President's Memo - December 2021

December 2021

63

UNIVERSITY ACHIEVEMENTS

KHALIFA UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES ‘KHALIFA UNIVERSITY ENTERPRISES COMPANY’, BACKED BY AED100-MILLION ENDOWMENT Khalifa University launched the ‘Khalifa University Enterprises Company - KUEC’, which will act as the business and investment arm of the University. The new company is backed by an endowment of AED100million.

The mission of KUEC is to boost and speed up business engagement with the University to accelerate innovation and create impact on the University’s scientific research assets and resources. Furthermore, KUEC will also aim to encourage technology investors and entrepreneurs to partner with the University to commercialize its growing patent portfolio in areas such as energy, advanced manufacturing, health, artificial intelligence and robotics through creation of technology startups.

Established and structured in consultation with three partners, KUEC will leverage the support of the leading asset manager, BlackRock, and global financial services leader JPMorgan. On the innovation side, Techstars will play a pivotal role in the growth and scaling of UAE startups.

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FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE LEADS WINNING TEAM AT CLIMATHON 2021 ABHIJITH LED THE DUBAI TEAM THAT WON BEST COHORT IN THE AGRIBUSINESS CATEGORY AND TOP COHORT WINNER AT CLIMATHON 2021. THEIR WINNING SOLUTION PROPOSES A RESTRUCTURED PRODUCT LABELING SYSTEM THAT IMPROVES DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES, WHILE ALSO BUILDING TRUST AMONG PRODUCERS, RETAILERS, AND CONSUMERS. Climathon 2021 is a climate change initiative that brings together innovators around the globe who have the passion, expertise, and capability to tackle climate challenges. The hybrid event took place from October 2 to 12, 2021 and was co-hosted by the UAE Ministry of Change and Environment and the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO).

The event is also led by Ideanco in partnership with UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

This year, Climathon connected 475 innovators from 9 selected cities, namely New York, Bristol, Tampa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Orange County, Dubai, and Beirut, to resolve three core challenges: agribusiness, air pollution, and mobility.

Khalifa University’s Abhijith Suboyin, a Petroleum Engineering Research Associate, was among the top innovators shortlisted to participate in the finals and

chosen to lead the Dubai cohort. Abhijith’s team was assigned in the agribusiness category and they had to propose solutions for the challenge within 72 hours.

To address the agribusiness challenge, Abhijith and his teammates devised a solution that redefines product labeling. The solution is a simple, color-coded, and restructured labeling system that is compliant with ISO 28219:2017 and Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, and addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Good Health & Well-Being (SDG 3) and Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12).

They came up with a system where labels will incorporate a QR code, an illustration of key components (including allergens), and sustainability metrics that will be available in an app accessible and easily understandable by everyone, including those with disabilities.

The platform will contain a digital, decentralized ledger for data transparency and tracking food provenance to create/promote sustainable practices, as well as build trust among producers, retailers, and consumers.

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FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

DR. JIJU ANTONY HONORED WITH THE UK INSTITUTE OF SIX SIGMA PROFESSIONALS’ SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION AWARD 2021 Dr. Jiju Antony, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, won the Institute of Six Sigma Professionals (ISSP) Best Project Awards 2021 in the category “Significant Contribution to the field of Lean Six Sigma.”

Upon winning the award, Steve Anthony, CEO of the Institute of Six Sigma Professionals, UK, said: “Dr. Antony has for many years been the go-to person for robust research and opinion in the world of Lean Six Sigma, and his international conferences, publications, students and research are world class. The ISSP wishes to recognize Dr. Antony’s contribution to the world of Lean Six Sigma by honoring him with the ISSP 2021 Significant Contribution award.”

Dr. Antony is recognized worldwide as a leader in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology for improving processes and achieving operational excellence.

He has put his passion for process improvement to use. As a certified LSS Master Black Belt (the pinnacle of Six Sigma expertise), Dr. Antony has a proven track record for conducting internationally leading research in the field of Quality Management, Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence.

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FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

KU PROFESSOR CHAIRS RESEARCH IN OPTIONS: RIO 2021

Dr. Jorge P. Zubelli, Professor and Chair of the Mathematics Department, recently chaired the 16th annual Research in Options: RiO 2021 conference. RiO 2021, which was held virtually from 21-24 November, provided a forum for experts to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in mathematical research in Applied Mathematics.

This year’s meeting was co-hosted by FGV EMAp (School of Applied Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro), Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Brazil, and KU’s Mathematics Department. Over 200 scientists, mathematicians, and practitioners who work on the interface of mathematics and finance discussed the latest research and tools that are advancing understanding of complex financial phenomena.

