Innovation@UAE Magazine, issue 5, English, December 2021

A research periodical issued by the Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates Issue 05

Dec 2021

HYBRID CONVERTER SYSTEM F O R E N E R G Y- A N D C O S T- E F F I C I E N T O F F S H O R E WIND TRANSMISSION CROSSBREEDING ARABIAN GULF CORALS TO ENHANCE CORAL HEAT TOLERANCE PREDICTING CREDIT CARD CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR USING MACHINE LEARNING-BASED MODELING OPTIMIZING PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL CLEANING FOR MAXIMUM GAINS

www.moe.gov.ae

Contents 02 Welcome 04 News 14 Features 30 Profiles 42 Capstone Program 46 Emirates Young Scientists 48 Events Calendar

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Crossbreeding Arabian Gulf Corals to Enhance Coral Heat Tolerance

Predicting Credit Card Customer Behavior Using Machine Learning-based Modeling

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Hybrid Converter System for Energy- and Cost-efficient Offshore Wind Transmission

Optimizing Photovoltaic Panel Cleaning for Maximum Gains

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Renewable Energy to Prepare for the UAE’s Last Oil Barrel

Adapting Mechanical Engineering to Achieve Greater Sustainability

-Dr. Ahmed Al-Durra

-Dr. Abdul Ghani Olabi

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WELCOME TO

OUR FIFTH ISSUE His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, notably said, “We have to strike a balance of responsibility between our duty to update other sources of energy, protecting our environment, and ensuring a proper legacy for the next generation.”

The UAE has been pursuing this critical balance through its increasingly ambitious national strategies, commitments, and initiatives focused on economic diversification, integration of clean and renewable energy (RE), reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and environmental protection.

In 2010, the UAE Vision 2021 was announced with a goal of diverting 75% of municipal solid waste away from landfills by 2021, raising the air quality index to 90%, generating 27% of national energy requirements from clean energy sources, reducing per capita GHG emissions, and achieving an average oil consumption of 5 tons per person. In 2017, the UAE National Climate Change Plan was launched to prioritize the development of a national GHG emissions management system, national programs for adaptation to climate change, and an economic diversification program driven by the private sector. In the same year, the UAE Clean Energy Strategy 2050 was launched with the aim of increasing clean energy from 25% to 50% by 2050, reducing the carbon footprint of power generation by 70%, and boosting the energy efficiency of individuals and corporations by 40%.

Last year, the UAE’s Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations set a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 23.5% by 2030, increasing installed clean power capacity

to 14 gigawatts (GW), planting 30 million mangrove seedlings, and strengthening the climate resilience of priority sectors.

Achieving these unprecedented goals requires the pursuit of greater understanding, new technologies, and innovative systems, which is where the UAE’s higher education institutes come in. Academic research plays a critical role in developing technological innovations to support RE uptake, increasing our understanding of human impact on the environment, proposing solutions to preserve and grow critical natural resources like freshwater and coral reefs, and much more.

This issue of Innovation@UAE Magazine focuses on the contributions of the UAE’s academic research community toward the UAE’s sustainability-focused goals. We have shared three recently published research projects and two high-impact researchers affiliated with UAE-based universities that relate to the UAE’s RE integration and environmental preservation. We have also featured a Capstone Project from UAE high school students that seeks to reduce plastic waste and carbon emissions.

We hope these projects inspire our readers to examine their own contributions toward striking the balance needed to update energy sources, protect the UAE’s environment, stimulate further academic research, and achieve a brighter future for all.

His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Al-Mualla Undersecretary for Academic Affairs Ministry of Education

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NEWS

NYUAD RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NEW FINDINGS ON

THE EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES

THE EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE ACTIVITY OF THEIR CENTRAL SUPERMASSIVE BLACKHOLE (SMBH)

Researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have published a paper providing new insights on how central supermassive blackholes are influencing the evolution of their host galaxy.

NYUAD’s Center for Astro, Particle, and Planetary Physics research scientist, Aisha Al Yazeedi, was the lead author of The Astrophysical Journal paper titled “The impact of low luminosity AGN on their host galaxies: A radio and optical investigation of the kpc-scale outflow in MaNGA 1-166919.”

The paper’s findings outline gas ejection mechanisms, outflow properties, and how they are related to the activity of the supermassive blackhole (SMBH) at the center of the host galaxy.

Galaxies eventually undergo a phase in which they lose most of their gas, which results in a change to their properties over the course of their evolution. Current models for galaxy evolution suggest this should eventually happen to all galaxies, including our own Milky Way. “The evolution of galaxies is directly linked to the activity of their central supermassive blackhole (SMBH). However, the connection between the activity of SMBHs and the ejection of gas from the entire galaxy is poorly understood. Observational studies, including our research, are essential to clarify how the central SMBH can influence the evolution of its entire host galaxy and prove key theoretical concepts in the field of astrophysics,” Al Yazeedi explained.

The paper presents a detailed optical and radio study of the MaNGA 1-166919 galaxy, which appears to have an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). Radio morphology shows two lobes (jets) emanating from the center of the galaxy, a clear sign of AGN activity that could be driving the optical outflow. By measuring the outflow properties, the NYUAD researchers documented how the extent of the optical outflow matches the extent of radio emission.

Al Yazeedi’s co-authors included NYUAD researcher Ivan Yu. Katkov, NYUAD Associate Professor of Physics Dr. Joseph D. Gelfand, University of Heidelberg Emmy Noether Research Group Lead Dr. Dominika Wylezalek, Johns Hopkins University Professor of Astronomy Dr. Nadia L. Zakamska, and University of Maryland astronomy student Weizhe Liu.

Source: https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/news/latest-news/science-and-technology/2021/august/galaxies-new-findings.html

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UNIVERSITY OF DUBAI-LED TEAM DEVELOPS LEARNING MODEL FOR COVID-19 DETECTION

USING LUNG X-RAYS

DEEP LEARNING IS PART OF A BROADER FAMILY OF MACHINE LEARNING METHODS BASED ON ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS WITH REPRESENTATION LEARNING

A University of Dubai-led team has developed an efficient and accurate deep learning model for rapid detection of COVID-19 and non-COVD-19 pneumonia infections using lung X-rays of symptomatic patients. Deep learning is part of a broader family of machine learning methods based on artificial neural networks with representation learning.

The COVID-DeepNet deep learning model proposed by the team achieved a classification accuracy of 99.67%, which is in line with state-of-the-art models, demonstrating its potential as an alternative solution for COVID-19 detection that could be used in conjunction with the antibody test for the faster screening of COVID-19 in patients.

The research team was composed of University of Dubai (UD) Assistant Professor of Electronics Engineering Dr. Alavikunhu Panthakkan, Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering Kollam Assistant Professor of Electronics and

Communication Engineering Dr. S. M. Anzar, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center Applications Development and Analysis Section Head Eng. Saeed Al Mansoori, and UD Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Hussain Al Ahmad.

Their research was the focus of a paper published in the journal Biomedical Signal Processing and Control.

“Recent radiological imaging findings confirm that lung X-ray and CT scans provide an excellent indication of the progression of COVID-19 infection in acute symptomatic carriers. A novel and highly efficient COVID-DeepNet model is presented for the accurate and rapid prediction of COVID-19 infection using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence techniques. The proposed model provides a multi-class classification of lung X-ray images into COVID-19, nonCOVID pneumonia, and normal (healthy),” the researchers stated in their paper on the subject.

NEWS

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS AED 700K

TO UOS PROJECTS

IT IS HOPED THAT THE PROJECT WILL ENHANCE THE FIELD PERFORMANCE OF ASPHALT PAVEMENT ROADWAYS, WHILE PROVIDING A NEW METHOD OF DISPOSING AND RECYCLING LOCAL WASTE PLASTIC

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The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has granted the University of Sharjah (UoS) two collaborative research projects with a total funding of AED 700,000 to explore the design and implementation of two new sustainable materials in roadway pavements.

The first project will investigate the recycling of waste plastic in Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). The objective of this study is to conduct a laboratory experiment to develop HMA mixtures using two types of waste plastic (PET and HDPE) at different amounts and to assess the laboratory performance for control and plastic modified HMA mixtures. It is hoped that the project will enhance the field performance of asphalt pavement roadways, while providing a new method of disposing and recycling local waste plastic. The project budget is AED 400,000, which will be spent over a period of two years.

The second project seeks to develop a design process and standard practices for pervious concrete pavement surfaces

of roads and pavements, to alleviate nighttime surface temperatures and improve drainage related problems in the UAE. The project scope includes the design of pervious concrete mixes, considering several factors such as cement type and content, aggregate gradation, and admixtures to meet strength, permeability, and durability design requirements. The project budget is AED 300,000, which will be spent over a period of two years.

Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UoS Dr. Waleed Zeiada will lead the two projects. Collaborators from UoS include Dr. Abdallah Shanableh, Dr. Ghazi Al-Khateeb, Dr. Salah Al-Toubat, Dr. Mohamed Arab, as well as many research assistants. On behalf of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Eng. Naseebah Almarzouqi, Eng. Asma Naqi, Eng. Fatma Abdulrahman, Eng. Marwa Alsalami, Eng. Tala Abu Shuqair, Dr. Daniel Llort, and Eng. Timothy Sinclair will coordinate and observe the research activities.

ZU OPENS UAE’S FIRST HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING CENTER LIBRARY

WEBSITE FOR PUBLIC USE

THE FRUIT OF THIS SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION HAS TAKEN THE FORM OF MORE THAN 20 STUDIES AND RESEARCH PAPERS PUBLISHED IN PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS

The Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Center at the College of Natural and Health Sciences at Zayed University (ZU) has presented the first UAE Spectral Library website for public use.

