Dr. Mireille Elhajj CEO and Founder, Astraterra, Visiting Associate Professor, Imperial College London, UK
Leadership Spotlight
Dr. Angie Brooks-Wilson, Dean of Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Academic Perspectives
Dr. Rahaf Ajaj, Abu Dhabi University, UAE
Volume 4
May 2025
Regional Focus
Dr. Fares Howari, Dean, College of Humanities and Science, Ajman University, UAE
Student Voice
Karam Abuodeh, University of Birmingham Dubai, UAE
future-shaping ways. As this issue’s Student Voice writer, Karam Abuodeh from the University of Birmingham Dubai, so brilliantly puts it, “The solutions we seek must be as interconnected as the challenges themselves.” This issue shines a light on just such interconnected thinking, inviting reflections from those whose work exemplifies the collaborative, forward-looking spirit environmental research now demands.
Commencing the issue, we are thrilled to feature Dr. Mireille Elhajj, CEO and Founder of the UK-based company, Astraterra, and Visiting Associate Professor and Industrial Advisory Board Member of Imperial College London. As a thriving industry professional alongside her academic work, Dr. Elhajj writes in our Industry perspectives section about remote sensing and Earth Observation (EO), which as she writes, “have emerged as important tools to address environmental and biodiversity change, monitor and anticipate natural disasters and evaluate the readiness of existing infrastructure.” In particular, Dr. Elhajj draws attention to the need for international collaboration in democratizing access to these tools, so that countries in the Global South can also make use of their life-saving capabilities.
This issue’s distinguished Leadership Spotlight interview highlights the work and profile of Professor Angie Brooks-Wilson, Dean of Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Canada, and Distinguished Scientist at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, also in Canada. We spoke with her about the ways that SFU champions environmental and sustainability solutions through educational programing, as well as a number of other special projects. Dr. Brooks-Wilson highlighted the role that cross-disciplinary collaboration plays in making these projects a success, involving participants throughout the university. We were also lucky enough to speak with her about her own research, in particular her lab’s focus on the healthy aging of “Super Seniors” people who are 85-years-old or older, and have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, major pulmonary disease or dementia.
Writing in our Academic Perspectives section is the highly talented Dr. Rahaf Ajaj, who is Chair of the Department of Environmental Health & Safety in the College of Health Sciences at Abu Dhabi University, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Her article underscores the critical importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in tackling today’s environmental challenges. It highlights how issues like
pollution, climate change and sustainability are not purely scientific, but deeply interconnected with health, behavior, policy, technology and equity. From using machine learning to map soil radiation, to designing smart, human-centric cities and addressing improper drug disposal and indoor air quality, each example illustrates the need for integrated, cross-disciplinary solutions. The piece makes a compelling case that effective environmental action must bridge sectors, disciplines and communities—grounded in both innovation and inclusion.
In our Regional Focus section, we’re honored to feature the insights of Dr. Fares Howari, Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences at Ajman University, UAE. Acting as a wonderful case study for the issues raised by Dr. Elhajj, Dr. Fares spotlights how EO technologies, enhanced by AI and interdisciplinary collaboration, are transforming sustainable development across the MENA region. From detecting early signs of soil salinization to monitoring groundwater and vegetation dynamics, EO offers vital, high-resolution insights into the environmental challenges of arid and semi-arid zones. These tools enable policymakers to move from crisis response to proactive adaptation, with AI accelerating early-warning capabilities. By integrating science, technology and local knowledge, the MENA region is leveraging EO not just for data—but for decisive, community-driven action.
Closing the issue in our Student Voice section, Karam Abuodeh, a Computer Science and Software Engineering student at the University of Birmingham Dubai, UAE, reflects on how cross-sector collaboration is essential to tackling the climate crisis. Drawing on experiences from international climate simulations, COP28 and internships in tech and fintech, Karam emphasizes that sustainable progress depends on uniting technology, policy, education and social justice. Whether simulating global negotiations or organizing youth-led MUN conferences, he argues that empowering diverse voices—especially youth—is key to creating resilient, inclusive systems. His article is a call to action for integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to climate leadership.
