Shehab Ismail

Shehab Ismail is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, affiliated with Department III. His research integrates history of science, technology, and medicine with urban history, modern Middle East history, and digital history, focusing on colonial Cairo's transformation through public health crises and real estate investment.

Education:

• PhD in History, Columbia University, 2017

Research Interests: Dr. Ismail examines how civil engineers in British colonial Cairo designed sanitary infrastructures that reshaped urban landscapes while testing engineering epistemologies. His work bridges colonial studies, urban development, public health history, and digital humanities, with emphasis on epistemological reflections in technological practice. The digital project Al-Madaq demonstrates his innovative approach to historical cartography and public engagement.

Scientific Awards:

• Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) Grant (2020) for "Al-Madaq: A Virtual Tour of Cairo’s History"
• American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship

Projects and Grants: His major project "Engineering Metropolis: Contagion, Capital, and the Making of British Colonial Cairo, 1880s–1920s" investigates how contagion and capital intersected to transform Cairo. The AFAC-funded Al-Madaq project (launched March 2020) provides open-access historical cartography, scholarly essays, and artist collaborations, establishing a digital archive of Cairo's urban evolution.