This will enable users to interact with and access spectral information derived from hyperspectral cameras and field portable spectroradiometers, as well as remote sensing images from space and airborne platforms for remote spectroscopic sensing.

The Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Center is considered the first of its kind in the UAE to carry out planetary studies, environmental studies, training, and consultancy in the remote sensing sector. It is equipped with highly advanced software and tools, along with a high-performance computer for research, innovation, and learning in the geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing field using satellite imagery.

Dean of the ZU College of Natural and Health Sciences Professor Dr. Fares Howari said, “The center is also equipped with a Mars Simulation chamber, which creates the environment of any planet to study and simulate these environments using hyperspectral imaging in the laboratory and conduct scientific research. The fruit of this scientific innovation has taken the form of more than 20 studies and research papers published in prestigious international journals within a short period of time.”

The center was established with the help of the Emirates Space Agency, with an aim of addressing the challenges of the remote sensing sector in the UAE Space Agency and beyond, as well as provide opportunities for stratified research, innovation, and education across the disciplines of natural sciences and engineering.

Source: https://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/news/2021/September/spectral.aspx

NEWS

AUS ENGINEERING TEAM WINS

ICALT BEST SHORT PAPER AWARD

THE AWARD-WINNING PAPER PRESENTED A CASE STUDY “WHERE ASSESSMENT DATA FROM TWO ONLINE PLATFORMS WAS USED TO CLUSTER STUDENTS INTO SIMILAR GROUPS”

A team from American University of Sharjah (AUS) won the Best Short Paper Award at the 21st Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT) in July.

Titled “Unsupervised Clustering of Skills for an Online Learning Platform,” the paper was co-authored by AUS graduate student in computer engineering Afaf Ahmed, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Dr. Imran Zualkernan, and Computer Science and Engineering Lab Instructor Hend Elghazaly.

The award-winning paper presented a case study “where assessment data from two online platforms was used to cluster students into similar groups,” with a long-term objective of “incorporating the clustering information into the personalization mechanisms,” according to the paper abstract.

Explaining the scope of the project, Dr. Zualkernan said, “Our paper examines the use of artificial intelligence in

understanding the reasons behind the performance of groups of students based on a measurement of their current skills…

Typically, student groupings, or banding, are based on gross criteria like average grades. Instead, our paper proposes the concept of keystone questions that can be used in student groupings to better design learning content and practices, and to train educators.”

He hoped their research could one day play a role in improving the learning and teaching practices for both online and offline education at all levels.

Ahmed, who focused on the data analysis section of the work and in helping with the writing of the paper, shared how she felt when she heard the news of the win.

“This award is something that I will cherish and remember throughout my life. Taking part in such a leading conference means a lot to me as I believe it adds great value to my career in academia and research. I am also thankful to my family, friends, and professors for their support,” she said.

Source: https://www.aus.edu/media/news/aus-engineering-team-wins-best-short-paper-award-at-international-conference

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Left to right: Dr. Firuz Kamalov, Dr. David Santandreu Calonge

RESEARCHERS FROM CUD AND AUS LEVERAGE MACHINE LEARNING TO

PREVENT ONLINE EXAM FRAUD

UNLIKE A STANDARD OUTLIER DETECTION TASK IN MACHINE LEARNING, THE STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA REQUIRES US TO CONSIDER ITS SEQUENTIAL NATURE

Researchers from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) have proposed a novel way of leveraging machine learning to detect cheating in online exams.

CUD Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Firuz Kamalov, AUS Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Dr. Hana Sulieman, and CUD Associate Professor and Director of Corporate Training Dr. David Santandreu Calonge jointly authored a paper on their project titled “Machine Learning Based Approach to Exam Cheating Detection” in the highly ranked peer reviewed journal PLOS One. The paper responds to a significant challenge in online education- preserving the academic integrity of student assessments and preventing academic misconduct. The authors propose a novel approach to detect potential cases of cheating on final examinations using machine learning techniques.

“We use students’ continuous assessment results to identify abnormal scores on the final exam. However, unlike a standard outlier detection task in machine learning, the student assessment data requires us to consider its sequential nature. We address this issue by applying recurrent neural networks together with anomaly detection algorithms. Numerical experiments on a range of datasets show that the proposed method achieves a remarkably high level of accuracy in detecting cases of cheating on the exam,” the researchers state in their paper.

This study lays the groundwork for future educational research into outlier detection techniques, as it proposes a complement to commercial plagiarism detection software and possibly a non-intrusive deterrent alternative to remotely monitored exams.

Source: https://www.cud.ac.ae/news/cud-celebrates-another-significant-milestone-interdisciplinary-research

NEWS

KU STUDENT-BUILT DHABISAT

REACHES ORBITAL SLOT

THE PRIMARY MISSION OF DHABISAT IS TO ENABLE STUDENTS TO DESIGN, IMPLEMENT, AND TEST SOFTWARE MODULES FOR ATTITUDE DETERMINATION AND CONTROL SUBSYSTEMS (ADCS)

Khalifa University (KU) and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) have jointly announced the deployment of DhabiSat into orbit from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft.

DhabiSat, the second CubeSat designed and built by KU students, eased into its orbit after leaving the International Space Station (ISS). The primary mission of DhabiSat is to enable students to design, implement, and test software modules for attitude determination and control subsystems (ADCS). The work was conducted at the Yahsat Space Lab, which is part of the Khalifa University Space Technology and Innovation Center (KUSTIC).

Khalifa University Executive Vice President Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi said, “With the deployment of DhabiSat into its orbital slot, our students and our partners have once again registered another key milestone for Khalifa University and the UAE.”

Congratulating the team, Yahsat Chief Human Capital Officer Muna Almheiri said, “This is a significant step in the UAE’s mission to develop homegrown talent to lead its National Space Program. We need future generations of Emirati space leaders and visionaries to fulfill the aspirations of our founding fathers, and the rich potential of our nation.”

DhabiSat will assess the accuracy of various ADCS pointing control strategies and validate the same by taking images using a digital camera onboard pointed in specific directions. The new ADCS algorithms will improve the pointing accuracy of the CubeSat and its response time to attitude changes as compared to conventional algorithms. In terms of system resources, DhabiSat will require less power to achieve the targeted pointings and if successful, the algorithms will gain flight heritage on board DhabiSat, which then can be used as a baseline for future CubeSat missions.

CREDIT: Clarence Michael, KU English Editor Specialist, https://www.ku.ac.ae/khalifa-universitys-dhabisat-deployed-into-its-orbitalslot-marking-another-milestone-event-for-uae

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KU’S NOVEL DETECTION METHOD LOCATES NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL

SITES AND OBJECTS IN UAE

RESEARCHERS USE SATELLITE-BORNE SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR) AT A VERY HIGH RESOLUTION THAT CAN DETECT FEATURES THE SIZE OF ONE METER THAT MIGHT BE BURIED IN THE SUBSURFACE (LESS THAN TWO METERS) UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS

Researchers from the Khalifa University (KU) Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (ENGEOS) Lab have used satellite remote sensing paired with machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect buried objects in Dubai’s Saruq AlHadid archaeological site, and to identify new sites.

Researchers use satellite-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) at a very high resolution that can detect features the size of one meter that might be buried in the subsurface (less than two meters) under optimum conditions. Based on the machine learning techniques and deep learning analyses conducted during this work, the ENGEOS Lab was able to find potential sites for further on-site investigation. As a next

step, the method developed during this first phase of the project will need to be validated through a field survey, which will help improve the accuracy of the results.

Dr. Diana Francis, Senior Lecturer at KU and Head of ENGEOS, said, “Remote sensing has been able to assist archaeological research through several ways in recent years, including detection of subsurface remains, monitoring of archaeological sites and monuments, and archeo-landscape studies. Now, AI and machine learning applied to remote sensing can provide additional support and invaluable guidance for on-site archaeological work.”

The Saruq Al-Hadid archaeological site was selected for the first study by the ENGEOS researchers. Discovered in 2002, Saruq Al-Hadid sits deep in the desert of the southern reaches of Dubai emirate and is believed to have been an iron-age metal ‘factory’ in operation around 1,300-800 BC. Even though relics from the Stone Age (10,000 BC) have also been discovered, the peak period of the site is believed to have been around 3,000 BC. Based on up to 12,000 artifacts found on the site, archaeologists believe it is one of the main centers of copper tool manufacturing in the region since the beginning of the Iron Age (1,000 BC).

CREDIT: Clarence Michael, KU English Editor Specialist https://www.ku.ac.ae/researchers-at-khalifa-universitys-engeos-lab-useremote-sensing-and-machine-learning-to-find-potential-unexplored-archeological-sites-in-uae

NEWS

STARTAD SELECTS

FOUR STUDENT-LED STARTUPS

FOR NEXTGEN INCUBATOR AWARDS

THE WINNING STARTUPS PRESENTED OUTSTANDING SOLUTIONS FOR RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION, QUALITY EDUCATION, CLIMATE ACTION, GOOD HEALTH, AND WELLBEING

Abu Dhabi-based startup accelerator, startAD, announced the winners for its NextGen Incubator. The program is for UAE-based university students aged 1825 who are passionate about developing tech-enabled solutions for global challenges, as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. startAD is powered by Tamkeen and anchored at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). The NextGen Incubator is organized in partnership with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Sandooq Al Watan, and Etihad Airways.

The winning startups presented outstanding solutions for responsible consumption and production, quality education, climate action, good health, and wellbeing, receiving prizes worth $33,000.

Mental Health AE, a platform that provides services, information, and resources to create awareness and end the stigma surrounding mental health in the UAE, won the $10,000 National Impact Award from Sandooq Al Watan.