These brief summaries simply cannot do justice to the complex topics that these writers detail with such skill and reverence for the key issues at stake. I hope you’re inspired to think about how your own skillsets can meaningfully contribute to solutions in this time of global need.
School of Law, Economics and Business
School
How Harnessing Remote Sensing and Earth Observation is a Consorted
International Effort Not to be Overlooked
Dr. Mireille Elhajj CEO and Founder, Astraterra
Visiting Associate Professor and Industrial Advisory Board Member, Imperial College London, UK
The capacity to systematically observe and analyze the Earth remotely has become a foun dation of modern environmental science, crisis management and infrastructure monitoring. In the wake of these concepts, remote sensing and earth observation have emerged as important tools to address environmental and biodiversity change, monitor and anticipate natural disas ters and evaluate the readiness of existing infra structure. Aided and augmented by AI, the use of satellite technologies, ground-based systems and airborne ground-based technologies, such as computer vision or other in-situ data or airborne probes (like drones), facilitate advanced and precise analytics to optimize the use of the abundant data collected and captured over long periods of time. The unleashing of The New Space Economy, which allowed the commercial sector to enter the Space community after it had been monopolized by governments, helped tremendously by opening up new innovation channels for active and high-resolution sensing (at sub meter level).
After completing my PhD at Imperial College London and holding various other positions such as Director of the Integrated Space Science Engineering Program, Advanced Research Fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Security Fellow at The Institute of Security Science and Technology, I founded Astraterra. Our UK-based company specializes in positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and Earth observation (EO) data modelling and
ience. We serve multiple industries, including connected and smart cities, sustainability and environmental monitoring and resilient infrastructure. Designing for seamless integration into existing workflows, Astraterra adapts evolving technologies and ensures secure, compliant data handling. By fusing multiple data sources, it provides accurate, actionable intelligence and creates tailor-made specialised platforms and applications.
My professional mission inside and outside of Astraterra is to pursue Science, Technology and Innovation with a mindset of inclusion, equity, sustainability and human-connected CONOPS. In the following article, I reflect on both the power of EO and also accessibility-related questions that must be addressed by the international community from my perspective as an industry professional.
Dr. Mireille Elhajj CEO and Founder, Astraterra
Visiting Associate Professor and Industrial Advisory Board Member, Imperial College London
“Remote
sensing data aids
in disaster preparedness enabling municipal authorities to
EO is not merely about monitoring changes, it is also important for Early Warning Systems and building resilience. By accepting risks and natural hazards, we can understand risk and be better prepared, as well as rebuild more effectively a skill that a country like Japan has mastered given its hazardous geographical location. EO is at the heart of understanding these risks and improving our resilience. Crisis management is among the most common uses of remote sensing. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tropical cyclones and wildfires require an immediate response where satellite images provide a clear overview of affected areas. For example, data from NASA’s MODIS and ESA Sentinel-3 satellites facilitated the tracking of fire spreads in near-real time, making recommendations for favorable evacuations and firefighting efforts during the Australian bushfires in 2019 and 2020. Similarly, flood estimation models harness hydrological recreations alongside remote detection information to foretell inundation zones and facilitate evasion efforts.
Similarly, within the energy division thermal imaging is broadly adopted to screen power stations and electrical networks. By recognizing heat anomalies in transformers and substations, remote sensing helps detect overheating components before they fail, guaranteeing continuous and efficient energy supply. Also, pipeline systems transporting oil and gas benefits from remote sensing, as satellite-based thermal and hyperspectral imaging can identify leaks and anticipate environmental contamination.
The beauty of EO is that it can also be layered and integrated with other various applications such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems or PNT data to create geofenced maps or, in the example of urban
infrastructure and planning, into Geographic Information Systems (GIS). These innovations are used to analyze traffic designs in cities, optimize road systems and upgrade land-use planning. Remote sensing data aids in disaster preparedness enabling municipal authorities to estimate flooding risks, pinpoint susceptible infrastructure and optimize emergency management strategies in the case of roads, for example.
