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Khalifa University Students Demonstrate Engineering Prowess

Khalifa University students showcased their engineering design projects at a demonstration event on campus on Tuesday December 8 2015.

The students had been working on a broad variety of innovative projects as part of their freshman year and displayed their work to staff faculty and students with enthusiasm.

The projects covered a range of engineering disciplines studied at Khalifa University from robotics to programming to biology.  

They included a robotic crane which was fitted with electromagnets to lift its cargo of cogs and nails; its light sensors helped guide the crane along a black stripe on the floor. Also on display was a water tap whose water pressure was controlled by an object’s proximity to the tap and a lightweight “hot-air” balloon which was powered by a number of fans and remotely controlled from the lobby below. 

Other projects were UAE-themed such as computer games which aim to teach children about the history and culture of the UAE. Others drew onfuture events in the UAE calendar such as Emirates Mars Mission due to take place in 2021.  

The students designed and constructed the items themselves working based on a number of criteria such as durability economy and usability. Some projects such as lightboard projects which aimed to improve engagement through video lectures and a display case which is designed to advance chemical demos in the labs may be deployed to classrooms at Khalifa University.

Hashim Hausien Design Project Coordinator at Khalifa University said: “It was fantastic to see the students showcasing the culmination of a semester’s work on campus. The range and complexity of projects on display were impressive given that these are first year students. I look forward to seeing what these students accomplish during future semesters at Khalifa University.”

 

 

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Khalifa University Celebrates New Batch of 330 Graduates

Graduation Ceremony will be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Abu Dhabi 14 December 2015: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University the University will host its third graduation ceremony on January 12 2016 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) Abu Dhabi. This graduation will see over 330 students receive PhD Masters and Bachelor’s degrees.

This will be the second batch of PhD students to graduate from the University with seven students obtaining their doctorates in Engineering.  This graduation will also see the first batch of students to receive a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree. 

The University will also be awarding Master’s degrees in Nuclear Engineering Information Security International and Civil Security Mechanical Engineering and MSc’s by Research in Engineering as well as Bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Biomedical Communication Computer Electrical and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering.

Khalifa University was recently recognized as the world’s youngest university to make it into the top 100 universities under the age of 50 in a ranking by internationally renowned university rankings guide QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). In addition several of its undergraduate programs Aerospace Biomedical Communication Electrical and Electronic Mechanical and Computer Engineering were accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET during the summer.

 

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Khalifa University Professor Named as a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher

Khalifa University Professor George K. Karagiannidis a member of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been named as one of Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers for 2015.  Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals combing industry expertise with innovative technology. This enables the delivery of critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk legal tax and accounting intellectual property and science and media markets powered by one of the world’s most trusted news organizations.

The list of “Highly Cited Researchers 2015” represents some of world’s most influential scientists. About three thousand researchers have earned this distinction by writing the greatest number of reports officially designated by Essential Science Indicators as Highly Cited Papers — ranking among the top 1% most cited for their subject field and year of publication earning them the mark of exceptional impact.

“We are very pleased that Prof. Karagiannidis has earned this distinction ” said Dr. Tod Laursen President of Khalifa University. “In the world of science citations are increasingly important as a way of both recognizing the hard work of a researcher but also of spreading their work and ideas.  To be named as a top researcher by one of the biggest intellectual databases in the world a database which is accessed by millions worldwide to assist in their business intellectual property and scientific decisions is truly a great accomplishment and we are proud to name Prof. Karagiannidis as one of Khalifa University’s faculty.”

 

 

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Khalifa University Based EBTIC Center Researcher Wins 2nd Place in Urban Data Hackathon

EBTIC’s chief researcher Dr. Dymitr Ruta recently came in second place at an Urban Data Hackathon held in Belfast UK which was run in partnership with Belfast City Council. EBTIC is the Khalifa University based ICT research and innovation center setup in collaboration with Etisalat and BT (British Telecom) with the support of ICT Fund in the UAE.

Dr. Ruta who leads “Big Data” research at EBTIC was partnered with Jack Steers a student from Queens University Belfast. They were tasked with solving problems put forward by the Belfast City Council namely on increasing recycling making the council spend more intelligently and increasing the level of tourism activity across the city. Dr. Ruta and Mr. Steers proposed a new system that was assessed as a step closer towards eliminating barriers to recycling across the city of Belfast.