Ground Z, an innovative digital platform that aims to reduce educational inequality with the help of artificial intelligence, won a prize of $3,000 from GGGI. 5mm, a startup which creates sustainable microplastic clean up solutions, won a prize of $1,500 from GGGI. RePlaste, a sustainable design studio addressing waste management, won the Etihad Airways Challenge and return business class tickets to any destination served by the Etihad Greenliner, as well as the opportunity to test and validate their technology through a pilot project on Etihad Airways’ Ecoflights. They also received a prize of $500 from GGGI. The virtual program received 146 applications from 27 universities. The jury included Etihad Aviation Group Head of Sustainability & Business Excellence Mariam Al-Qubaisi, Sandooq Al Watan Director General Hind Baker, Sandooq Al Watan Senior Strategic Program Manager Sama Alhammadi, and GGGI Senior Officer Hyun S. Lee. The investor panel consisted of The UAE Angels Capital Investment CEO and Cofounder Dr. Abdulhannan Kareem and corporate leader, board director, and advisor to multiple family offices and venture capital companies Alaa Alhashem.

Source: https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/news/latest-news/science-and-technology/2021/august/next-gen-incubator.html

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Photo: CERN

UAEU JOINS NYUAD AND UOS AS UAE’S CLUSTER FOR

ATLAS COLLABORATION

THIS IMPORTANT RESEARCH WILL LEAD TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR UNIVERSE AND TO IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS THAT WILL BENEFIT HUMANITY AT LARGE

The United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) has joined the European Organization for Nuclear and Particle Physics Research (CERN) in Switzerland as one of three cluster institutions for the UAE. UAEU will be joining the University of Sharjah (UoS) and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) to contribute to the ATLAS Collaboration on behalf of the UAE. The ATLAS Collaboration is one of the leading physics collaborations worldwide. According to CERN, clustered institutions are intended for institutes in nations where the High-Energy Physics community is still growing. Members of a cluster are expected to work closely together and build up a coherent effort in ATLAS with the cluster having one vote in the ATLAS Collaboration Board.

At UAEU, Department of Physics Professor Dr. Salah Nasri is leading the High Energy Physics Group that will be engaged primarily in the Higgs physics models and dark matter research, in addition to modeling and searching for new

physics beyond the standard model, and developments toward the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC).

UAEU Acting Provost Prof. Mohammed Hassan Ali Mohammed welcomed this exciting development and expressed his thanks to the three universities for working together to achieve this important milestone and encouraged more scientific collaboration. He expressed his hope that this important research will lead to a better understanding of our universe and to important technological applications that will benefit humanity at large.

ATLAS is a general-purpose particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland.

It is designed to exploit the full discovery potential of the LHC, pushing the frontiers of scientific knowledge.

ATLAS’ exploration uses precision measurement to push the frontiers of knowledge by seeking answers to fundamental questions of the universe.

Source: https://www.saasst.ae/index.php/news-room/scass-news/item/112-the-uae-joins-the-atlas-collaboration-at-cern-inswitzerland https://www.uaeu.ac.ae/en/news/2021/july/uaeu-is-member-of-atlas-collaboration-at-european-organization-fornuclear-and-particle-physics-research-in-switzerland.shtml

FEATURES

CROSSBREEDING ARABIAN GULF CORALS TO ENHANCE CORAL HEAT TOLERANCE Certain reef-building corals from the Arabian Gulf may provide other corals with the gene variants needed to survive rising sea temperatures caused by global climate change.

The Arabian Gulf is the hottest region where reef-building corals live, with coral populations adapted to high temperatures from global climate change that are predicted to hit tropical reefs at the end of this century.

This provides scientists with the opportunity to leverage the heat-tolerant gene variants of local reef-building corals to enhance the resilience of other coral populations.

Coral reefs are large underwater structures built by colonies of marine invertebrates called coral. Reef-building corals live in symbiosis with microscopic algae, which work together to extract calcium from seawater to create their hard skeletons. Coral reefs play an important role in biodiversity and human life, absorbing wave energy to protect coastlines from erosion, shielding mangrove forests and seagrass beds that serve as fish nurseries, and hosting more than a quarter of all marine fish species, including several culturally and commercially important ones.

Corals are also extremely vulnerable to ongoing environmental changes, including rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and most notably, increased water

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temperatures, all of which are triggered by increasing greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. The most destructive and rapid impact on coral reefs from global climate change is the bleaching and dieoffs of corals when sea temperatures are abnormally warm.

Coral bleaching occurs when the sea temperature rises by just 1-2°C over the course of a few weeks, causing coral to become stressed and expel the microscopic algae they contain. Those algae live within the coral in a mutually beneficial relationship, enabling each other to survive. If a coral is without its algae inhabitants for a prolonged period of time, it will starve and die.

As average sea temperatures have been increasing, so too have coral bleaching events. Between 2014 and 2017, it was estimated that around 75% of tropical coral reefs experienced enough heat-stress to trigger bleaching. With a recent International Panel on Climate Change report warning that global climate may rise beyond 1.5°C in the next decades, enhancing the heat tolerance of corals may assist them to adapt to the increasing temperatures.

FEATURES

“WE FOUND AN IMMEDIATE TRANSFER OF HEAT TOLERANCE WHEN CORAL EGGS FROM FUJAIRAH WERE CROSSED WITH CORAL SPERM FROM ABU DHABI. THESE CROSSBRED CORALS SHOWED AN 84% INCREASE IN SURVIVAL AT HIGH TEMPERATURES RELATIVE TO PUREBRED FUJAIRAH CORALS, AND THEY WERE AS EQUALLY HEAT TOLERANT AS PUREBRED ABU DHABI CORALS.” Dr. Emily Howells Senior lecturer, Southern Cross University

CORALS ARE ALSO EXTREMELY VULNERABLE TO ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES, INCLUDING RISING SEA LEVELS, OCEAN ACIDIFICATION, AND MOST NOTABLY, INCREASED SEA TEMPERATURES, ALL OF WHICH ARE TRIGGERED BY INCREASING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM HUMAN ACTIVITY

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“Reef-building corals are in global decline from the impacts of climate change and their future persistence is dependent on adaptation keeping up with the rapid rate of ocean warming. We had previously demonstrated that corals living on the hottest reefs in the world in the southern Arabian Gulf have genetically adapted to this extreme environment, where the water temperature reaches as high as 36°C, so for this study we wanted to test whether we could transfer their beneficial genetic variants for heat tolerance to corals living elsewhere,” explained Dr. Emily Howells, who was a postdoctoral researcher at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) during the course of the project and is currently a senior lecturer at Southern Cross University in Australia.

Dr. Howells was the lead author of a paper on the project titled “Enhancing the heat tolerance of reef-building corals to future warming,” which was recently published in the leading journal Science Advances. Her co-authors included former Zayed University Associate Professor of Natural and Health Sciences Dr. David Abrego, NYUAD Associate Professor of Biology Dr. John A. Burt, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization research scientist Dr. Yi Jin

Liew, Oregon State University Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Eli Meyer, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Associate Professor of Marine Science Dr. Manuel Aranda.

The project had four broad phases. The first phase focused on study sites and coral breeding. The team collected fragments of Platygyra daedalea coral colonies from specific sites off Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, where the average sea temperatures fluctuate by 3°C in the summer. The fragments were housed and spawned in controlled environment aquaria at NYUAD, producing families of regional purebred and crossbred corals.

The second phase of the project was heat stress testing the coral offspring, which numbered more than 12,000 individual coral larvae, to find out if they could withstand the maximum temperatures of their parents’ respective locations.

“We found an immediate transfer of heat tolerance when coral eggs from Fujairah were crossed with coral sperm from Abu Dhabi. These crossbred corals showed an 84% increase in survival at high temperatures relative to purebred Fujairah corals, and they were as equally heat tolerant as purebred Abu Dhabi corals,” Dr. Howells said.

The third phase of the project comprised a field survival experiment to evaluate the influence of parental origin on survivorship in the field setting.

Larval offspring from the coral families were settled onto tiles deployed near the Fujairah fragment collection site and monitored for one month.

“In this reef environment, we found that crossbred corals with Abu Dhabi fathers survive equally as well as native Fujairah purebred corals, but both had higher survival than non-native Abu Dhabi purebred corals,” shared Dr. Howells.

The fourth phase of the project was parent and offspring genotyping, which

investigates the genetic constitution of an organism.

“Genome sequencing confirmed that gains in heat tolerance were due to the inheritance of beneficial gene variants from the Abu Dhabi fathers. Most Abu Dhabi fathers produced offspring that were better able to withstand heat stress, and these fathers and their offspring had crucial variants associated with better heat tolerance,” Dr. Howells said.

Explaining the implications of the project’s findings, Dr. Howells said, “These results demonstrate that corals can be selectively bred for enhanced heat tolerance using corals from populations in extreme or warmer environments which have a higher proportion of heat-tolerant genetic variants due to local adaptation.”

As a next step, she said longer-term studies are needed to evaluate any possible trade-off between thermal tolerance and other important traits in the coral.

Additionally, any genetic risks involved in the introduction of selectively bred corals to populations must be identified and studied.

“Selective breeding has the potential to be used to enhance the resilience of targeted coral populations to climate warming but requires further testing before it can be implemented in intervention and restoration programs. However, the most important actions to enhance the resilience of all coral populations are those that limit the magnitude of climate change and other pressures,” Dr. Howells clarified, emphasizing the need for continued global climate change mitigation efforts.