Challenges and Opportunities:
Of course, this technology needs to be underpinned by accessibility of data and sophisticated models in addition to parametric solutions, without which no digital shadowing can be created. Various international organizations exist to facilitate access to this data like the United Nation’s Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER) and The International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, an international mechanism that can be activated in the case of disasters. Additionally, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOS), UN-SPIDER and a few others act as cooperating bodies, besides the data provided from major space agencies such as NASA, ESA and JAXA.
The global North displays great capabilities in EO and remote sensing through governmental programs such as the European Copernicus or the proliferating commercial ecosystem. They are joined by a few select Asian countries like Japan, and recently India, but the situation in the emerging countries of the Global South is not as advanced as many of these countries don’t own the relevant infrastructure, nor the funding and capabilities to level up. Paraguay, for example, when hit by their latest flooding, activated their call to The International Charter, who provided them with a raw data set. Paraguay, however, doesn’t have enough in-house capabilities to process the data. Having secured strategic relationships with their
neighbouring countries and leveraging their international agreements with the likes of JAXA, ESA and NASA and UNSPIDER, they were able to get the data processed for them. The data was then ready to be used and analyzed according to their needs, in addition to a technical mission for support from UNSPIDER. Conversely, this privilege is not always guaranteed for countries who have not secured themselves the necessary political and strategic relationships and agreements.
In a world governed by natural and man-made hazards, cross border collaboration, data sharing and open data policy are crucial. The more diversified these partnerships are, the better protected a country with limited resources is. The secret then doesn’t necessarily lie in owning capital intensive assets in space, but rather leveraging the existing rich and diversified capacities out there and harnessing the power of combining open-source and commercial data. The strides that firms have achieved advanced the development of sensor resolution, information processors and the application of AI in data analytics. Growth in commercial satellite constellations, operated by companies like Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies, have made it somehow economically feasible to acquire high-frequency, high-resolution imagery for near real-time Environmental Monitoring; however, not to certain emerging countries with limited funding.
By combining the two types of data in an application-specific platform, one can increase the aptitude and scope of what’s already out there. This combination of data is boosted by AI to re-evaluate anomalies and features seen from radar satellites (for example, in urban spaces) at an unprecedented level of granularity. An additional issue is the last mile through cloud capacity and releasing resources to communities who don’t have data access to commercial sets.
However, there are fundamental needs in the Global South. The first need being capacity building and
education in the field, and the second is funding this value-add, as commercial data is not free of charge and can be very costly. Despite the fact that many national space agencies acquire this commercial data, combine it with open-source data and offer the solution to its users, independent access to commercial data remains a genuine must, given their valuable contribution to resolution and technique. But various emerging countries don’t have a space agency or don’t have the right human capabilities. All the above are heavily underpinned by education, capacity building and funding from international communities such as the World Bank and the United Nations who can play a major role in fostering the exchange of data and the capacity to process and analyze data when and where needed, away from any political levers.
As the world continues to face more pressing challenges, effective bi-lateral and international agreements will prove increasingly important for policymaking, disaster response and relief communities. However, many challenges lie beyond this, including bandwidth capacity, power and electricity being unavailable, cloud capacity and the absence of a representative entity who can deal with acquired EO data such as a space agency or a dedicated team. The path may be long for some, but there is nothing a consorted effort backed by international organizations that cannot achieve.
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In a world governed by natural and man-made hazards, cross border collaboration, data sharing and open data policy are crucial. The more diversified these partnerships are, the better protected a country with limited resources is.
Fostering Future-Proof Collaborations at Simon Fraser University (SFU):
An Interview with Professor Angie Brooks-Wilson, Dean of Science, SFU, Canada
Professor Brooks-Wilson, we’re so pleased to have the opportunity to speak with you today in this special issue of UniNewsletter. As is tradition with our Leadership Spotlight interviews, could you please introduce yourself to our readers, including how you came to take up your current post as of Dean of Science at
Thank you, I’m so pleased to talk with you.
