Salah Mohamed Bedair

To honor his memory, we share with you aspects of his exceptional life. Few people who knew him only later in life were aware that the young Salah was an exceptional athlete, who starred for the Egyptian National Team for Volleyball, and travelled throughout the world, competing at the highest level. His skill was in his mental as well as physical agility, and he earned a reputation as an outstanding setter and hitter, whose athletic career would be fondly reminisced upon decades later by commentators of the game.

An exceptional student, Salah was admitted to the Alexandria University School of Engineering, where his academic accomplishments garnered for him a prestigious international fellowship allowing him to enroll in the graduate program at the University of California at Berkeley, one of the elite engineering schools of the world at the time. Salah moved from Egypt to Berkeley, CA, in the mid-1960s and, with his upbringing along the Mediterranean beaches of Alexandria, quickly developed a love of the Bay area. Salah would later remark on how he was always tickled by that fact that, during his time as a young graduate student, he rubbed shoulders with Nobel Laureates and other giants of the field, as they roamed the halls of the university, working on some of the most sophisticated mathematical challenges of the era.

In 1969, Dr. Bedair graduated from UC Berkeley with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering and returned to Egypt to join the faculty at the University of Alexandria and to help care for his family after the passing of his parents. After several years in Alexandria, he decided upon a post-doctoral program at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where he worked under the guidance of Professor Arthur Mills, himself a giant of his field. Dr. Bedair would often point to this experience as a defining time in his professional development, allowing him to transition from the field of nuclear engineering to solid state physics and semiconductor device development.

Following another period in Alexandria, Dr. Bedair returned to the United States to work at the Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, NC, while his new bride, Nadia Elmasry, enrolled in a Ph.D. program at North Carolina State University. Professor Bedair joined the faculty at NCSU in the Department of Electrical Engineering as full professor in 1981. Professor Bedair was an exceptional academic and researcher. He built a world class laboratory at NCSU and for the next four decades made scientific contributions that were globally impactful. As a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University, he is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of III-V compound semiconductor materials, optoelectronics, and high-efficiency solar cells - building the first multi-junction solar cell. He trained scores of national and international undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students, many of whom went on to make significant contributions to science.

Professor Bedair travelled the world for science, delivering countless national and international talks, and spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Austria. He just recently finished his professional career of nearly forty-five years - with hundreds of publications, numerous national and international awards, countless accolades and a legacy of contributions that represent his dedication and brilliance.

Salah was an exceptional, devoted, and loving father. He raised his son, Hany, and his daughter, Sarah, with the same strength of character, honesty, integrity and work-ethic with which he led his life. He always made time for his family. Whether he was courtside at high school ballgames, helping with homework, or spending time talking about life, his children were always the priority. While he had one son and one daughter, he was in many ways a dad to so many others who would often seek his advice and wisdom. His generosity was a testament to his character and humanity. His family would often learn, years later and from someone other than him, how he had quietly helped a friend, a colleague, a family member, sometimes even a stranger with his time, his money, and his insight.

Salah Bedair was an exceptional human being. He is survived by his siblings [Karam, Sawsan, Mona, and Hamdy], his wife, Nadia Elmasry, his two loving children, Hany and Sarah, and his three grandchildren.

May Allah rest his soul in peace.

A private graveside service will be held on Monday, September 28, 2026. The family will greet friends at a reception at Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7209 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC beginning at 4:30pm.

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