Title of published paper

Enhancing the heat tolerance of reefbuilding corals to future warming

Published in

Science Advances

Journal metrics

Impact Factor: 14.14, Q1, H-index: 215, Scientific Journal Ranking (SJR): 5.923

Project funded by

National Geographic Society grant (awarded to Dr. Emily Howells) and a grant from Tamkeen (awarded to Dr. John Burt), with support from the High-Performance Computing Center and Marine Biology Core Technology Platform at NYUAD

FEATURES

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PREDICTING CREDIT CARD CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR USING MACHINE LEARNINGBASED MODELING Banks today have vast databases that can be mined to analyze performance and even predict customer behavior. A Zayed University-led research team has developed a model that leverages machine learning and credit card customer data to predict more accurately how quickly a customer will repay the amount on their credit card.

Managing risk is crucial to banks. They must quickly identify which customers are a bad risk and need to be cut off from taking on more debt, and which customers can continue to be granted credit. As credit cards represent a major proportion of bank business – and one against which no assets are secured – they present a liability that the bank must manage by careful identification of risk as either good or bad.

“Banks need to accurately and quickly predict consumer credit card default, and the best way to do that is to use advanced systems that automatically score customer behavior on credit card repayments. We believe behavioral scoring models that leverage the power of machine learning can better enable banks to make risk decisions and financial security decisions to reduce their losses,” explained Dr. Maher Ala’raj, Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Systems in the College of Technological Innovation (CTI) at Zayed University (ZU).

The team, which also comprised Dr. Maysam Abbod, Reader at the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at Brunel University London, and Dr. Munir Majdalawieh, an Associate Professor at the Department of Information Systems at the CTI ZU, developed a model for credit card customer repayment probability using behavioral scoring.

Behavioral scoring is a common method of analysis to predict a customer’s likelihood to default during a specific period. The strength of the prediction is often impaired by its subjective parameter choices, like outcome period and performance period, while the vast volume of credit card transaction data makes it difficult to apply traditional mathematical and statistical models for behavioral scoring.

“To construct behavioral scoring models, professionals must think about a few significant issues, such as the extensiveness of the dataset to model, the planning horizon,

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and drivers of unwanted behavior. The literature does not contain solid suggestions on the most proficient method to respond to these questions,” the researchers wrote in their paper on the topic that was recently published in the Journal of Big Data.

They developed a Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to enable automated credit card behavior scoring for bank customers. An LSTM is an artificial recurrent neural network architecture used in machine and deep learning to classify, process, and make predictions based on time series data. The team’s proposed LSTM model framework consisted of several steps, starting with pre-processing and

“BY CONDUCTING A DETAILED COMPARISON PROCEDURE, WE HAVE PROVEN THAT MACHINE LEARNING MODELS SUCH AS LSTM CAN PROVIDE THE HIGHEST ACCURACY IN PREDICTING LATE FEES AND MISSED PAYMENTS.” Dr. Maher Ala’raj Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Systems in the College of Technological Innovation

Left to right: Dr. Maher Ala’raj and Dr. Munir Majdalawieh

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formatting the dataset using a bidirectional LSTM classifier, which looks at a particular data sequence both from front to back and from back to front. Next, a fivefold validation technique was applied to get a prediction for all customers in the dataset. Then the performance measures were calculated for different groups of customers of financial interest to the banks, like those with an unsatisfactory repayment history.

To test the accuracy of their proposed bidirectional LSTM system, a public nontransactional credit cards dataset was analyzed, after which the results were benchmarked against five standard prediction classifier models. The dataset was of Taiwanese credit card transactions and included 30,000 records, with 23,364 non-default payments and 6,636 default payments. The classifier models included Gradient Boosting, Bagging Neural Network, Support Vector Machines, Random Forest, and Logic Regression.

The proposed bidirectional LSTM model and the five classifier models were then used to analyze the Taiwanese dataset, looking at four subsets of users to determine the models’ sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, balanced accuracy, and Brier score. Sensitivity refers to the ability of the model to identify missed payments. Specificity measures the proportion of missed payments that are correctly identified. Accuracy is the simplest method of evaluating the model’s preciseness. Balanced accuracy is a metric used to assess the quality of the model when the dataset classes are imbalanced.

The Brier score reflects the discriminatory power of the model, or its certainty in predicting a customer’s missed payment, with the lower the Brier score, the better the model’s performance.

The results showed that the team’s proposed model was the most sensitive at 37.51%. It was the fourth most specific, with specificity at 95.15%, however, the

BEHAVIORAL SCORING IS A COMMON METHOD OF ANALYSIS TO PREDICT A CUSTOMER’S LIKELIHOOD TO DEFAULT DURING A SPECIFIC PERIOD

three classifier models with higher specificity had much lower sensitivity. The proposed model also had the third highest accuracy.

Overall, the team’s proposed bidirectional LSTM had the highest balanced accuracy percentage and the lowest Brier score, proving the overall quality of the model.

“Our research emphasizes the importance of credit card scoring for assessing and decreasing bank losses. By conducting a detailed comparison procedure, we have proven that machine learning models such as LSTM can provide the highest accuracy in predicting late fees and missed payments,” Dr. Ala’raj said.

Given the volume of credit card customers and the potential risk they pose to banks from lost repayments, the research team asserted that the modest accuracy gain of their classifier model could lead to major savings for financial institutions.

They assert that banks could use their novel classifier model not only for its binary output to determine whether a customer will miss a payment in the next month, but also to score each client. The scores provided by the model can be used to group customers into appropriate risk groups, so the bank

can offer the corresponding service and security depending on their risk. This can enable banks to efficiently assess financial risks and make financial decisions.

“Our results show that, compared with benchmark models, the LSTM neural network has significantly improved consumer credit scoring. It is up to the bank to set up the thresholds above which they would move a customer into the highor medium-risk group with corresponding consequences to the customer, such as decreasing their credit card limit or blocking their card. Moreover, such scores can be used as missing payment probabilities, so bank management can calculate the potential losses from each customer and even whole credit portfolios,” Dr Ala’raj said.

Going forward, the team will be looking to validate their bidirectional LSTM model on other real-world banking datasets, particularly from the UAE. They hope to further prove the efficiency of their model and its ability to analyze different behaviors from credit card customers. They will also be working to extend their model to customer credit scoring for different types of loan products.

Title of published paper

Modelling customers credit card behavior using bidirectional LSTM neural networks

Published in

Journal of Big Data

Journal metrics

Impact Factor: 11.09, Q1, H-index: 35,, Scientific Journal Ranking (SJR): 1.03

Project funded by

Zayed University Office of Research, Grant Number R20053

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HYBRID CONVERTER SYSTEM FOR ENERGYAND COST-EFFICIENT OFFSHORE WIND TRANSMISSION Increasing the integration of wind energy to the electricity grid requires the development of new powerconversion technologies that reduce cost and line losses to improve profitability and energy efficiency.

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A Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) led research project has proposed a new highvoltage direct current (HVDC) converter system to efficiently transmit power from offshore wind farms (OWF) to the onshore power grid.

OWFs are wind farms located on the ocean or seabed. As the speed of wind over water tends to be higher overall and more stable than wind over land, the average OWF can produce more than twice as much electricity as a mediumsized onshore farm. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has reported that the global installed windgeneration capacity has increased by a factor of almost 75 in the past two decades, jumping from 7.5 gigawatts (GW) in 1997 to some 564 GW by 2018.

The UAE has recently turned its attention to wind power, with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, announcing plans to build the country’s first wind farm in Hatta.

Electricity can flow one of two ways. It is either one directional, which is called direct current (DC), or it can flow both backwards and forwards, which is called alternating current (AC). Electric grids supply electricity as AC, which is a legacy of the “war of the currents” waged by Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla in the 20th century, while renewable energy (RE) systems that harness wind and solar energy produce electricity as DC power. For RE supplies to be integrated on an electric grid, they must first be transformed from DC to AC, which is done through power converters, which convert the voltage from AC to DC, and inverters, devices that invert the voltage from DC to AC. “For OWF developers, HVDC transmission systems are an attractive way to get the energy from the windfarm to the grid, as they cost less and lose less of the electricity for transmissions over 50 kilometers. If you are using an HVDC transmission system,

you need an HVDC converter to control and stabilize the operation and delivery of power between the offshore windfarm to the grid on the mainland. There are many HVDC topologies available, but each of them has its own inherent drawback.

The topology we have proposed has a lower cost, loss, and volume compared to other HVDC converter systems, while still proving the fundamental operation of the HVDC system,” explained HCT Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Thanh Hai Nguyen. An HVDC converter system topology refers to the structure of electric circuits consisting of power electronic devices, inductors, capacitors, and transformers, which convert the voltage forms between AC and DC types.

Dr. Nguyen and his co-author, Can Tho University Electrical Engineering Department Deputy Head Dr. Ngoc Thinh Quach, recently published a paper on their hybrid HVDC converter topology in the International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems.

In an OWF, a series of massive wind turbines are installed on the seabed or on floating platforms. When the wind blows, it pushes the blades of the turbine, causing the blades to spin. The blades are connected to a drive shaft, so when the blades turn, the drive shaft powers an electric generator to produce electricity.

That electricity is then transmitted via a series of current conversion devices and cables to the onshore electric grid, where it can contribute to the available electricity supply.

To transmit the electricity produced by the OWFs to the electrical grid, an electricity transmission system is required. Transmission systems based on HVDC have been attracting attention from the electric industry due to the reduced line losses and lower costs they offer compared to the AC-based alternative.

The two main ways HVDC topologies integrate OWFs to the main grid are line-

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OFFSHORE WIND FARMS (OWF) ARE WIND FARMS LOCATED ON THE OCEAN OR SEABED, AS THE SPEED OF WIND OVER WATER TENDS TO BE HIGHER OVERALL AND MORE STABLE THAN WIND OVER LAND. THIS ENABLES THE AVERAGE OWF TO PRODUCE OVER DOUBLE THE ELECTRICITY OF A MEDIUMSIZED ONSHORE FARM

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communicated converter (LCC) based and voltage-source converter (VSC) based.

