Prof. Ashraf Tarek Hafez - Vice President for Post Graduate Studies, on Sunday 25/8/2019 visited the Mansoura University Center for Vertebrate Fossils, Faculty of Science, the first and only center of its kind in the Middle East and the Arab world,

He was accompanied by Prof. Adel Junaidi, Dean of the College, Prof. Ahmed Al-Mahmoudi, Vice Dean for Education and Student Affairs, and Prof. Osama Al-Ayan, Vice Dean for Post Graduate Studies.

During the visit, Prof. Hisham Sallam, Director of the Vertebrate Paleontology Center, briefed him on the latest scientific discoveries made by the Center in recent times, and identified the team's work, led by Dr. Sana Al-Sayed, Deputy Director of the Center, and the rest of the team. 

His Excellency listened to an explanation about the Center by Prof. Hisham Sallam, Director of the Center, who confirmed that the members of the research team returned a few days before an exploratory trip in the Eastern Desert, during which the Center collected important excavations dating back more than 50 million years and is the nucleus of an important History of the Egyptian Natural Heritage,

The center also includes many vertebrate fossils from millions of years of geological eras and is the only center in the Middle East and North Africa and is interested in studying the natural heritage of vertebrate fossils. More than 25 international research in major world scientific journals  has been published, including the International Nature New species of organisms lived millions of years before the advent of man.

He pointed out that one of the most important discoveries of the Center is registering a new type of dinosaurs, which has not been discovered before and called on the honor of the University of Mansoura "Mansouraosaurus"

Dr. Ashraf Hafez, in his first visit to the Center, praised the facilities at the center, which is worthy of the name of Mansoura University and the size of what has been achieved globally. 

During the visit, Dr. Hisham Sallam reviewed the most important equipment of the center and the most important fossils it discovered, pointing out that Mansoura University has pioneered the establishment of the first research center specialized in the study of vertebrate fossils (spine animals) to be the first of its kind among Egyptian and Middle Eastern universities.

Dr. Sallam added that the Mansoura University Center for Vertebrate Fossils mainly aims to educate academic staff and teach vertebrate paleontology within Egypt, in addition to discovering, processing, studying and storing the natural heritage of Egyptian vertebrate fossils.

It also prioritizes raising awareness among Egyptian society about their natural heritage of Egyptian vertebrate fossils and holding projects in collaboration with prestigious international universities such as Cambridge University, University of Southern California, Michigan University, Ohio University, Duke University, University of Alberta, Stony Brook University, Carnegie Museum of History. Denver Museum of Natural History.

At the end of the visit, His Excellency affirmed his support for the Center's staff with all its scientific equipment needs and to establish a museum that includes all vertebrate fossils from different geological eras.