About Tamer
Who Is Tamer ElGindi
Tamer ElGindi, an Egyptian-American academic, was born in Irvine, California in 1981. After spending several months in CA, he returned to Egypt with his family to live there for most of his life until 2008 apart from two sporadic years in 1984-85 (Riyadh, Saudia Arabia), and 1989-90 (Houston, Texas). He graduated from the German School (DEO) ranking top amongst his peers in 1999. In 2003, he received his BA in economics and in 2006 he earned his MA in economics both from The American University in Cairo (AUC). Alongside his studies, he worked as an economic researcher at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) during the period 2004-2008.
In 2006, he tied the knot with his beautiful wife; Siddika Omar. They lived until 2008 in Egypt until they were blessed with their first child; Ibrahim. Shortly thereafter, Tamer embarked on his PhD journey in economics at the University of California. Riverside (UCR). However, it wasn‘t too long before he decided that he wasn‘t a good fit for the program and decided to quit. After some serious research and different program applications, he was finally accepted at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). In 2010, he started his PhD degree in Planning, Policy, and Design at UCI, and completed his degree in 2014. During his degree, he was blessed with his second child, Belal, in 2011.
Shortly after his degree completion, he joined Qatar University (QU) as an assistant professor in their Department of International Affairs (2014-2017). In July 2017, he joined the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor at AUC. He was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in October 2017. In late 2022, after losing his ability to talk and move to a large extent, he began writing his reflections using an eye-tracking device (Tobii), drawing on his ALS journey and his life in general with the aim of the following. First, he hopes that his tough experience brings people closer to Allah and his book. Second, he wishes to offer people a more holistic view towards life that can help them navigate through life difficulties. Finally, he aims by presenting his example that it would be a “reliefer” to other people going through similar challenges.
After fighting ALS for a couple of years, Tamer passed away on the 18th of February 2024 – may his soul rest in peace and may his legacy continue, amen.
