Consistent Achievements by Masdar Institute’s Faculty and Students Support UAE’s Rapid Strides in Knowledge-Intensive Industries
Abu Dhabi-UAE: 12 May, 2012 – Contributing to Abu Dhabi’s long-term economic and social objectives through developing graduates with creative talents remains the key mandate of Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. What is more, the research-driven institution’s students and faculty have consistently contributed to the consolidation of the UAE’s rapid strides in knowledge-intensive industries.
The first batch of 72 students who received their Master’s degrees in June 2011 and the second batch of students, who will receive their degrees in May 2012, along with the renowned faculty members, strongly reinforce the tangible outcome of Masdar Institute’s constant efforts towards building human capital.This is evident from the fact that a significant number from the first batchhas already been contributing to the global renewable energy and advanced technologyindustries for over a year now.
Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President of Masdar Institute, said: “Ourmultidimensional roles through academics, research and outreach initiatives have enabled ustoaccomplish several milestones over the past year. The collective outcome is our consistent contribution towards building the human capital capable of leading Abu Dhabi in knowledge-intensive industries.As mandated, we will continue to raise our benchmarks to ensure higher performance levels and we thank the UAE’s leadership for their support that has made our achievements possible.”
In its firm commitment to transform the economy into a knowledge-based one, Abu Dhabi and the UAE have been investing heavily ininstitutions that drive higher educationin science, engineering and technology streams. These are part of a long-term plan to gradually develop indigenous talent that can lead knowledge-intensive sectors such as high-technology, aerospace engineering, future energy, water, environment, and health.
Masdar Institute has already developed core capabilities in advanced materials synthesis and characterization, microsystems and nanotechnology, computational sciences, policy and economic modeling, and engineering systems. These capabilities make the research-driven university more suitable to contribute to variouseconomic sectors including petrochemicals, metals, aerospace and defense, biotechnology, semiconductor, and telecommunications.
Aglobally-renowned faculty, state-of-the-art laboratories, leading-edge research in advanced technology areas and the commitment of the top-caliber students to excel in academics and research have already begun yielding dividendsfor Masdar Institute and the UAE. More specifically, Masdar Institute students and faculty have been hand-picked for international recognitions following outstanding research achievements.
One of the most singular contributions to the UAE from Masdar Institute has come from Dr Marwan Khraisheh, Dean of Engineering.Through his efforts, the UAE has become the region’s first-ever member of the International Academy for Production Engineering, known as Collège International pour la Recherche en Productique (CIRP). The UAE’s membershipopens doors for young scientists and researchers from this region to gain an entry into the highly selective club.
Hamza Kazim,Vice-President-Operations and Finance, Masdar Institute,said: “The international recognitions, patent filings and other similar achievements validate the resourcesallocated to the vital education and researchactivities within Masdar Institute. As we focus on the next stage of growth, our priority will remain on increasing our contributionto the human capital development of Abu Dhabi. We are confident in the coming years Masdar Institute will achieve greater milestones with the guidance of the country’s leadership.”
Some of the faculty members have been driving research and innovation at various levels within Masdar Institute and overseas. Thanks to consistent efforts by these faculty members, Masdar Institute remains globally prominent.
Progress on the collaboration front with the industry has remainedremarkably positive. The successful completion of the first carbon capture research project and the launch of several smart building and smart grid research projects with Siemens, a master research collaboration agreement with Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) to increase production efficiency at EMAL smelters, the collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and other UAE government organizations for the Global and UAE Atlas projects to map solar and wind energy sources, as well as the collaboration with Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) and Technische Universität Dresden to set up twin labs in Abu Dhabi and Dresden to focus on new semiconductor technologies, particularly 3-dimensional stacked chips, place Masdar Institute firmly in the forefront of research.
At the same time, through education-related measures such as scholarship agreements with Toyota Motors Corporation and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Masdar Institute contributes to human capital development that will bring long-term benefits to the country.
These efforts have already given encouraging results. The prestigious Borealis Student Innovation Award for alumnus Rana Qudeih, who worked under the guidance of Dr. Isam Janajreh of Mechanical Engineering program, and the inclusion of alumnus Steven Myers on the Forbes 30 ‘Under 30’ achievers list in the ‘clean energy’ category for his work under the guidance of Dr. Peter Armstrong, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, strongly demonstrate the highcaliber of Masdar Institute students.
Yousef Mahmoud, Master’s student in Electrical Power and Engineering, was the first author of the paper that was accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. His advisors, Masdar Institute Associate Professor Dr. Hatem Zeineldin, and Assistant Professor Michael Weidong Xiao, were co-authors of the papertitled “A Simple Approach to Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic Modules”.
Dr Lamya Fawwaz,Executive Director of Public Affairs, Masdar Institute, said: “Masdar Institute’s holistic academic and research offerings aim to significantly expedite indigenous human capital development in the UAE. Our dedicated outreach programs focus on educating, enhancing and empowering talented emerging individuals to effectively contribute to the country’s economic diversification objectives. We hope to further widen the reach of our activities to nurtureleaders, who will be the decision-makers of tomorrow.”
Through such key individual and collectiveachievements, Masdar Institute continues itseffective contribution to Abu Dhabi’s long-term social and economic objectives. And the research-based institution’s contributions will become even more comprehensive in the coming years as more students, trained and qualified in advanced energy and sustainable technologies, enter the workforce regionally and globally.
Established as an ongoing 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.
