The Government of Abu Dhabi announced a long-term plan for the transformation of the emirate's economy that goes under the name of Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision. The plan consists in a roadmap that leads to a gradual reduction of reliance on the oil sector as a source of economic activities and a greater focus on knowledge-based industries in the future. While in the short term the oil sector will continue to grow to meet international demand and will form a major element of the Emirate’s economy, Abu Dhabi will focus on developing other sectors highlighted in the figure below.
A common denominator for the flourishing of these enabling sectors consists is the development of materials science and engineering as a core trust in the creation of opportunities for increasing sustainable value creation.
The faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering hosts a study program in Material Science and Engineering (MSE) that builds around the interest and expertise of a team of faculty for “materials science” that involves the investigation of the relationships that exist between material structures and properties and “materials engineering” which is, on the basis of these structure–property correlations, designing or engineering the structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties. The recognition of materials science and engineering as a stand-alone discipline builds around the important of such expertise for the realization of the Abu Dhabi 2020 vision as much as several of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The MSE faculty delivers its contribution through knowledge creation and dissemination in the field of material science with the aim to
Develop materials, processes, concepts and components for finding solutions to challenges in energy, the environment, climate and health, and develop knowledge for future generations. Specifically, and important denominator of our investigation consists in considering the way we use and recycle materials and material resources to reduce energy use and emissions during production and recycling
Contribute to the development of UAE and international business through research on industrial challenges, both in collaboration with established enterprises and as a platform for new business.
Make our mark in competition for the scientific excellence in the field of material science and engineering. Our research groups should be recognized and attractive partners in interdisciplinary research projects.
Document the quality of our research through publishing in internationally recognized journals, contributions to conferences, participation in national and international research programmes, invited lectures at international conferences, as well as evaluation of our PhD candidates by recognized external opponents.