The conference builds on the success of previous editions, which were hosted by Brazil’s National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics’ (IMPA) and the Laboratory for Analysis and Mathematical Modeling in the Applied Sciences (LAMCA), which was headed by Dr. Zubelli from 2011 – 2019.

This year, the conference focused on different aspects of mathematical finance, including option pricing, fixed income, volatility trading, real options, commodities, algorithmic trading, portfolio and risk management.

Some of the most prominent names in quantitative finance and risk management participated in the event, including Bruno Dupire, Head of Research Bloomberg, who is recognized as one of the most influential quantitative analysts having received in 2008 the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Risk Magazine. KU’s Dr. Giorgio Consigli, Associate Professor of Mathematics, also participated in the conference and presented on the topic of “Optimal option portfolios with volatility as asset class in a discrete market.” While KU’s Dr. Marcos Lopez de Prado, Adjunct Professor of Practice in the Mathematics Department and ADIA’s Global Head on Quantitative Research & Development, presented on “Escaping The Sisyphean Trap: How Quants Can Achieve Their Full Potential.”

The RiO conference sheds light on the increasingly important role of mathematical tools to model and understand how risk is assessed and managed, and how to address the growing number of mathematical and computational challenges the financial industry is facing.

Submitted manuscripts from RiO 2021 will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Computational Mathematics and Data Science, titled “Computational Mathematics and Data Science Methods in Quantitative Finance,” with Dr. Zubelli and two others serving as guest editors.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

KU STUDENT TEAM PLACES 3RD IN WORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD

FIRST TIME KHALIFA UNIVERSITY JOINED THE WRO COMPETITION. A team of Khalifa University students won 3rd place at the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) UAE 2021 that was held from October 1 to 3, 2021.

The WRO is a series of national robotics competitions of WRO member countries with over 85 national events organized worldwide. The WRO UAE 2021 event gathered around 800 participants grouped in 300 teams.

The teams competed in three categories, Regular, Open, and Future Engineers, under the theme “Powerbots - The Future of Energy.” This season’s theme focused on the challenges that come with using more energy from renewable sources.

Khameis Mosabbah Alzeyoudi, BSc in Electrical Engineering, Wasan Khameis Aldhanhani, BSc in Aerospace Engineering, Humaid Abdulla Alhammadi, BSc in Computer Science, Khaled Ali Alshaloubi BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Khawla Mohammed Ashkanani, BSc in Electrical Engineering, Shamma Fadhel Alghfeli, BSc in Chemical Engineering, Muna Abdelrahman Almaazmi BSc in Aerospace Engineering, and Mahra Eid Alsuwaidi, BSc in Industrial and Systems Engineering, competed as two teams in the Regular Senior Category where they designed a robot that was built and programmed to perform certain tasks that can facilitate the use of renewable energy.

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FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

KU EECS SENIOR STUDENTS WIN 2ND PLACE AT 15TH IEEE UAE STUDENT DAY 2021 COMPETITION

A team of four Electrical Engineering and Computer Science senior students have won 2nd place at the 15th IEEE UAE Student Day 2021 competition in the category “Senior Design Project - Power and Renewable Energy,” beating out nine other teams, for their innovative electric vehicle wireless charging system. The Competition took place virtually on 6 November 2021.

The 7kW multi-coil wireless charging system the team designed was based on a thorough research/literature review of wireless charging systems. The team studied the various compensation strategies, selected the best compensation strategy, modeled and designed the wireless charging system, verified it through computer simulation, and finally built an experimental prototype.

The team included senior students Faris Alazzani, Esmaeil Alhajeri, Ali Alzaabi, and Saeed Al Qubaisi. They were supervised by Dr. Balanthi Beig, Associate Professor, Dr. Khaled Al Jaafari, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Khalid AlHammadi, Assistant Professor, all from KU’s EECS Department. Dr. Nazar Ali, Associate Professor of EECS is the course instructor.

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FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

KU STUDENTS COMPETE IN BLOOMBERG TRADING CHALLENGE

Two student teams from Khalifa University competed against more than 495 universities in the Bloomberg Trading Challenge, investing nonfiat US$1 million in trade currency to buy and sell stocks and other commodities over the course of the 7-week competition.

We are so proud of our KU students for participating in this challenge, which is based on a real-world investment environment using the popular Bloomberg Terminal platform. Through their dedication and strong team cooperative spirit, and by leveraging the skills they’ve acquired from either business or math courses at KU, our teams performed extremely well and gained a strong understanding of real-world trading.

