Awards Recognize Student and Faculty Research in AI, Sustainability, Environmental Monitoring and Water Harvesting
Researchers and students from Khalifa University have won first and second place awards across multiple categories at the Sharjah Sustainability Award 2025-2026 for projects addressing environmental monitoring, sustainable technologies, food and water safety, and resource management.
Organized by the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) in Sharjah, the awards attracted 186 projects from schools, universities and institutions in the UAE, involving 370 students and evaluated by a panel of 19 academics, experts and specialists.
Khalifa University secured first place in the Sustainability Scientific Research category for the undergraduate students project, Desert Oasis Tree: A Solar-Powered Water Harvesting and Environmental Monitoring System. The project was supervised by Dr. Anas Alazzam, Professor of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, and developed by undergraduate students Zainab Khudoum Khamis Khudoum Alzaabi, Khulood Ismaell Mohamed Almarzooqi, Ohood Ahmad Ali Hassan Ahli, and Shamma Khaled Ebrahim Abdulla Almarzooqi.
In the Artificial Intelligence Applications in Sustainability category, a Khalifa University undergraduate team from the Computer Science program won second place for its project, Computer Vision Tools for Monitoring and Analysing Gas Flares. Supervised by Prof. Naoufel Werghi, the team included Maitha Rashed Mohamed Abdulla Alyileili, Alya Yousif Hassan Alastad Alhammadi, and Sara Khalid Abdulqader Hadi Almessabi.
The project developed a vision-based system for monitoring industrial gas flares. By combining computer vision techniques with intelligent image and video analytics, the system can detect abnormal events such as excessive smoke emissions and flare outages while assessing combustion efficiency. This project also received first place in the Undergraduate Research and Innovation Competition (URIC) 2026 in the AI and Machine Learning category, reflecting its potential for practical deployment in industrial environments.
In the Sustainability Scientific Research category for postgraduate students, Chemistry PhD student Asma Zaid Almenhali, won second place for ‘A Highly Sensitive Portable Device for the Detection of Organophosphorus Pesticides in Water and Food Samples,’ under the supervision of Dr. Shimaa Eissa, Assistant Professor, Chemistry.
The project focuses on the development of a portable biosensor capable of simultaneously detecting multiple organophosphorus pesticides at extremely low concentrations in food and environmental samples.
Prof. Ahmed Al Durra, Associate Provost for Research, said: “The recognition for these projects highlights the breadth of sustainability-focused research at Khalifa University, spanning artificial intelligence, environmental sensing, water technologies, and sustainable engineering. Led by our students and faculty, these projects address practical challenges facing industry, society, and the environment, while demonstrating the role of research in developing solutions with real-world relevance.”
