El Sawy received his BSc, and MSc degrees from Al-Azhar University, Egypt, then moved to the University of Calgary (UofC), Canada, where he received his PhD in physical chemistry (electrochemistry). El Sawy received the Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship, PhD-NANO, for his proposal for core@shell nanoparticles and its fuel cells applications. During his PhD, El Sawy co-founded with his colleagues the University of Calgary Electrochemical Society Student Chapter. After his PhD, he joined Dr. Peter G. Pickup Group, at Memorial University, Canada, as a postdoctoral fellow, to work on the enhancement of direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) performance by developing a new anode catalysts. After his fellowship, El Sawy joined Dr. Birss group at UofC to lead a research project on the development of ethanol electro-oxidation catalyst, along with exploring new research directions through his work on electrochemical sensors and redox flow batteries. El Sawy co-authored many papers and book chapters and participated in several national and international conferences. El Sawy is a member of several professional organizations such as the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the Electrochemical Society (ECS), and the Material Research Society (MRS). Also, he voluntarily serves as a reviewer for these organization. El Sawy joined the Department of Chemistry at AUC in July 2017, as an assistant professor.

El Sawy  interested in exploring and developing research projects related to electrocatalysis, fuel cells, energy conversion and storage devices, electrochemical sensors, electrodeposition, corrosion, corrosion protection, and in general material science and its related electrochemistry.