Coming back to SFU felt like coming full circle to me. I went to SFU as an undergraduate student in Biochemistry, and had what I call the full academic adventure studying in different places, before coming home again. I went to Toronto for a Master’s degree, then studied human genetics for my PhD at the University of British Columbia (UBC), followed by a short post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Washington. I then did something unusual at the time, and joined a biotechnology company, Sequana Therapeutics, in San Diego, followed by a company in Vancouver, Xenon Pharmaceuticals. After working in industry for 7 years I was very lucky to have a chance to join the famous Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer in Vancouver. I came from an unusual direcfrom industry back to an academic research environment and it was truly wonderful to arrive there and have full license over what I would investigate in my independent cancer genetics research lab. Building on some existing strengths of BC Cancer in lymphoid
cancers, and collaborating with excellent cancer epidemiologists there, I started working on the genetics of lymphoid cancers, and soon afterward added research on healthy aging, studying exceptionally healthy ‘Super Seniors.’
My initial faculty position was at UBC, but my appointment shifted to SFU in 2008. It was at SFU that my interest in leadership was piqued and grew. My department chair asked if I would lead the departmental graduate program, and I said yes (because someone needed to do it!) but quickly found that it was really satisfying to help graduate students and supervisors resolve issues and get their studies and projects back on track. I and my committee of colleagues clarified timelines and processes, reduced course requirements and created a direct entry pathway for top BSc students to go directly into the PhD program. During this time, I also led the Interdisciplinary Oncology Graduate Program at BC Cancer, and with my colleagues there expanded it to be a multi-institutional Graduate Specialization.
I was invited to be Associate Chair and then Chair of the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, and found it very satisfying to streamline processes, improve teaching spaces and resolve diverse problems. I’ve found that when you take on leadership of a small thing, and you not only don’t
mental issues through a multidisciplinary lens. How has this initiative evolved, and what opportunities does it create for research, policy impact and student engagement?
SFU is fortunate to have a dedicated Faculty of Environment, underlining the university’s clear commitment to education and research on the environment. Their departments are highly multidisciplinary. The Environmental Science department includes leading researchers on oceans, rivers, watersheds and coastal and subalpine ecosystems, among other topics. The Geography department unites social and physical geography in studies from political economies to earth systems. In the School of Resource and Environmental Management, social and natural scientists use interdisciplinary research approaches and train students to be agents to improve decision-making in environmental management. And in the renowned SFU Archaeology Department, students can engage in research topics ranging from the megafauna of the distant past to the innovative clam gardens used by British Columbia’s Coast Salish peoples. The fusion of physical and social sciences in the Faculty of Environment supports inter- and multi-disciplinarity, and positions their research and students to make an
Though it is a complicated and often challenging role, it is very satisfying to lead the Faculty of Science and help students and scientists in 8 different disciplines achieve their best learning and research. “
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impact on society in many ways, including through policy impacts.
As you touched on, universities play a critical role in informing public policy. From your perspective, how can academic research at SFU help shape policy decisions on climate resilience, environmental health and energy transitions?
Research universities like SFU are at the forefront of finding solutions to societal challenges like climate change and finding strategies for mitigation and adaptation to promote climate resilience. At SFU in particular, there is great strength in community-based research and we are truly engaged with our local communities. Policy researchers, particularly those who are part of the School of Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, are part of the community-based research projects that make up the C3I initiative. This positions the research projects, and SFU, to help shape sustainable policy that is based on sound research evidence and an understanding of the needs of communities.
To centralize your own profile as a researcher, your work has focused on genetic and environ-
Research universities like SFU are at the forefront of finding solutions to societal challenges like climate change and finding strategies for mitigation and adaptation to promote climate resilience. At SFU in particular, there is great strength in community-based research and we are truly engaged with our local communities.
mental factors in cancer. Could you tell our readers more about this as well as other projects you’re working on?
My research has two parts, research on cancer (disease) and research on health. In recent years my lab has focused more on our Healthy Aging Study of Super Seniors, who we define as people who are 85-years-old or older, and have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, major pulmonary disease or dementia. So, the trait we are studying is freedom from 5 major diseases of aging, to the age of 85. The 5 diseases chosen are ones that are serious for people and are also very expensive for healthcare systems. Our oldest participants were two brothers who lived to 109 and 110-years-old. It is a positive study to do, because everyone hopes they can qualify to be in it! On the lifestyle side, the most notable thing about the Super Seniors is that they are physically active as active as midlife adults. On the genetics side, we have found variants that correlate with being a Super Senior (they are less likely to carry the known Alzheimer disease risk variant APOE4, and they are more likely to carry a variant in the HP gene that produces haptoglobin, a protein that binds up free hemoglobin released from damaged red blood cells).
