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Hind Al-Abadleh
Laurier mourns the passing of Professor Hind Al-Abadleh

Laurier mourns the passing of Professor Hind Al-Abadleh

Jan. 16, 2025

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Wilfrid Laurier University mourns the passing of Professor Hind Al-Abadleh, a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for almost 20 years.

Hind was a celebrated professor and researcher who studied environmental physical chemistry, tackling urgent issues related to air quality, environmental justice and public health. During her tenure at Laurier from 2005 to 2024, Hind was honoured with the 2023 Hoffman-Little Award for teaching, leadership and collaboration, the 2021 University Research Professor Award, a Faculty Mentoring Award in 2015 and multiple Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association Merit Awards.

“Dr. Al-Abadleh was a pioneering scientist who made the world a safer place through her research,” says Jasmin Zine, a friend and professor of Sociology and Religion and Culture at Laurier. “She and I both started teaching at Laurier in 2005 and we bonded as colleagues, racialized scholars and Muslim sisters. I will always remember her pure heart, generosity of spirit, humility and kindness.”

Hind grew up in the United Arab Emirates. In high school, she developed an interest in chemical impacts on the environment and went on to graduate as one of the top 10 students in the country. Following her undergraduate studies in chemistry at United Arab Emirates University, Hind earned a PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Iowa and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University in Chicago. She immigrated to Canada in 2004 and became a full citizen in 2009.

Hind shared her academic and personal journeys during a TEDx Talk at Laurier in 2014.

As a member of equity-deserving groups, Hind advocated for increased representation and support for marginalized communities in the physical sciences. She was a generous mentor to Laurier students, including dozens of young scientists who collaborated in her Environmental Physical and Interfacial Chemistry (EPIC) Lab.

“Dr. Al-Abadleh changed my life in ways I never expected,” says Yara Khalaf, a Laurier PhD candidate in Chemistry who worked alongside Hind since her time as an undergraduate student. “Her passion for science was contagious. Because of her, I found my purpose. She taught me to think critically and to care deeply about the work we do and the people we impact. I am heartbroken that I can no longer hear her voice, her guidance or her laughter.”

Since August 2024, Hind served as department chair for Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences at the University of Texas. She was a fellow of the UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry, a long-time member of the American Chemical Society and the Chemical Institute of Canada, and a Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry, Air Quality and Climate Change at the University of California Irvine. Hind won numerous awards throughout her career, including the Gilead Award for Excellence in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion from the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Women Who Inspire Award from the Kitchener-Waterloo Coalition of Muslim Women, and an Early Researcher Award from Ontario's Ministry of Research and Innovation.

As Laurier mourns the loss of Hind, the university reminds staff, faculty and students of the support services available: 

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