Both have documented limitations.

The system proposed by Dr. Nguyen and his team consists of a full-scale modular multilevel converter (M2C) at the grid site, and a hybrid scheme of a reduced rating M2C and 12-pulse diode rectifier (12PD) without DC capacitors in the offshore station.

The HVDC transmission system would deliver the power from the OWF to the grid, where the M2C located in the onshore grid is used to maintain the HVDC link voltage without change, enabling the power delivered from the offshore converter to be fully transmitted to the main grid.

Explaining the benefits of their proposed system, Dr. Nguyen said,

“The most surprising finding from this work is about the converter itself, which combines the diode rectifiers and the voltage-source converter. The diode rectifiers also don’t need DC capacitors, which are known to be costly and prone to breakdown. Without the DC capacitors, our converter system has a lower cost, loss, and volume compared to other existing topologies.”

The team has tested the feasibility of their proposed topology through simulations. They also assembled a smaller prototype, which has demonstrated the basic operations of the system.

Explaining the value of the system within the UAE, Dr. Nguyen presented examples of where it can be used, as well as how it can be adapted to other power systems.

“THE TOPOLOGY WE HAVE PROPOSED HAS A LOWER COST, LOSS, AND VOLUME COMPARED TO OTHER HVDC CONVERTER SYSTEMS WHILE STILL PROVING THE FUNDAMENTAL OPERATION OF THE HVDC SYSTEM.” Dr. Thanh Hai Nguyen Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Higher Colleges of Technology

“I believe that this topology can be applied to some systems in the UAE. As the HVDC system is used to deliver power over a long distance, this topology is suggested for power transmission from offshore windfarms.

In the UAE, there are many offshore oil platforms that require power from the mainland. Our topology can be modified to transmit the power from mainland to the oil platforms on the offshore side. In addition, the converter can be modified to apply in other applications such as photovoltaic (PV) power plants, machine drives, or battery charging systems,” Dr. Nguyen revealed.

Clean energy is a major focus of efforts to meet the UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050 goals, which include increasing the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25% to 50% by 2050 and reducing the carbon footprint of power generation by 70%.

To fully capitalize on the potential of the project’s findings, Dr. Nguyen will be

exploring modifications and improvements to the novel topology for both high voltage and low voltage applications.

Title of published paper

A hybrid HVDC converter based on M2C and diode rectifiers without DC capacitors for offshore wind farm integration

Published in

International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems

Journal metrics

Impact Factor: 4.63, Q1, H-index: 130, Scientific Journal Ranking (SJR): 1.01

Project funded by Unfunded

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OPTIMIZING PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL CLEANING FOR MAXIMUM GAINS Dust accumulation is a significant issue for photovoltaic farms, particularly in the Gulf region. An American University of Sharjah project leverages stochastic models to determine the ideal dust cleaning schedule to ensure it does not interfere with the farms’ operational efficiency.

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AMONG THE VARIOUS TYPES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY BEING EXPLORED TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS AND IMPROVE OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY, SOLAR ENERGY IS PERHAPS THE MOST WELLDEVELOPED, AFFORDABLE, AND PREVALENT

Among the various types of renewable energy being explored to reduce carbon emissions and improve overall sustainability, solar energy is perhaps the most well-developed, affordable, and prevalent. Within the solar energy domain, photovoltaic (PV) panels are the cheapest and most established technology.

However, PV panels face many operational challenges, the most significant of which is the accumulation of dust on their surfaces.

PV panels are made up of layers of selected materials that enable sunlight to pass through and interact with photoelectric effect materials, like silicon, which absorb photons from sunlight and release electrons. These electrons are then captured to produce an electrical current that can serve as an energy supply.

When a PV panel is covered in dust, two problems occur: the dust blocks some of the sunlight from being captured, and it can also cause heat to accumulate. Both of these issues result in reduced operational efficiency for the PV panel. It has been estimated that in desert climates like that of the UAE, dust accumulation reduces the overall power output of PVs by nearly 40% over a year.

To mitigate the dust accumulation problem, PV panels must be cleaned regularly. However, the rate at which dust accumulates varies greatly depending on the temperature, wind speed, humidity, panel tilt angle, and other factors.

Additionally, if the panels are cleaned too often, it will be a waste of resources like water and costly cleaning solution, and if they aren’t cleaned often enough, the PV plant will not generate the required energy.

An American University of Sharjah (AUS) research project has proposed an optimal scheduling approach for cleaning PV panels that maximizes profit and reduces downtime. The research team was composed of AUS Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Mostafa Shaaban, AUS Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Mahmoud H. Ismail, and AUS graduate

student Armaghan Cheema. They recently published a paper on their work in the reputed journal Applied Energy.

“Previous research has attempted to model PV performance and dust accumulation using numerous techniques and assumptions. For instance, some have begun with the estimated PV values according to the daily solar irradiance and then estimated dust accumulation based on the difference. Many such models look at dust as a constant factor, but this is incorrect, as dust accumulation varies throughout the day and season. We wanted to build a model that considered all the variables that impact dust accumulation to provide a more accurate prediction of how much dust accumulates on PV panels in a specific setting, and use that accurate prediction to guide cleaning schedules,” explained Dr. Shaaban.

To enable PV plant managers to better understand their panels’ dust accumulation rates and determine the ideal cleaning schedules, the AUS team sought to leverage a Markov chain stochastic model.

“A Markov model is a mathematical tool that assumes a future state depends only on the current state, not on the states that occurred before it. This tool is used

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“WE WANTED TO BUILD A MODEL THAT CONSIDERED ALL THE VARIABLES THAT IMPACT DUST ACCUMULATION TO PROVIDE A MORE ACCURATE PREDICTION OF HOW MUCH DUST ACCUMULATES ON PV PANELS IN A SPECIFIC SETTING, AND USE THAT ACCURATE PREDICTION TO GUIDE CLEANING SCHEDULES.” Dr. Mostafa Shaaban Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah

in many situations across our daily lives, for example, designing queuing systems for banks, call centers, and the like,” Dr. Ismail explained.

The first major step in the project was acquiring and processing the necessary data. The team first gathered PV power measurement and climate data from Arizona City in the United States, as such data from the UAE was not available. The PV measurements were made from a

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solar panel with a fixed tilt angle of 30 degrees, while the climate data included ambient temperature, solar irradiance, dust accumulation, and rate of dust accumulation, resulting in four data sets.

The data sets were then categorized according to the season, enabling the model to account for seasonal variations in each data set. The seasonal data sets were then further categorized into groups based on the dust level in the first hour of the day, assuming that the dust level would not change for the rest of the day.

The second major step was developing the Markov chain model to model the behavior of numerous weather factors and their impact on dust accumulation to analyze the performance of a PV panel. The third step comprised the generation of a cumulative distribution function, which is a method to describe the distribution of any random variable that enables virtual scenario generation.

Finally, the fourth step was to use the model to develop virtual scenarios

showing dust accumulation levels across an entire year.

At the end of this four-stage development process, the model was able to produce virtually generated scenarios that can be used by PV plant developers and operators to decide on the optimal size of their PV system and cleaning frequency for each season.

To ascertain the impact of the model, the research team then used it to develop a case study for a 100MW plant.

They simulated five different cleaning frequencies – daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and never – and two cleaning methods – automated and manual – to find out which combination of frequency and method resulted in the plant’s greatest operational efficiency and profitability.

For the scenario in which the plant followed a fixed PV cleaning schedule, weekly cleaning was found to be the best, resulting in a 26.2% increase in net profit compared to the no cleaning scenario. For the scenario in which PV cleaning can be varied seasonally, the optimum cleaning frequencies were found to be weekly in spring, daily in the summer and autumn, and weekly in the winter. This schedule would increase the plant’s profit by 27.3% compared to the no cleaning scenario.

The research team also provided estimates based on the specific cost of electricity per megawatt hour (MWh), following a basic pattern of increasing cleaning frequency as cost increased until reaching a daily cleaning schedule at $160 per MWh. The net profit increase varied from 23.90% to 36.2% for $40 to $160 per MWh, respectively. The team also determined that automated cleaning was more economical overall than manual cleaning.

Explaining the potential impact of the team’s dynamic model, Dr. Shaaban said it can help PV farm operators better plan their energy output and select cleaning schedules that optimize

profits. Dubai-based solar system design and installation firm Rentech Systems LLC, which supported the project with equipment, will reportedly be the first company to adopt this model and use it to schedule cleaning events.

The next step of the project will be to incorporate more variables into the model, like wind speed and humidity.

“We hope our project will help contribute to the development and incorporation of clean and efficient power systems across the UAE, region, and beyond. We also want to provide data and guidance to enhance power systems and the renewable generation portfolio in the UAE. We want to build tools to help maintain renewable energy sources, save energy, and hence improve sustainability,” Dr. Shaaban added.

The UAE Energy Strategy 2050 has a goal of increasing the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25% to 50% by 2050 and reducing the carbon footprint of power generation by 70%.