A few years ago, we looked at the telomeres (specific DNA sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes) of the Super Seniors, wondering if they would have telomeres that were long for their age. Instead, we found that the group of Super Seniors showed telomere lengths closer to an inferred optimal value, than those of a comparison group. This finding motivated us to move to using larger data sets, in particular the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, to ask if there are other traits for which healthy people are closer to previously unrecognized ‘sweet spots.’ I am working with an amazing collaborator, Dr. Lloyd Elliott at SFU, and together with our graduate students we have found many body and blood measures that show sweet spots implying that these traits are important for healthy aging.
Interdisciplinary research often faces structural barriers, from funding limitations to siloed departments. What strategies has SFU adopted to foster collaboration across disciplines, and what more can be done at the institutional level?
SFU has an innovative Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS) Graduate Program, in which graduate students can do interdiscipli-
nary research for their thesis project, supervised by professors in many different disciplines. The IIS program is incredibly flexible, as you can combine any disciplines of study. Dr. Lloyd Elliott and I co-supervise an Interdisciplinary PhD student, who has been able to learn about biology and genetics from me, and has worked with Lloyd to develop new statistical techniques to find sweet spots in biological data, then identify genetic loci that affect how close an individual is to those optimal values. This kind of project is interdisciplinary and innovative, and was also a tremendous amount of fun because all of us were learning from each other at the same time.
Looking ahead, what are your top priorities for advancing interdisciplinary environmental research at SFU? Are there any major initia tives or areas of growth you hope to champi on in the coming years?
As a Dean, I try to balance promotion of really good ideas put forward by others, with my own ideas to help the Faculty of Science and its members, and SFU, succeed. Individual researchers and departments are passionate about their own work, and so encouraging growth of successful collaborative groups within and between departments is one of my main goals. An example is the excitement of rebuilding the capacity of our renowned Pest Management Program, which is more relevant than ever in the time of climate change. Others include growing clusters of excellence in quan tum information, and astroparticle physics, in
the SFU Physics department, the only department in Canada to have two Canada Excellence Research Chairs.
I am also very enthusiastic about our Faculty of Science strategies to enhance the experiences of undergraduate students. This includes programs of interest to students who aspire to careers in health research, including at the new SFU Medical School. SFU
As a Dean, I try to balance promotion of really good ideas put forward by others, with my own ideas to help the Faculty of Science and its members, and SFU, succeed. Individual researchers and departments are passionate about their own work, and so encouraging growth of successful collaborative groups within and between departments is one of my main goals.
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Dr. Rahaf Ajaj Chair, Department of Environmental Health & Safety College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Shattering Boundaries:
How Interdisciplinary Research Is Propelling Environmental Innovation
In an age struggling with the burden of climate change, pollution and an existential imperative to become sustainable, it has become ever clearer that there are no silver bullets in any one discipline. Having worked on the interface between science, policy, health and education for many years, I have grown to be convinced—deeply and irrevocably—of the power of interdisciplinary cooperation to create positive change.
This conviction has not only influenced the studies I undertake. It has informed my leadership, taught my classes and reinforced my
passion in addressing thorny environmental issues that impact real people in real-time.
A Journey Based on Purpose
As Chair of the Department of Environment, Health and Safety at the College of Health Sciences at Abu Dhabi University (ADU), United Arab Emirates (UAE) I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to the academic success of the world’s future environmental stewards. With my colleagues in the college, we’ve developed programs that not only impart knowledge but also fuel curiosity, test assumptions and prioritize action.
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Having worked on the interface between science, policy, health and education for many years, I have grown to be convinced—deeply and irrevocably—of the power of interdisciplinary cooperation to create positive change. “
My classes—on subjects ranging from environmental policy to pollution monitoring—are not theoretical exercises. They are designed to engage science with the communities we serve, encouraging students to critically evaluate the world in which they live and their place within it.
