Dr Fred Moavenzadeh Receives Honor from Gulf Business Industry Awards for Contribution to Knowledge Development in UAE
Abu Dhabi-UAE: 24 September, 2013 – Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, was today honored as the Education CEO of the Year by the Gulf Business Industry Awards.
Dr Fred Moavenzadeh received the award from Razan Dozom, Servcorp, at a ceremony held in Dubai. The Gulf Business Industry Awards aim to recognize the most successful businesses and leaders from sectors including banking, real estate, aviation, retail, media, energy, tourism, education and technology. The event was attended by government officials and corporate leaders from across various industry spectrums.
The judges selected Dr Moavenzadeh for his extraordinary contribution to knowledge and human capital development in clean energy and sustainable technologies. The eminent jury panel included Ibrahim Al Ansari, CEO of Dubai First, Husam Hourani, Managing Partner at the region’s largest law firm Al Tamimi, Y. S Shashidhar, Managing Director of Frost and Sullivan’s business in Middle East and North Africa region, and Peter Cooper, Editor and Publisher of the Middle East’s independent subscriber-based website and investment newsletter ArabianMoney.
Ian Fairsevice, Managing Partner & Group Editor-in-Chief of Motivate, the publishers of Gulf Business, said: “The Gulf Business Industry Awards reflect the maturing of various economic sectors that continue to evolve in the UAE. The award winners are selected by a panel of judges who are specialists in their fields. We congratulate all the winners including Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, whose contributions to human capital development are exemplary. The awards aim to recognize such accomplishments and we believe emerging professionals will be further incentivized to work towards excellence in their respective industries.”
Dr Fred Moavenzadeh said: “I am grateful to the organizers of the Gulf Business Industry Awards for choosing me in the Education category. Recognitions such as this provide further motivation and encouragement for setting the individual professional benchmark even higher. With the UAE leadership’s support, Masdar Institute has ensured continuous academic and research excellence and we hope to register more knowledge-led milestones in the coming years.”
Widely recognized for his innovative role in building global institutions and developing new models of teaching and research through international initiatives in education, science and technology, Dr. Moavenzadeh has a long and distinguished career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was named the President of Masdar Institute in July 2010 to support the mandate of transforming the emirate into a leading source of advanced technologies and highly skilled human capital. He remains instrumental in driving multi-disciplinary research in science and engineering at the Institute.
Under Dr Moavenzadeh’s stewardship, Masdar Institute continues to achieve academic and research milestones in addition to driving collaborations with various government institutions and leading corporate entities for adoption of clean energy technologies. At present, Masdar Institute has entered into more than 40 such industry and government research partnerships, evidently demonstrating the relevance of research in sustainability in the UAE and the region.
Dr Moavenzadeh has also ensured research remains the focal point of education at Masdar Institute. So far, the research-based institution has notched up several accomplishments including one issued patent, 21 patents applied for, more than 50 invention disclosures, over 550 peer-reviewed and conference papers, 19 book chapters and two full books.
Earlier, Dr Fred Moavenzadeh served as a private consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank and various United Nations agencies including United Nations Center for Human Settlement and UNIDO. His research interests cover the areas of Project Management and Finance.
In his long and distinguished career at MIT, Dr. Moavenzadeh has served as the Director of the Technology and Development Program, Center of Construction Research and Education and the Center for Technology Policy and Industrial Development. He received his Master’s degree from Cornell University and his PhD from Purdue University.
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, 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.