Their “Rapidly Composed System” prototype geographically visualized waste collection processes as well as discovered and explained the catalysts and inhibitors to recycling in Belfast. The development involved cleaning linking and intelligently aggregating multiple large data sources including waste collected weight population and census statistics and weather data all aligned along with the time and location. The data was then analyzed to predict the weight of collected recycling. Using this information the team was successfully able to predict the key contributors and barriers to recycling in the city.

The solution delivered new insights into how education attainment household profiles and other socio-economic factors impact recycling attitudes some of which were identified as worth immediate attention by the judges from the Belfast City Council.

“We are very pleased with Dr. Ruta’s second place win in Belfast ” said Dr. Samer Al Samahi EBTIC Director. “Recycling is certainly a global concern and sustainability is a key part of EBTIC’s research and innovation program. Moreover the skills and capabilities we have at EBTIC that underpinned this achievement demonstrate our thought leadership at an international level. It is also in line with our strategy of leveraging our core research and innovation capabilities in ICT to support the drive towards realizing a smart city infrastructure in the UAE. Challenges like this one are a great way to get our researchers thinking outside “the box” and exploring areas that may not be their primary focus. This is always valuable because it spurs creativity and creativity is what drives innovation.”

 

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Khalifa University wins Best National Day Celebration

The student headed festivities were voted the best in a competition organized by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Community Services.

Abu Dhabi 2 January 2014: Khalifa University announced today that its Abu Dhabi campus has won the “Best National Day 42 Celebration” category in the “Exceptional University” competition organized by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Community Services. 

The innovative day long festivities were organized by students faculty and staff and included a variety of activities such as the “Time Machine” museum and a play written by Khalifa University students about a student whose invention saves the world. The play is set in 2100 and showed a future version of the UAE projecting a very advanced society based on technology and knowledge economy.  news_main_02012014

Other activities included traditional dances and a souq that was built inside the Abu Dhabi campus and demonstrated traditional merchandize a photography kiosk and a traditional tent where several traditional handicrafts were demonstrated. 

In addition to the best celebration win Khalifa University students also ranked highly in the other categories.  Khalifa University student Mohammed Abdulrazaq Hussain won second place in the “Best National Short Movie about the Union” category for his movie titled “Between the Past and the Future.” And student Meera Saeed Al Yammahi won first place in the “Best National Dress for girls over the age of 16” category. 

The awards were launched by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Community Services with the aim of instilling and supporting a feeling of pride in the National Day Celebrations the state and its achievements its leaders and of Emirati youth in the UAE. The awards also aim to encourage cooperation between the ministry and universities and encourage the creative abilities and talent of university students. 

“We are very pleased that our National Day Celebrations have been voted the best in the UAE ” said Dr. Mohammed Al Mualla Senior Vice President of Research and Development. “I would like to thank our students and staff for putting together such an enjoyable program for National Day. Our students did an excellent job showcasing Emirati tradition and heritage and engaging our non-Emirati staff and students in the festivities. The National Day represents the UAE’s success in the 42 years since its creation and it represents the importance of unity and cooperation. Our students and staff demonstrated this unity on the day and showed their pride in the UAE and the bold vision of its founding fathers. We are molding the next generation of leaders and it’s important that they recognize the achievements of the past as they move forward towards creating sustainable growth.”

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Khalifa University Celebrates a Year of Achievements

2013 saw a record number of student wins research acknowledgements and agreements.

Abu Dhabi 14 January 2014: Khalifa University (KU) is celebrating a year of achievements as it wraps up a very productive 2013. During the past year Khalifa University students won several prestigious local and regional competitions one of which was students winning the top four places in a competition held by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Students also made a name for themselves on the international stage. Many Khalifa University faculty were also acknowledged for their research achievements and there were several high profile agreements between KU and major industry leaders and academic institutions. 

Khalifa University students won the top four places at the Higher Education and Scientific Research Smart Applications Award’s. Khalifa University’s teams placed first second third and fourth respectively. The winning applications covered several services such as certificates attestation scholarships abroad search for academic institutions and programs and “Asaal Fahim” service. 

