News

41-Member High-Level Delegation from Boston University Visits Masdar Institute

September 21, 2018

Delegation Members Learn about Masdar Institute’s Patent Filings and Progress in Clean Energy and Advanced Technology Research

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 27 March, 2013 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced a high-level delegation comprising the President, Provost and Board of Trustees of Boston University (BU) visited the sustainable campus.

Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, and other officials welcomed the 41-member delegation that was led by Mr. Rajen Kilachand, Chairman and President of the Dodsal Group, a trans-global multinational company with a persified portfolio of businesses operating across the world. Mr. Kilachand is a member of the Boston University Board of Trustees.

Robert A. Knox, Chairman of the board and Senior Managing Director, Cornerstone Equity Investors, L.L.C., Stamford, Connecticut, Robert A. Brown, President of Boston University, and Jean Morrison University Provost and Chief Academic Officer were received by Masdar Institute officials and faculty including Hamza Kazem, Vice-President, Operations & Finance, Dr. Lamya N. Fawwaz, Executive Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Steven Griffith, Executive Director, Institute Initiatives, Dr. Marwan Khraisheh, Dean of Engineering, Dr Youssef Shattila, Dean of Academic Programs, and Dr. Scott Kennedy, Dean of Research. The delegation also included Willis G. Wang, J.D., Vice-President and Associate Provost for Global Programs, and Deputy General Counsel at Boston University, and others.

In his presentation, Dr. Moavenzadeh briefed the visitors on various activities of Masdar Institute. He emphasized the research works of the Master’s students and world-renowned faculty in clean energy and sustainable advanced technology, and the patents applied so far. He also elaborated on the cutting edge laboratory amenities that facilitate research in these domains. He concluded his briefing by focusing on Masdar Institute’s contribution to developing human capital and intellectual property that aim to bring about a knowledge-based economy in the UAE. The delegation members later visited the Wind Tower, Podium and 10MW solar farm before heading towards the laboratory facilities.

The delegation visited the laboratory of Dr Raed Hashaikeh, Associate Professor – Materials Science and Engineering, where research is being done on advanced materials for electrochemical devices, polymer nano-composites, and advanced cellulosic materials. At the laboratory of Dr Farrukh Ahmad, Associate Professor – Water and Environmental Engineering, they learnt about research in novel microbial fuel cells and their applications, environmental impact of biofuels and bio-catalyzed mineralization of dolomite.

In the Undercroft area, they visited the Microbial Environmental and Chemical Engineering Lab of Dr. Hector Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, to gain insights into research on isolating and characterizing microalgae species, microbial composition of camel gut ecosystem, and investigating the effect on natural ecosystems by invasive microbiological species from shipping lanes. The delegation members were later briefed on biofuels and biochemicals using biorefinery concepts at the biofuels lab of Dr. Mette Hedegaard Thomsen, Chemical Engineering. After visiting the clean rooms to view the lithography tools and high temperature/cleaning stations, they boarded the PRT pods to exit.

Mr. Rajen Kilachand has a personal commitment of over US$50 million to core philanthropic initiatives spanning healthcare, vocational training and education, including building libraries and teachers’ training institutions. In September 2011, Mr. Kilachand made an endowment of US$25 million to the Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College at Boston University in the US. Unlike most institutions, Kilachand College’s liberal education acquaints students with the subject matter, approaches, and teaching methods of both the arts and sciences, and the professions. This was followed in June 2012 with another endowment of US $10 million to the Kilachand Honours College.

Mr. Kilachand’s endowment is driven by a common purpose to foster enterprise, research, discovery and creative activity across disciplines and schools. The objective is to arm students with the ability to go out into a complicated modern world with a well-rounded background.

Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the US with more than 4,000 faculty members and 31,000 students. With a research expenditure of US$407.8 million in 2009-2010, BU is categorized as an RU/VH research university (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Its faculty and alumni include seven Nobel Prize winners such as Martin Luther King Junior, 22 Pulitzer Prize winners and numerous Guggenheim and MacArthur fellows.

Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar’s core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges such as climate change.

Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.