The team with Faculty Advisor Dr. Ricardo H. Archbold, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, includes the following members: • Team Captain: Zehara Ali, BSc in Biomedical Engineering • Cidrik Mulugheta, BSc in Chemical Engineering

• Hamad Alblooshi, BSc in Mechanical Engineering • Khalid Adam, BSc in Chemical Engineering • Tiemar Semere, BSc in Computer Engineering The second team with Faculty Advisor Dr. Giorgio Consigli, Associate Professor of Mathematics, and supporting advisor Dr. Jorge Zubelli, Professor of Mathematics, includes the following members: • • • • •

Team Captain: Bruno Nunes Costa, Phd student Omar Forrest, PhD student Iman Chaabi, BSc in Mathematics Haya Mayoof, BSc in Mathematics Mohammed El Amin Azz, BSc in Mathematics

Participating students became certified on the Bloomberg Terminal, which gives them a competitive advantage in the job market postgraduation.

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PUBLISHED PAPERS

Published Papers in Q1 Journals

To view the link to the published article, please click

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Title

Vanadium as Potential Therapeutic Agent for COVID-19: A Focus on Its Antiviral, Anti-inflammatory, and Antihyperglycemic Effects

Journal

Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology

KU Authors

Dr. Sabina Semiz, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics

Title

Title: Mechanisms of COVID-19-Induced Kidney Injury and Current Pharmacotherapies

Journal

Inflammation Research

KU Authors

Dr. Eman Alefishat, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Dr. Moni Nader, Associate Professor of Physiology and Immunology

Title

Gut Microbiota Interplay With COVID-19 Reveals Links to Host Lipid Metabolism Among Middle Eastern Populations

Journal

Frontiers of Microbiology

KU Authors

Dr. Mohammad Tahseen Al Bataineh, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Dr. Habiba Al Safar, Director of the Khalifa University Center for Biotechnology

Title

Atmospheric Rivers Drive Exceptional Saharan Dust Transport towards Europe

Journal

Atmospheric Research

KU Authors

Dr. Diana Francis, Senior Research Scientist and Head of the ENGEOS Lab, Dr. Ricardo Fonseca, Research Scientist, ENGEOS Lab, and Dr. Narendra Nelli, Postdoctoral Fellow, ENGEOS Lab

Title

Genome-wide Association Study of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in the United Arab Emirates

Journal

EBioMedicine

KU Authors

Dr. Habiba Al Safar, Director of the Khalifa University Center for Biotechnology

Title

A Bibliometric Analysis and Global Trends in Fascioliasis Research: A Neglected Tropical Disease

Journal

Animals

KU Authors

Dr. Basem Al-Omari, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology & Population Health

PUBLISHED PAPERS

Title

Magnetic Silica Surface Functionalized Palladium Catalyst: A Modular Approach for C-C Cross-Coupling Reactions in Water

Journal

Applied Surface Science

KU Authors

Dr. Shashikant P Patole, Assistant Professor of Physics

Title

Low Volume Hospitals Are Not Associated with Inferior Outcomes After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair

Journal

Journal of Vascular Surgery

KU Authors Dr. Noora AlHajri, Epidemiology and Population Health Instructor

Title

miRNAs in the Regulation of Cancer Immune Response: Effect of miRNAs on Cancer Immunotherapy

Journal

Cancers

KU Authors Dr. Noora AlHajri, Epidemiology and Population Health Instructor and Mustafa Hasan Shehadeh, Medical Student

Title

Candida Albicans PPG1, a Serine/Threonine Phosphatase, Plays a Vital Role in Central Carbon Metabolisms Under Filament-Inducing Conditions: A Multi-Omics Approach

Journal

PLoS One

KU Authors Dr. Mohammad Tahseen Al Bataineh, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics

Title

Learning from Itch - Epidermolysis Bullosa is a Genetically Determined Barrier Disruption and a Chronic Inflammatory Disease

Journal

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology

KU Authors Dr. Zbigniew Ruszczak, Adjunct Clinical Professor, College of Medicine and Health Sciences

Title

Medication Discrepancies Among Hospitalized Patients with Hypertension: Assessment of Prevalence and Risk Factors

Journal

BMC Health Services Research

KU Authors

Dr. Eman Alefishat, Associate Professor of Pharmacology

Title

Interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with Cardiomyocytes: Insight into the Underlying Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiac Injury and Pharmacotherapy

Journal

Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy

KU Authors

Abdulhamid Abdi, Medical Student; Dr. Ali Khraibi, Professor of Physiology and Immunology; Dr. Hamdan Hamdan, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Immunology; and Dr. Moni Nader, Associate Professor of Physiology and Immunology