The third level of scientific development involves the study of the human self, the genes and the possibility of its manipulation to ward off diseases. The study of humans has developed from anatomy and medication to the levels of genes and DNA. Molecular medicine is the science of the 21st century.

The replacement of weak genes, molecular targeting of mutation and the generations of spare parts of tissues and organs, are all on the new scientific agenda, he explained. In this field, diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson's, mad cow disease and the understanding of chemotherapy are all under study.

One of the features of the new science is the disappearance of dichotomy between various scientific disciplines. Gone are the days when chemistry is divided into organic and inorganic. Multidisciplinarian scientists who work in teams with other disciplines will produce scientific inventions. "Side by side, mathematicians, biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers will bring about scientific development," he said.

The Triad

Science, technology and societal values go hand in hand, according to Zewail. This triad will be the basis of scientific development for the future. "It is impossible to ignore the role that values play. Religious and humanitarian values will control our scientific endeavors," he said.

It is not smart, he added to ignore branches of science and shun them as being against society or our value system. They ought to be explored and taken advantage of. "Because if we don’t, others will," he said.

Zewail ended his speech with his views on the scientific situation in the Arab world. "The Arab world needs to play a role in developing science and technology or they will always be recipients and will continue to be developing countries," he said. To do that, the environment for scientific creativity should be induced which includes encouraging young researchers, regardless of seniority, and providing them with required incentive to be creative.