Title of published paper

A novel stochastic dynamic modeling for photovoltaic systems considering dust and cleaning

Published in Applied Energy

Journal metrics

Impact Factor: 9.746, Q1, H-index: 212, Scientific Journal Ranking (SJR): 3.04

Project funded by

American University of Sharjah

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DR. AHMED AL-DURRA

RENEWABLE ENERGY TO PREPARE FOR THE UAE’S LAST OIL BARREL T he UAE has a unique oppor tunity to adv ance r enewable ener gy (RE) r esearch and become a pioneering mar ket leader, ideally positioned for its post-oil economy.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Durra Khalifa University Scopus H-index: 29 ORCID ID

This ambition has motivated Dr. Ahmed AlDurra, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Khalifa University (KU), to become an awardwinning researcher, and one of the UAE’s most prolific scholars. He has advanced research in applications of control and estimation theory on power systems stability, micro/smart grids, renewable energy (RE) systems and integration, and process control.

Dr. Al-Durra grew up in a tiny city near Al Ain. His parents taught him and his nine siblings to work hard and aim high to serve the nation, which led Al-Durra to become a dedicated student.

“When I was in 7th grade, I realized I needed to be challenged at school, so I asked my parents to send me to Al Ain to attend a better school. I had to catch a ride with my neighbor in the morning, and in the afternoon I would take a taxi to the highway, and then walk the remaining two kilometers home. I did this from grade 8 to 12. You may think this was too hard for a young boy, but I don’t regret it. That experience shaped me and helped make me who I am,” he said.

By the time Dr. Al-Durra graduated from high school, he was among the country’s top students and was selected by the UAE Presidential Office for its Distinguished Student Scholarship to study abroad. With a goal of studying electrical engineering, Dr. Al-Durra enrolled in Ohio State University (OSU), which had the United States’ 17th top ranked electrical engineering program.

“One freezing Ohio morning, I opened my door to find a courier holding a laptop, sent as a gift from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan [Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces] in recognition of my academic performance.

I was honored by the gift, which I’ve kept operational since then, and promised to myself to achieve the highest targets to place my country among the top scientific nations,” he recalled.

After receiving his BSc Summa Cum Laude, Dr. Al-Durra stayed at OSU for the remainder of his studies, pursuing postgraduate studies in electrical engineering through a scholarship from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Throughout his studies, Dr. Al-Durra focused his work on control systems and their applications, which are systems that manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices using control loops.

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I also believe that we should avoid wasting fossil fuels for electricity production and automobiles, as both have RE alternatives. We should instead utilize fossil fuels in a more valuable way, for critical applications like petrochemicals and aviation, where we don’t yet have suitable alternatives.

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“The beauty of my field — control systems — is that it provides the researcher with the knowledge and advance tools to deal with any system regardless of its discipline.

A control system researcher only needs to understand the fundamentals and limitations of the new system in order to blend with the experts of the new discipline and start innovating new control and/or estimation techniques,” he said.

It was through this specialization that Dr. Al-Durra became involved with RE technologies. During his master’s degree studies, Dr. Al-Durra began working on hydrogen fuel cells, recognizing the importance of electrical engineering to the development of RE technologies and their integration. Hydrogen is a type of gas that is viewed as a promising, albeit underexploited, source of renewable energy.

In a hydrogen fuel cell, the fuel source is hydrogen gas, which reacts with oxygen across an electrochemical cell to produce electricity, water, and some heat.

“Back then hydrogen fuel cells were a new hot topic, with a hope that hydrogen could be harvested to provide renewable and zero emissions energy for vehicles and other applications. One project at the OSU Center for Automotive Research was trying to achieve good control algorithms to deal with fuel cell systems, and they needed an electrical engineer with a background in control system theory, so I joined and became a supervisor,” Dr. Al-Durra said.

Explaining why he viewed RE to be so important, Dr. Al-Durra explained, “RE is the new direction for energy, which is partly why the UAE has focused on becoming a producer of RE technologies

for the domestic and global market.

I also believe that we should avoid wasting fossil fuels for electricity production and automobiles, as both have RE alternatives. We should instead utilize fossil fuels in a more valuable way, for critical applications like petrochemicals and aviation, where we don’t yet have suitable alternatives. We also need RE to delay oil depletion. If we avoid wasting fossil fuel resources for automobiles and electrification, we can buy the necessary time to develop alternatives for aviation and petrochemicals.”

Over the period of Dr. Al-Durra’s postgraduate studies, RE became even more significant for the UAE. In 2009, the Abu Dhabi Government announced a commitment to achieving 7% of the emirate’s total power generation capacity from RE sources. Today the entire country is working towards the UAE Energy

Strategy 2050 target of 50% clean energy in the total energy mix.

In 2010, Dr. Al-Durra returned to the UAE to become an assistant professor at the Petroleum Institute (PI), which at the time was a standalone engineering university linked to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and today is a KU research institute.

“When I started at PI, I set a new goal for myself, which was to be the first Emirati professor of electrical engineering in the UAE. I took that target and worked hard to achieve it,” Dr. Al-Durra shared.

Over the course of the next ten years, Dr. Al-Durra pursued that goal with a singleminded purpose. Along the way he has earned many commendations and titles, notable among them was the Sheikh Rashid Award for Academic Excellence, the UAE Pioneers Award, membership to Mohammed Bin Rashid Academy of Scientists, and the

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Khalifa Award for Education - Distinguished University Professor in Scientific Research.

Dr. Al-Durra also became an editor for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Transactions on Sustainable Energy and “Power Engineering Letters,” and an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Renewable Power Generation, and Frontiers in Energy Research.

In 2017, Dr. Al-Durra published one of his more widely cited papers titled “Online energy management strategy of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles based on data fusion approach” in the Journal of Power Sources, which has had 112 citations according to SciVal.

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The paper deals with the energy management strategy of a fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle (FCHEV), which relates to the efficiency and performance of the vehicle’s energy storage. It proposed an energy management strategy for three styles of driving – highway, suburban, and city – based on a combination of the parameters from optimized fuzzy logic controllers.

“We validated the proposed method utilizing our FCHEV-hardware-in-the-loop experimental setup in the Energy Systems Control & Optimization (ESCO) Research Lab that I established, and demonstrated that the proposed method can provide the fuel cell power system a relatively stable operation power range to preserve its lifetime, achieve higher efficiency of the

“WE VALIDATED THE PROPOSED METHOD UTILIZING OUR FCHEV-HARDWARE-IN-THE-LOOP EXPERIMENTAL SETUP... AND DEMONSTRATED THAT THE PROPOSED METHOD CAN PROVIDE THE FUEL CELL POWER SYSTEM A RELATIVELY STABLE OPERATION POWER RANGE TO PRESERVE ITS LIFETIME, ACHIEVE HIGHER EFFICIENCY OF THE FUEL CELL SYSTEM, AND THUS SAVING HYDROGEN CONSUMPTION.” Dr. Ahmed Al-Durra Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Khalifa University

fuel cell system, and thus saving hydrogen consumption,” Dr. Al-Durra said.

The year 2020 was one of great achievement for Dr. Al-Durra. He was promoted to full professor, included in Stanford University’s list of the world’s top 2% scientists, and won the KU College of Engineering Faculty Research Excellence Award.

More recently Dr. Al-Durra was ranked number 1 by SciVal in the UAE’s top 500 authors by scholarly output over the period of 2011 to 2020, an achievement he attributes to his focus on securing the critical elements and enabling structures necessary for quality research.

“I have been focused on developing strong research teams and establishing state-of-the-art research facilities that can raise the status of the university and country while facilitating research that can be published in top-tier journals. That is why I established the ESCO lab and am leading the Industry Engagement Theme for Advanced Power & Energy Center. This work has enabled me to contribute to the publication of over 250 articles in high quality publications,” he shared.

Having achieved so much in such a relatively short period of time, Dr. Al-Durra

has set himself another ambitious target.

“I spent 10 years to achieve my goal of becoming the first Emirati professor of electrical engineering. Now, my next milestone is to become the first UAE National IEEE Fellow. This is a prestigious level of membership of the IEEE and is given to only one out of 1000 members.

So far, no Emirati has yet achieved this rank, so that is my next goal,” he revealed.

He is also continuing his work to support the UAE’s RE integration goals, with research focused on micro/smart grids, integration of renewable energy systems and storage devices, and transportation electrification.

“To paraphrase His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan ‘if we do the right investment today, we will celebrate the moment we load our last barrel of oil.’ To prepare for that moment, one of the challenges is to come up with solutions for RE integration to the current grid and how to plan and use energy storage schemes optimally. We can capture solar energy in the day, but we also must store some for use at night and during poor weather conditions,” Dr. Al-Durra said.

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DR. ABDUL GHANI OLABI

ADAPTING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TO ACHIEVE GREATER SUSTAINABILITY For the curious pr oblem-solver, ther e can be no better field of study than mec hanical engineering (ME) as it can be applied to so many sector s and issues.

Dr. Abdul Ghani Olabi University of Sharjah Scopus H-index: 64 ORCID ID

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That is what Dr. Abdul Ghani Olabi, Professor of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering and Director of the Sustainable Energy and Power Systems Research Center at the University of Sharjah (UoS), believes and embodies.

His experience in ME has enabled him to contribute innovative solutions to address humanity’s most pressing needs – sustainability and renewable energy (RE) – through cutting edge research and innovation in fuel cells, energy storage, carbon capture, and biogas production.

Recalling his earliest introduction to ME, Dr. Olabi said, “When I was a child in Damascus, my father had a car parts shop, and my grandfather had factories. I would come home from school and spend time with them, fascinated by their mechanical products and processes. When I was older, our school used to take us on a fieldtrip each semester to see an industry, like machining. There, I saw how important industrial devices were to society, and found them complex but interesting. That is why I decided I would also work in the field that produced and maintained those devices – mechanical engineering.”

To Dr. Olabi, ME represented an understanding of the devices and technologies that make the world run, and an opportunity to contribute to innovation that could advance human progress.

“Mechanical engineering is the mother of engineering, in the same way that physics is the mother of science. Physics provides all the laws that govern our world, and ME translates those laws into engineering.

