Our Universities Live On – An Interview with Professor Rifa Al-Khozondar
Our Universities Live On shares monthly stories of resilience, leadership, and vision from Palestinian university leaders, faculty, and students who continue to teach, learn, and inspire – ensuring that higher education in Gaza not only endures, but continues to embody the spirit of a people determined to live and learn in freedom.
In this International Women’s Day edition, we are honoured to feature Professor Rifa Al-Khozondar, Professor at the Physics Department, Al-Aqsa University in Gaza and currently a Senior Visiting Research Fellow with the Superconductivity Group at Durham University.
Professor Al-Khozondar continues to teach her students in Gaza remotely despite the devastation of the scholasticide on higher education institutions. Al-Aqsa University’s campuses have been destroyed or turned into temporary shelters for displaced people, yet teaching and learning persist.
Professor Al-Khozondar earned her BSc in Physics at Birzeit University in 1986. She later completed her MSc in Physics in 1996 and her PhD in Computational Methods for Materials Science in 2002 at New Mexico State University. She has received several international research awards and scholarships, including the ICTP Regular Associate Award, a DAAD short study visit scholarship, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation scholarship. She also serves on the editorial boards of several international journals.
1. Your academic journey began studying physics at Birzeit University before completing your MSc and PhD in materials science at New Mexico State University. What first inspired you to pursue physics, and how did your path lead you to specialise in computational materials science?
I was first drawn to physics because of the beauty of its laws and their power to explain the natural world. Physics connects abstract theory with real phenomena, and I was fascinated by how it can describe matter and energy with such precision.
During my postgraduate studies at New Mexico State University, my interests gradually moved toward materials science. I became particularly interested in how materials evolve at the microscopic level and how computational methods can be used to predict their behaviour. Computational materials science allowed me to bridge physics, engineering, and numerical modelling, giving me tools to explore complex systems that are difficult or impossible to observe experimentally.
For many Palestinian women, pursuing a career in STEM is not only about science – it is about resilience, determination, and the right to contribute to knowledge despite immense challenges.
2. Your research focuses on computational modelling of materials, particularly using the Monte Carlo Potts model to study microstructural evolution. Why is this research important, especially in relation to being a Palestinian woman from Gaza?
My research uses computational models to understand how materials change and evolve over time. While science itself is important, what motivates me most is the opportunity to contribute to global knowledge as a Palestinian woman from Gaza, where opportunities and resources for research are under sustained attack.
In places where laboratories, equipment, and research funding are targeted alongside university campuses, computational science can offer an important pathway for researchers to remain engaged in scientific work and international collaboration. It shows that meaningful contributions to science can come from anywhere.
For many Palestinian women, pursuing a career in STEM – fields where women are still widely underrepresented – is not only about science. It is also about resilience, determination, and the right to learn, teach, and contribute to knowledge despite immense challenges. Even under very difficult circumstances, women in Gaza and across Palestine continue to pursue education, conduct research, and support the next generation of students.
3. You are currently a Senior Visiting Research Fellow with the Superconductivity Group at Durham University while continuing to teach at Al-Aqsa University. How have international collaborations shaped your research and opened opportunities for Palestinian scholars?
International collaboration has been essential to my research. Working with colleagues at Durham University has provided access to new expertise, perspectives, and research networks that are often difficult to access for scholars working under blockade and crisis.
These collaborations are important not only for my own work but also for Palestinian students and colleagues. They demonstrate that Palestinian scholars are active contributors to global science and that knowledge exchange can continue despite political and physical barriers. Such partnerships help build academic bridges and create opportunities for future generations of Palestinian researchers.
Teaching reminds students that their identities as learners and scientists have not been erased by scholasticide.
4. Despite the devastation of Gaza’s universities, you continue teaching your students in Gaza remotely. Why was it important for you to remain connected to your students during this time?
Continuing to teach was not only a professional responsibility but also a moral commitment. Education represents continuity, dignity, and resistance to despair. When all universities in Gaza were [physically] destroyed and daily life became uncertain, maintaining a learning environment remotely was a way of reminding students that their future still matters.
Teaching during this time has also provided psychological support. It reminds students that they remain part of a scholarly community and that their identities as learners and scientists have not been erased by scholasticide.
5. What have you witnessed from your students in Gaza that reflects their determination to continue learning?
The resilience of my students has been nothing short of extraordinary. Many of them attend online classes from shelters with unstable internet connections in makeshift internet cafes or even from the street, often under extreme emotional stress. Yet they continue to submit assignments, ask scientific questions, and show genuine curiosity about various research topics.
Their determination reflects a deep belief in education as a path toward survival and rebuilding. Despite fear and loss, they continue to engage with equations, simulations, and experiments. This persistence is not only academic dedication – it is an act of hope and resistance. Their commitment reminds us that the pursuit of knowledge in Palestine remains inseparable from the struggle for freedom and fundamental rights.
6. As a Palestinian woman professor in STEM, how do you see the role of women academics and students in sustaining higher education in Palestine today?
Women academics and students play a central role in sustaining higher education in Palestine today. Many women carry multiple responsibilities – caring for families while continuing to teach, conduct research, and support their communities. Despite these pressures, they remain active in classrooms, laboratories, and academic leadership.
Their presence also challenges stereotypes and sends an important message to younger generations: that science belongs to everyone. Women in academia are not only preserving institutions but also helping shape a more inclusive and resilient academic culture.
Palestinian universities are living institutions sustained by scholars and students who refuse to abandon knowledge.
7. Scientific research often depends on stable institutions and resources. What does it mean to pursue science under the conditions Palestinian universities are facing?
Pursuing science under these conditions means redefining what it means to produce knowledge. Without stable infrastructure, laboratories, or even physical classrooms, research becomes an act of perseverance. It requires creativity, adaptability, and international solidarity. Despite these challenges, the academic community in Gaza is actively working to rebuild and develop sustainable solutions to the deep disparities caused by the devastation of recent years. This work is being carried forward through partnerships, initiatives, and collective local and international efforts that centre the needs of people on the ground.
In this context, science is not only about publications or grants. It is about sustaining intellectual life itself and affirming that Palestinian universities are communities of inquiry that continue to exist despite destruction.
8. What would you like the international academic community to understand about Palestinian universities and the scholars and students working to ensure they live on?
I would like the international academic community to understand that Palestinian universities are living institutions, sustained by the commitment of scholars and students who refuse to abandon knowledge. Palestinian academics and students are not only enduring destruction – they remain active contributors to global science and education. Over the past year, they have worked tirelessly to ensure that their voices, institutions, and efforts are not overlooked or bypassed.
Supporting Palestinian academia is not an act of charity – it is a recognition of our shared responsibility to protect knowledge and human potential.
Education has continued to be delivered since the summer of 2024, and there is a clear determination to keep it going. In this effort, the support of international academic partners is essential. Meaningful solidarity through recognition, collaboration, and engagement is the most effective way to strengthen and expand these initiatives. Supporting Palestinian academia is therefore not an act of charity. It is a recognition of our shared responsibility to protect knowledge, academic freedom, and human potential.