My work doesn’t end at the classroom door, however. I’ve also had the privilege to represent the UAE on the world stage on a number of fronts, including as a member of the High-Level UN Food Systems Advisory Board, working to address sustainability and food security in an ever-changing climate. Here in the UAE, I serve as the local chapter leadership of Women in Renewable Energy Canada (WiRE), fighting to achieve gender parity in the energy industry and promoting initiatives that develop sustainable innovations throughout the nation. Additionally, I serve as the cluster lead for public health and climate change at the Ministry of Environmental and Climate Change, where I oversee initiatives that bridge the critical intersection of human health and environmental sustainability.
Where Disciplines Meet, Innovation Emerges
If I’ve learned one thing over and over again, it’s this: the biggest breakthroughs are found in crossroads. Interdisciplinary science does not exist to follow a trend—it’s a necessity. Environmental issues are never purely scientific. They are economic, technological, social and political. Solving them demands a confluence of expertise and a desire to enable collaborations across boundaries.
My own path of inquiry started with radiation science—in particular, measuring concentrations of radionuclides in agricultural soils through gamma-ray spectrometry. This initial work informed
plinary questions.
In a recent study, we employed Gaussian Process regression models—a machine learning approach—to create maps of radiation levels in soils in the UAE. This was not merely a technical success. It was a multidisciplinary success that converged on data science, geostatistics, public health and environmental monitoring to create maps that can be used by policymakers to take action.
In the same vein, our work on sustainable smart cities involved working with experts in fields such as engineering, city planning and policy to probe what it would mean to turn Abu Dhabi into a city fit for the future: resilient, inclusive and fundamentally human-centric.
From Wind Turbines to Wastewater: A Broader Perspective
One project that I found to be really inspiring was the Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbines—a new kind of renewable energy device with the potential to transform the way cities power themselves.
“Environmental issues are never purely scientific. They are economic, technological, social and political. Solving them demands a confluence of expertise and a desire to enable collaborations across boundaries.”
Science has to serve all populations, particularly those traditionally underserved or marginalized. Inclusivity isn’t only a moral imperative; it’s key to achieving sustainable development objectives.
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Through a fusion of experimental design and numerical simulation, we studied aerodynamics, structural efficiency and environmental advantages. Once again, it was the fusion of disciplines that brought this work to fruition. Similarly urgent is what we’ve accomplished in nuclear wastewater. With growing energy demands worldwide and the growth of nuclear options, the environmental hazards posed by radioactive wastewater can’t be dismissed. Our study explored treatment technology and policy recommendations to help ensure these systems are not only reliable but sustainable.
Where Science Intersects with Health and Behavior
One of the closest to my heart is probably the interface between public health and environmental science. In a study in the UAE into improper drug disposal, we revealed an alarming disparity: plenty of public knowledge but low levels of safe disposal. Medicines were being disposed of through household waste, risking harm to both the environment and people.
More than scientific knowledge is needed to solve this type of issue. Behavioral knowledge, cultural sensitivity, as well as systems thinking are needed. Our proposals—involving take-back initiatives and public information
campaigns—represented an interdisciplinary, all-inclusive approach.
And the same interdisciplinary thinking informed our recent work in a national indoor-air-quality research strategy. Poor indoor-air-quality isn't a technical problem—it’s a public-health emergency. By blending policy systems, input from stakeholders and environmental-health information, we developed a roadmap for actionable transformation.
Turning Research into Policy
For me, research is strongest when it crosses the laboratory walls and out into the world. That has informed my focus on aligning Industry 4.0 technology with poverty alleviation efforts—using AI and blockchain not as innovations in their own right, but as instruments of equity and effect. This conceptual frame based on Sustainable Development Goal 1 is one more instance of what occurs when fields converge on the basis of values.
Recognition and Responsibility
I am indebted to the professional awards I have received—including my Chartered Scientist designation by the Science Council and the Institution of Environmental Sciences.
Since these owe their existence to the demands of my work and not to any extraneous factors, they are not awards in the classical sense.
