Mechanical Engineering student Zainab Karam has become the proud recipient of the 2015 Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholarship award.
The fifth Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar was chosen by the selection committee from a group of 10 applicants for her quality of writing and her academic standing. The scholarship applicants were asked to submit a two-page essay describing why they felt they should receive the Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholarship. The write-up also needed to include the student’s career goals and special interest in the two-week ‘Japan Experience’.
Her faculty advisor Dr. Saif Saeed Al Mheiri, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, believes Karam’s selection for the Toyota scholarship is a credit to her hard work and dedication to research.
Dr. Al Mheiri said: “Zainab is intelligent, self-driven and a motivated researcher. Her level of commitment to do research is amazing. She is willing to take up the challenge and delve into the problems. She always starts with the basic fundamentals and then moves up in complexity and her approach to providing solutions to issues of sustainability is very original. I am delighted to learn that Zainab has been chosen for the prestigious and highly sought-after Toyota scholarship.”
Karam said she felt fortunate to be chosen to be the Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar for 2016 and pledged to use the scholarship to develop technologies required for a sustainable environment. Her Master’s thesis research focuses on improving lithium-ion batteries by enhancing the battery anode using different type of carbon nanotubes with the addition of metal oxides.
During the coming months, Karam will visit Japan as part of a special two-week ‘Japan Experience’.
She said: “It is obvious that Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries. I am looking forward to experiencing and learning how today’s real world technology can help create a more sustainable environment.”
The Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholarship was established from the prize money Toyota Motor Corporation received in 2010 after winning the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP) for its innovative hybrid Prius. The scholarship is designed to promote opportunities for students to work on projects in the area of technologies for sustainable development.
Each academic year, one MSc student is awarded this prestigious scholarship. In addition to the usual Masdar Institute benefits, the scholarship recipient is provided with a special two-week “Japan Experience” arranged by the Toyota.
Last year, Fatma Al Showab became the first UAE national and the fourth recipient of the Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholarship when she was chosen from among 14 highly competitive applicants. Prior to Al Showab, three Masdar Institute students had received this scholarship. Ayoola Brimmo, chosen in October 2011 was the inaugural Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar, while Edgar E. Samano Baca was the second scholar in 2012. Omar T. Mezher was the 2013 Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar.
Over the years, the Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholarship has served as a platform for promising students to seek sustainable solutions in their chosen area of research.
Clarence Michael
News Writer
25 April 2016