Khalifa University students ranked first in several major competitions. For example KU Students came in at top places at the Emirates Skills National Competition coming in first and second in the Web Security and Programming Competitions respectively. Two students were awarded first place at the Graduate Student Symposium held as part of the Seventh Information and Communication Technology Research Forum (ICTRF2013) taking first place in the Paper Poster Presentation and the Oral Poster Presentation.  Also four senior Electrical and Electronic Engineering students won first place in the “Senior Design Competition” held during the recent 8th annual Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) UAE Student Day that was held at Sharjah University for their project entitled “Microphone Array for Audio Surveillance and Conferencing.”  In addition Students took the top prize in four different competitions at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Conference. They ranked first in the Impromptu Competition the Rapid Design Challenge the Bridge Competition and the Student Design Competition. 

Internationally Khalifa University students were given the opportunity to travel abroad and receive impressive awards in international competitions. For example at the CANSAT competition based in Birlett. Texas the KU team ranked 22nd worldwide. Students also built an electric powered remote control airplane to compete in the Design Build Fly Competition held in Tucson Arizona USA and a buggy called the BAJA SAE which competed in Washington USA in 2013. 

In local competitions two Khalifa University students placed second at the Secure Abu Dhabi Conference. Four senior Mechanical Engineering students placed second at the 4th Engineering Students Renewable Energy Competition (ESREC’2013) for their work on a Solar Thermal Desalination Project. And a Khalifa University student also came in second in the Mobile Application Contest (MAC) for his iVisit: Intelligent Augmented Reality-Supported Mobile Visitor Guide Application.

 In addition to academic prizes KU students are also active in organizing activities and student events. For example KU recently won the “Best National Day 42 Celebration” category in the “Exceptional University” competition organized by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Community Services. One Khalifa University student  also won first place in the “Best National Dress for girls over the age of 16” category while another student won second place in the “Best National Short Movie about the Union” category for his movie titled “Between the Past and the Future.” This reflects the vibrant and active campus life at Khalifa University. 

Khalifa University’s faculty also celebrated a record year with Dr. Habiba Al Safar being granted a scholarship to attend the Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Research Training program (GCSRT) and Dr. Mohamed Rezeq being awarded two patents for the development of incredibly sharp nano-probes and the world’s smallest semiconductor transistor.  Drs. Arafat Al-Dweik and Chan Yeob Yeun were also awarded a patent for their development of chaotic cryptography for OFDM based communications systems. 

2013 was a big year for the establishment of research centers at Khalifa University. In conjunction with The Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) in collaboration with Khalifa University established the ATIC-SRC Center of Excellence for Energy Efficient Electronic Systems (ACE4S). 

Khalifa University also established a research center at the University’s campus in Abu Dhabi with Mubadala Development Company. The AED 55 million project will be named the Aerospace Research and Innovation Center (ARIC) which will advance regionally relevant research in aerospace research. 

In addition to the establishment of these two new centers Khalifa University continued its ongoing investments in national infrastructure specifically in areas related to data communications networking communications and smart learning through the Etisalat BT Innovation Center (EBTIC) who filed 11 patents last year and ANKABUT the UAE advanced network for research and education. 

It is also noteworthy that Khalifa University signed five MOU’s with major industry leaders ADNOC Dassault Aviation Lockheed Martin Exeed Industries and Circuits Multi Projects (CMP).  These MOU’s will enable a wide range of collaborative work including research projects training professional development technical support student sponsorships and internships and event hosting and co-hosting.

The University has also been active in organizing a number of high profile research conferences over the last year including the annual conference on Information and Communication Technology Research (ICTRF) an international conference on Smart Learning called IC’13 the IEEE International Conference on Electronics Circuits and Systems (ICECS) and a research symposium with the Korean Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST).  

Finally Khalifa University added five new fields of specializations under its PhD in engineering program and the first of their kind in the UAE. The new PhD specializations include: Mechanical Aerospace Nuclear Biomedical Engineering and Robotics. These new specializations add to the existing specializations in Communication Computer and Electronic Engineering. These programs are in response to the demands of Abu Dhabi’s 2030 vision to expand the knowledge economy in strategic growth areas. 

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our accomplishments in 2013 ” said Khalifa University President Dr. Tod Laursen. “We’ve had a very busy year and we’re looking forward to an even busier one in 2014. Our students have had the opportunity to meet with some of the leaders of the UAE as well as international leaders and industry leaders this has made for a very inspiring year for them. It is also very rewarding to see our student achievements in local and international competitions. Their accomplishments are a testament to the quality of education that they receive at Khalifa University and let us know that we are helping to achieve the goals of Abu Dhabi’s 2030 Vision.”