My advisory roles—both international and local—have underscored another important truth: policy and science must work hand in hand. It’s not enough to know. We must act.
Reflections & Looking Ahead
Reflecting on my path so far, some guiding principles have long informed my work and leadership approach. Above all else, I’ve found that authentic innovation is grounded in cooperation—where different minds and disciplines cross-pollinate, the outcome is often greater than the sum of individual contributions. No less of a priority is a commitment to equity. Science has to serve all populations, particularly those traditionally underserved or marginalized. Inclusivity isn’t only a moral imperative; it’s key to achieving sustainable development objectives. And finally, visionary leadership has an important role in creating spaces in which curiosity, critical thinking and impact-driven work can germinate.
At ADU, I work to create an environment in which both students and academics are empowered to question, to curiously examine in a spirit of wonder and inquiry and innovate with purpose.
All these reflections continue to influence not only the way I lead but also the way I imagine the future of environmental science—a future that is collaborative, equitable and actively engaged with the world in which it lives.
In conclusion
Excellence in research today isn’t merely a matter of depth in one area—it's about breadth, connectivity and purpose. Interdisciplinary science is powerful because it crosses divides: between disciplines, between practice and theory and ultimately between people and the planet we all call home.
From this perspective my path has not only been a job, but a calling career defined by teamwork, fueled by inquiring minds and based on the premise that we are better together.
Let’s continue to build bridges. Our future depends on it.
“For me, research is strongest when it crosses the laboratory walls and out into the world.”
Dr. Fares Howari Dean, College of Humanities and Sciences Ajman University, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
From Satellite to Policy:
How Earth Observation is Driving Sustainable Development in Arid Regions
This article explores how satellite Earth Observation (EO), coupled with AI and interdisciplinary collaboration, is revolutionizing sustainable development in arid regions by providing scalable solutions for water security, land restoration and policy integration. EO satellites, operating in geosynchronous and low Earth orbits (ranging from 160 to 36,000 kilometers), are fundamentally altering our comprehension and governance of global arid environments. These technological systems offer unprecedented capabilities for monitoring and analyzing desert ecosystems that have historically challenged traditional observation methods.
The integration of multi-spectral imagery and synthetic aperture radar has transi-
tioned environmental monitoring from rudimentary visual assessments to sophisticated quantitative analysis, significantly impacting resource management initiatives. The implementation of these observation platforms enables comprehensive evaluation of critical environmental parameters in water-limited ecosystems, facilitating evidence-based decision-making in areas like hydrological resource allocation and agricultural productivity optimization. These advancements represent a paradigm shift in environmental governance, moving from reactive interventions to proactive adaptation strategies that significantly enhance climate resilience for vulnerable populations and institutions in arid regions.
The Power of Seeing from Above
Arid and semi-arid regions, particularly across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), are increasingly vulnerable to climate stressors. Water scarcity, soil degradation, salinization and desertification are not distant threats—they’re already impacting millions of lives.
Traditional field-based monitoring struggles to keep pace with the scale and urgency of these changes. That’s where space-based technologies step in. Modern satellites, especially those equipped with hyperspectral sensors, can detect hundreds of spectral bands—far beyond the capabilities of the human eye or standard optical cameras.
This fine spectral resolution enables scientists to monitor minute variations in vegetation health, soil chemistry and water presence. For instance, specific salt minerals reflect light in unique patterns across the electromagnetic spectrum. By matching satellite data with ground-based libraries of spectral signatures, researchers can detect soil salinization well before it becomes visibly evident.
“Hyperspectral imaging gives us the ability to detect salt-affected soils at early stages,” explains a UAE-based environmental geochemist. “We can now pinpoint salinity hotspots before they impact crop yields or groundwater quality.”
This is particularly crucial in the Gulf, and MENA region, where the twin pressures of
“Arid and semi-arid regions, particularly across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), are increasingly vulnerable to climate stressors. Water scarcity, soil degradation, salinization and desertification are not distant threats—they’re already impacting millions of lives. “
seawater intrusion and over-irrigation are degrading valuable agricultural land.
