Married UCLA couple recognized for devotion to academic work

Nabil Alshurafa and Rajaa Alrayyes rushed through the menu at a bakery in Egypt days before their wedding ceremony. Preoccupied with their studies, they picked out their wedding cake in less than a minute.

At the time, Alshurafa was focusing on his doctoral studies in computer science at UCLA and Alrayyes was preparing to transfer to UCLA from the American University of Sharjah, in the emirate of Sharjah. Since then, the couple has received several awards for excellence in studies.

Alshurafa, a graduate student in computer science, won the award this year for outstanding graduating.doctoral student in computer science and the Symantec Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award. Alrayyes, a fifth-year civil engineering student, is graduating from UCLA summa cum laude in the top 5 percent of her class.

Alshurafa and Alrayyes were married in Egypt in 2012 after dating for a year and a half. The couple met in Dubai through their families, who are neighbors in Gaza. Alrayyes said she and Alshurafa arrived in Egypt one week prior to the ceremony to prepare for it, but they were still preoccupied with their academic work.

Alshurafa said he was drawn to computer algorithms and technological applications for improving health because he was concerned with how many people suffer from lifestyle-related health problems. Alshurafa worked on programs including smartphone applications and devices that track people’s physical activity and nutrition.

“What keeps me motivated and patient in building the programs and testing them is their applications (to the health industry),” Alshurafa said.

The couple said they were excited to receive awards that recognize their dedication to their academic work.

Alshurafa said he was surprised to receive the Outstanding Graduating Ph.D. Student Award. Faculty in the department can nominate students for the award, said Alshurafa’s adviser, Majid Sarrafzadeh, a computer science professor at UCLA.

Sarrafzadeh said he thinks Alshurafa’s hard work and passion of combining technology and health led him to win the awards.

Alshurafa, Sarrafzadeh and Haik Kalantarian, a graduate student in computer science, created a necklace called WearSens that tracks people’s nutritional intake patterns. The team is now testing the effectiveness of the necklace, and Alshurafa said the device will likely be sold commercially by the end of the year.

Alrayyes said she chose to study civil engineering so she can contribute to local communities by designing buildings, such as hospitals, with solid foundations. She added that she enjoys knowing she can help fix problems in people’s lives by optimizing the structure of facilities they need.

Though their research is time-consuming, Alshurafa and Alrayyes said each is understanding of the other’s devotion to his or her work.

Alshurafa will assume the position of assistant professor of preventive medicine and computer science at Northwestern University in the fall. He said he and Alrayyes will move to Chicago in August.

Alshurafa added that he looks forward to gaining knowledge and perspective at Northwestern University, and sharing what he has learned thus far with another university community.