When you study ME, you gain a foundational training that you can apply to so many industries and problems. You can build on your ME foundation to contribute to nearly any sector, as I have done with sustainability and renewable energy” Dr. Olabi shared.

In 1979, Dr. Olabi enrolled in the Damas University in Syria to study ME, gaining his bachelor’s degree in 1984. After working in education for a few years, he joined the Italian automobile manufacturer, Fiat, where he worked as a mechanical engineer at their research center in Orbassano, Italy.

It was there that Dr. Olabi discovered his passion for RE fuel systems and storage, which drives him to this day.

“At Fiat I was working in design and modelling and came to be involved in Fiat’s car fueling system development for hydrogen and other alternative fuel systems. This was something that really appealed to me, though at the time we did not understand climate change like we do now. Even then I could see the value in

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developing a car that ran on alternative RE fuel,” he recalled.

After working at Fiat for four years, Dr. Olabi decided to pursue more advanced studies. He enrolled in Dublin City University in Ireland, gaining his Master’s in mechanical engineering in 1990, followed by a PhD. Upon graduation with his doctorate in 1993, Dr. Olabi was hired by Dublin City University as a member of the ME faculty, where he remained from 2002 to 2013.

Soon after joining, he established the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection (SEEP) Conference to provide researchers and practitioners with a forum to share their recent developments on the topic.

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Explaining the impetus behind establishing the conference, Dr. Olabi said, “Engineers can move from one sector to another, especially when they see a problem they feel strongly about. I believe in the importance of sustainability through the advancement of sustainable or renewable energy, so I focused my ME research on it, and I established SEEP because I felt we needed to think about the environment, and a major way to protect the environment is to develop and use RE.” There have since been 13 conferences of SEEP. During his time at Dublin City University, Dr. Olabi began to make great strides in his hydrogen fuel cell research. In 2012, he filed his first patent for an innovative use of

“AS ENGINEERS, WHEN WE WANT TO INNOVATE, WE LOOK AT EVERY COMPONENT WITHIN A DEVICE. WE TRY TO SEE WHERE WE CAN MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EXISTING DESIGN OR EVEN SUGGEST NEW DESIGNS AND COMPONENTS.” Dr. Abdul Ghani Olabi Director of the Sustainable Energy and Power Systems Research Center and Professor of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering at University of Sharjah

a foam membrane in a hydrogen fuel cell to reduce cost and improve efficiency.

Fuel cells are devices that use chemical energy to produce electricity. In hydrogen fuel cells, the cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen, which are passed through a specialized membrane to extract an electron from hydrogen, which produces electricity. While some fuel cells are built to rely on provided hydrogen, Dr. Olabi has been working on fuel cells that produce their own hydrogen from renewable energy.

This requires the use of an electrolyzer device, which uses electricity to break down hydrogen dioxide into its component elements of oxygen and hydrogen. The low temperature electrolyzer devices typically used in automobiles – the proton exchange membrane – are very costly and not very fuel efficient. Dr. Olabi and his collaborators sought to remedy these shortcomings by redesigning one of the principal components of the electrolyzer, the flow plate, which separates each cell in the electrolyzer stack.

Dr. Olabi shared, “The chemical reaction in a fuel cell transforms oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity and also produces water, but that water reduces the energy efficiency of the cell. To reduce that effect, we decided to replace the expensive flow

plate with a special foam material that could produce the same function while removing the water. We did modelling, simulation, and experimental testing on our design, and found that it improved energy efficiency by 20-25%, allowing our device to be much cheaper than the conventional ones.” By 2016 the research team had been awarded patent protection by European, British, American, and international patenting offices for their innovation.

“As engineers, when we want to innovate, we look at every component within a device. We try to see where we can make improvements to the existing design or even suggest new designs and components. That is why we are continuing work on improving the hydrogen fuel cell and have filed three further patents that can achieve 10-15% further efficiency,” he said.

In 2013 Dr. Olabi joined the University of the West of Scotland as a professor and founding head of its Institute of Engineering and Energy Technologies. During that time, he expanded his work in biogas production and began working in solar and energy storage systems, which he continues to explore today.

In 2018 he published a paper titled “Pre-treatment methods for production of biofuel from microalgae biomass” in the journal Renewable and Sustainable

PROFILES

Energy Reviews, which has 43 citations on SciVal. The paper deals with a mechanical pretreatment method proposed by Dr. Olabi and his collaborators to improve the production of biogas from algae.

In biogas production, the algae-based biomaterial is exposed to a bacteria sludge in a low-oxygen environment, where the bacteria consume the biomaterial to produce biogas. That biogas is then collected and used like any natural gas to produce electricity.

“We examined the biogas production process and its components and realized that algae are very fibrous, and those fibers need to be broken down so the bacteria can consume more material and produce more biogas. In response to this, we designed

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a new mechanical treatment for biomass material that breaks down the fiber before we add the sludge to generate the biomass, to ensure more of it can be consumed by the bacteria. This has increased the biogas yield by 20-25%,” Dr. Olabi shared.

In 2018, Dr. Olabi became Professor and Department Head of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering at UoS and Visiting Professor at Aston University.

Since then, Dr. Olabi has been working to capitalize his focus on sustainable energy and the environment and the UAE’s focus on RE and sustainability.

Over the past 15 years, the UAE has been ramping up its development and integration of RE, with increasingly ambitious RE integration targets. UAE

While some fuel cells are built to rely on provided hydrogen, Dr. Olabi has been working on fuel cells that produce their own hydrogen from renewable energy.

Energy Strategy 2050, launched earlier this year, has a goal of increasing the contribution of clean energy in the country’s total energy mix from 25% to 50% by 2050 and reducing the power generation carbon footprint by 70%.

“When I moved to the UAE, I was amazed to see the educational programs, research, and major projects focused on sustainability and RE. It has been really inspiring to work in a country that has such a strong focus on RE and sustainability,” Dr. Olabi said.

Since joining UoS, Dr. Olabi has established the Industrial Program Advisor Committee to explore research collaboration with UAE government, industry and leading international universities. In September, Dr. Olabi became director of the Sustainable Energy and Power Systems Research Center, which includes five research groups that are focused on RE, energy storage

systems, smart grids, biomass, and nuclear energy. His scientific contributions were recently acknowledged by the Stanford University list of the top 2% of scientists, in which he was ranked first at UoS and among the top in the UAE. “My plan is to establish an industrial advisory board for the center that brings together government and the private sector, so that those working in RE and power systems can support, advise, and collaborate. This will enable us to establish strong partnerships between government, academia, and industry, to do something for the benefit of our research center, our university, the wider UAE, and all” Dr. Olabi shared.

With his foundation in adaptable ME, passion for RE and environmental protection, and track record for innovation, Dr. Olabi is sure to achieve the sustainable impact he so desires.

CAPSTONE PROGRAM

REDUCING PLASTIC WASTE WITH INNOVATIVE PLASTIC RECYCLING SYSTEM A team of students from Al Rashidiya Girls’ School has proposed a way to improve the efficiency of solar panels using a superhydrophobic chemical coating.

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IN RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM POSED BY PLASTIC WASTE, ALTENEIJI AND DEHOOEI SOUGHT TO INCREASE RECYCLING IN THE UAE BY DESIGNING A SYSTEM THAT INCENTIVIZES THE COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF PLASTIC FOR REUSE

Hessa Alteneiji

PROJECT TITLE

Recycling Plastic Bottles Using the “Happy and Smart Machine”

TEAM MEMBERS

Hessa Alteneiji and Salama Dehooei

SCHOOL

Al Rashidiya Girls’ School

MENTORS

Dr. Abdulla Ismail, RIT Professor of Electrical Engineering and Dr. Ghalib Kahwaji, RIT Professor of Mechanical Engineering

SCHOOL INSTRUCTORS Engineer Nada Hawari and Engineer Akash Rajan

Hessa Alteneiji and Salama Dehooei, grade 12 students from Al Rashidiya Girls’ School, have spent two years designing a plastic waste collection and processing machine and app to reduce CO2 emissions and raise awareness about the importance of cutting down on plastic waste.

Their “Happy and Smart Machine” project, part of the pilot Capstone Program led by the Ministry of Education, supports the UAE Vision 2021 goal of diverting 75% of municipal solid waste away from landfills.

Plastic waste is a global environmental problem. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, only around 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled, with around 12% being burned and the remaining 79% collecting in landfills, dumps, or the natural environment.

These are worrying figures, as it can take up to 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down. Without prevalent recycling, a good amount of plastic ends up in the oceans, where it contributes to the deaths of millions of marine animals. Humans are also affected by plastic waste, as we end up ingesting or inhaling large amounts of

microplastic particles, which can contribute to cancer and disrupt hormonal systems.

In response to the problem posed by plastic waste, Alteneiji and Dehooei sought to increase recycling in the UAE by designing a system that incentivizes the collection and processing of plastic for reuse. The system has two major parts: a plastic waste collection and processing machine and a mobile app.

The machine’s key components include motor-powered blades that shred plastic bottles into granules, mechanical screening of the granules by size, collection and measurement of the granules, and a computer application that calculates the amount of CO2 emissions that are saved by reusing the collected plastic granules.

The smartphone app enables users to calculate and track the CO2 emissions they save from the plastic they recycle. It also awards points according to those numbers, with the highest point earners receiving weekly or monthly achievement medals.

Explaining what inspired them to develop the idea, Alteneiji and Dehooei both pointed out the large number of used disposable

CAPSTONE PROGRAM

EXPLAINING WHAT INSPIRED THEM TO DEVELOP THE IDEA, ALTENEIJI AND DEHOOEI BOTH POINTED OUT THE LARGE NUMBER OF USED DISPOSABLE WATER BOTTLES THEY WOULD SEE SCATTERED AROUND SCHOOL AT THE END OF THE DAY

water bottles they would see scattered around school at the end of the day.

