Farouk El-Baz (, Pronunciation: ) (born January 2, 1938) is an Egyptian American space scientist and geologist, who worked with NASA in the scientific exploration of the Moon and the planning of the Apollo program. He was a leading geologist on the program, responsible for studying the geology of the Moon, the selection of landing sites for the Apollo missions, and the training of astronauts in lunar observations and photography. He played a key role in the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission, and later Apollo missions. He also came up with the idea of touchable Moon rocks at a museum, inspired by his childhood pilgrimage to Mecca where he touched the Black Stone (which in Islam is believed to be sent down from the heavens). He is married, has four daughters, and has six grandchildren. He was a Senior Advisor to Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak. Currently, El-Baz is a Research Professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an Adjunct Professor of Geology at the Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Geological Society of America Foundation, Boulder, Colorado, and a member of the Board of Directors of CRDF Global. He was also elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in Washington, DC (2002) for selecting the landing sites for the Apollo missions, and for pioneering methods of discovering subsurface freshwater from space observations. Biography Forouk El-Baz was born on January 2, 1938, in Zagazig, Sharqia Governorate. His family is originally from the Nile Delta village of Touqh el Aklaam, El Senbellawein Centre, Dakahlia Governorate. Education Farouk went to many schools. In 1958, he attended Ain Shams University. From 1962-1963, he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After that, in 1964, he attended Missouri University of Science and Technology. Finally, in 2002, he attended Missouri University of Science and Technology. Achievements In 1961, he received a Master of Science in geology from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now Missouri University of Science and Technology). In 1964, at the age of 26, he received a Doctor of Philosophy in geology from the Missouri University of Science and Technology after conducting research from 1962 to 1963 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1978, El-Baz was appointed Science Adviser to President Anwar Sadat of Egypt.