Looking back on their experience with the Capstone Program, Dehooei said, “During this two-year research project, we were able to conduct extensive background research on the main topic that includes a problem affecting society. We managed to harness fieldwork knowledge and experience to implement a proper solution for the problem.” Alteneiji added, “The most important thing I learned from the Capstone Project is that finding the solution to any problem requires consistent research in order to be applied in real life.”

When asked how the project impacted their view of science, the team members had different insights. Alteneiji said, “The project gave me a clear view of the basic steps for scientific research and has broadened my general knowledge regarding different topics. Before, I thought scientific research was purely based on theory, but I learned it’s more than that, which I found interesting.”

Dehooei, on the other hand, learned the importance of conducting research you are passionate about. “We would not have achieved the desired goals if the project did not seek to solve a problem that caught our attention,” she said.

Both students credited the Capstone Program’s intense and iterative design process with enhancing their appreciation of the depth of academic research. “When I had to design my own project idea using

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the CAD software Fusion 360, I realized that scientific research is more than just looking for a problem, brainstorming, proposing a solution, and stopping there,” Alteneiji said. Dehooei added, “At the beginning of the project I had an abstract idea about scientific research, but in reality, it turned out to be a detailed and delicate process requiring us to redo multiple investigation steps to stay on the right track.”

Their experience with the Capstone Program contributed to the girls’ wish to pursue scientific studies in university.

Alteneiji shared, “I plan on studying industrial engineering. When I complete my studies, I want to work in a field where I can be a part of creating good quality products, reducing product costs for improved future outcomes.”

“I wish to pursue a demanding scientific career that would further and serve a bright future for the UAE. However, I have not yet decided between studying engineering or going to medical school,” Dehooei said.

The Ministry of Education’s Capstone Program aims to promote creativity and innovation, provide a first-rate education for Emirati school students, and develop their skills in academic research from an early age. The goal is to produce a generation of young Emirati researchers who will be an asset to the country’s higher education sector and in the fields targeted by UAE Vision 2021 and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy.

E M I R AT E S YO U N G S C I E N T I S T S

Q&A WITH EMIRATES YOUNG SCIENTIST ABDULLA KHALIL SULTAN The young student reveals the life-and-death concerns that inspired his project and what motivated him to harness virtual reality technology for the safety of others.

NAME ABDULLA KHALIL SULTAN

AGE 12

SCHOOL AL-HESSN BOYS’ SCHOOL FOR BASIC EDUCATION

CATEGORY INTERMEDIATE CATEGORY, GRADES 5-8

PRIZE AED 10,000

PROJECT TITLE HELP VIRTUAL REALITY SMARTPHONE APPLICATION

PROJECT BRIEF THE HELP VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) APPLICATION IS A SMARTPHONE APP THAT USES VR TECHNOLOGY TO FACILITATE FIRST AID FOR AN INJURED PERSON BY PROVIDING BASIC FIRST AID INSTRUCTIONS TO USERS THROUGH THEIR SMARTPHONES.

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Last year, nearly 2,500 student science projects from 427 UAE public and private schools competed to receive one of 27 prizes honoring scientific merit. Ahead of the next Emirates Young Scientist Competition, likely to take place this fall, we spoke with senior category winner Meera Jasim to shed some light on the hopes and ambitions of the UAE’s future scientists and innovators.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EMIRATES YOUNG SCIENTIST COMPETITION IN 2020?

I love a challenge and the opportunity to gain knowledge by observing the experiences of others.

HOW DID YOU SELECT YOUR EMIRATES YOUNG SCIENTIST PROJECT, AND WHAT WAS YOUR PROJECT ABOUT?

A person may suddenly face difficult situations without any warning, with only a few minutes to save someone’s life or avoid complications such as fainting or amputation. Since the preservation of human life is a duty and joint responsibility of both individuals and society, providing help is a necessary humanitarian act.

The HELP VR app provides users with information on how to help themselves or another injured person in an emergency before paramedics arrive.

WHAT DID YOU GAIN OR LEARN FROM YOUR EMIRATES YOUNG SCIENTIST COMPETITION EXPERIENCE?

I learned that nothing is impossible and that with self-confidence and diligence we can

achieve anything we want. I benefited from the experience of my peers participating in the competition and their way of thinking, which encouraged me to participate in more competitions.

WHAT EXCITES OR INTERESTS YOU ABOUT SCIENCE?

What interests me most about science is that it does not end. When a person thinks that he or she has reached the end of science, it turns out that it is just a door to millions of new doors.

WHAT ROLE DO YOU HOPE SCIENCE/ RESEARCH WILL PLAY IN YOUR FUTURE LIFE?

Science and research will be a main part of my life, which I look forward to engaging in with passion and enthusiasm.

HOW DO YOU HOPE SCIENCE/ RESEARCH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE UAE?

I hope that it will contribute to further development, make people’s lives easier, and lead to the development of thought, which in turn leads to the development of a new way of life.

IF YOU WERE A SCIENTIST, WHAT RESEARCH QUESTION WOULD YOU WORK TO ANSWER?

I want to work in genetics, processing and improving information in terms of health and intelligence.

HOW DID YOUR EMIRATES YOUNG SCIENTIST EXPERIENCE IMPACT OR INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION ABOUT WHAT TO STUDY IN COLLEGE/ UNIVERSITY?

I would like to study something rare and needed by our country. I hope that we will have the opportunity to study at university from an earlier age, so that we can shorten the time it takes to complete our studies, and take advantage of free time, especially in the summer. I hope to create a way for young students to enter the world of university studies in one way or another.

EVENTS CALENDAR

EVENTS CALENDAR

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ABU DHABI SUSTAINABILITY WEEK (ADSW)

WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT (WFES) 2022

WHEN 15-19 January 2022

WHEN 17-19 January 2022

WHERE Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center

WHERE Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center

ORGANIZER Masdar

ORGANIZER Masdar

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) is a collection of events, tailored for different global audiences and the spectrum of trends shaping the world’s sustainability agenda. ADSW will bring the global community together across a mixture of virtual and in person events.

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is the leading international event accelerating sustainability and the global transition to clean energy. It is an exhibition, technology showcase, investment incubator, and business forum all rolled into one event. The summit convenes leaders, innovators, and global thinkers to share ideas that are creating the blueprints for a sustainable future.

OASIS SOLAR CAR CHALLENGE WHEN 3-11 February 2022

NYUAD HACKATHON FOR SOCIAL GOOD IN THE ARAB WORLD: FOCUSING ON QUANTUM COMPUTING (QC) WORKSHOP

WHERE Yas Marina Circuit

WHEN 31 March - 2 April 2022

ORGANIZER Al Nowais Group

WHERE New York University Abu Dhabi

The 2022 Oasis Solar Car Challenge requires teams to pilot their solar-powered vehicles around 2,500 km of Abu Dhabi public roads over six days. The solar car teams are linked to a UAE institution, where selected students will be embedded in their linked solar team for the preparation and conduct phases of the Oasis Solar Challenge.

ORGANIZER New York University Abu Dhabi

GLOBAL SUMMIT ON APPLIED SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (GSASET2022) WHEN 17-19 March 2022

The 10th annual New York University Abu Dhabi Hackathon for Social Good will focus on one of the most promising technologies of our time, quantum computing (QC).

Participants will learn about QC and use quantum-based technologies while developing their own solutions and working in cross-disciplinary and diverse global teams. For more information or an invitation email contact nyuad.hackathon@nyu.edu.

WHERE Crowne Plaza Dubai - Deira

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AID AND DEVELOPMENT (DIHAD) HACKATHON 2022

ORGANIZER The Scientistt

WHEN 14-16 March 2022

The Global Summit on Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (GSASET2022) seeks to bring together multi-disciplinary scientists and engineers from all over the world to present and exchange breakthrough ideas relating to applied science, engineering, and technology domains.

All scientists, academicians, young researchers, business delegates, and students are invited to attend.

WHERE Dubai World Trade Center ORGANIZER INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions The Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHAD) Hackathon has been designed to create innovative ideas and solutions for humanitarian aid.

International organizations, incubators, tech companies, startups, academics, and students are invited to come together to generate ground-breaking ideas, build prototypes, and launch new solutions that could help save people and countries affected by crises, coronavirus, and natural calamities.

December 2021 Published on behalf of the UAE Ministry of Education by the Department of Science, Technology, and Research.

The Innovation@UAE Magazine is free of charge.

Disclaimer: Online project information and links published in the current issue of the Innovation@UAE Magazine are correct when the publication goes to press. The UAE Ministry of Education cannot be held responsible for information which is out of date or websites that are no longer live. Neither the UAE Ministry of Education nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this publication, or for any errors that may remain in the texts, despite the care taken in preparing them. The technologies presented in this magazine may be covered by intellectual property rights.

The content contained within Innovation@UAE Magazine is by no means an exhaustive listing of all research taking place in the UAE’s accredited higher education institutes. Each issue of the magazine merely seeks to present some selected news and features relating to research and researchers based on proposals from their host institutes. The editorial team responsible for Innovation@UAE Magazine reserves the right to select ideas for news, features, profiles, and calendar items according to the topic timeliness, the availability of information, the cooperativeness of the involved researchers, and the available time and resources.

If you would like to suggest a news story, research feature, researcher profile, or calendar item for the next issue, please contact InnovUAEmagazine@moe.gov.ae, and include in the email subject headline “Innovation@UAE Magazine suggestion.”

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