Beyond Pretty Pictures: From Data to Decisions
While satellite imagery may appear visually compelling, its true value lies in the transformation of data into actionable insights. Across MENA, cross-disciplinary teams are dissolving the traditional barriers between space science, environmental monitoring and public policy. One technical hurdle is the “mixed pixel problem,” where individual pixels in satellite images represent more than one land cover type—vegetation, water, bare soil or urban structures. To tackle this, researchers use algorithms to unmix these pixels and extract “endmembers”—pure spectral signatures that correspond to specific materials or surfaces. This improved precision is not just academic. Governments use it to develop high-resolution environmental maps that inform decisions about land use, soil remediation and disaster preparedness. For example, ministries of agriculture can identify degraded zones and target interventions—saving both time and resources.
Water Security Through Space-Based Insights
In no area is the impact of EO more pronounced than water resource management. In drylands, water is the linchpin of life, livelihoods and geopolitics.
Tools like the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) allow scientists to monitor surface water changes, estimate soil moisture and even detect groundwater depletion. In more advanced models, thermal, hyperspectral and microwave data are integrated to study complex hydrological systems like desert oases.
These insights are directly feeding into national policies. In countries like the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia, EO informs decisions on sustainable groundwater extraction and drought management.
The implementation of these observation platforms facilitates comprehensive evaluation of critical environmental parameters in water-limited ecosystems, enabling evidence-based decision-making processes in domains including hydrological resource allocation and agricultural productivity optimization. Consequently, environmental management in arid regions is evolving from a model of crisis response to one of proactive anticipation and timely action, preventing scenarios like wells running dry before intervention occurs. Such technological advancements represent a paradigm shift in environmental governance frameworks, transitioning from reactive intervention strategies to proactive adaptation methodologies that significantly enhance climate resilience capacities among vulnerable populations and administrative institutions in arid regions.
The AI Accelerator
The synergy between EO and artificial intelligence (AI) marks the next evolution in environmental monitoring. By analysing decades’ worth of satellite data, AI models are helping researchers predict ecological shifts with increasing accuracy.
Machine learning algorithms can now forecast desertification and salinization hotspots by spotting early warning signs invisi-
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ble to human analysts. These insights enable governments to deploy conservation resources before damage becomes irreversible. In a recent initiative, AI models flagged degradation zones by analyzing changing vegetation dynamics and spectral reflectance. The resulting maps helped direct efforts to rehabilitate grazing lands and protect aquifer recharge zones across vast desert tracts.
From Lab to Landscape: Bridging Science and Society
Even the most sophisticated technology can’t drive change on its own. The final—and perhaps most critical—step is turning scientific insight into community-level action and public policy.
Across MENA, universities, governments and NGOs are working together to train municipal planners, farmers and local leaders in interpreting and applying satellite-derived data. From digital dashboards to mobile apps, efforts are underdemocratize access to EO and ensure it reaches those on the frontlines of environmental decision-making.
Recognizing that environmental problems are inherently interdisciplinary, successful sustainable development pro...environmental management in arid regions is evolving from a model of crisis response to one of proactive anticipation and timely action, preventing scenarios like wells running dry before intervention occurs
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah - A Story of Excellence!
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah - A Story of Excellence!
Are you ready to embark on a journey of excellence? The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) is more than just a university – AURAK is a story of excellence.
Are you ready to embark on a journey of excellence? The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) is more than just a university – AURAK is a story of excellence.
QS 5 Star Plus Rating
versity in the UAE to attain the esteemed QS Five Star Plus rating. We set the bar high and continue to raise it.
QS 5 Star Plus Rating
versity in the UAE to attain the esteemed QS Five Star Plus rating. We set the bar high and continue to raise it.
Building Bridges
How Cross-Sector Collaboration is Shaping the Future of Climate Action
Technology cannot address climate change on its own. Bold policies, inclusive finance and a dedication to empowering marginalized communities must be combined with it.
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empowering marginalized communities must be combined with it. One of the most memorable moments was hearing Dr. Sultan Al Jaber’s speech, in which he emphasized the urgent
make sustainable advancement non-negotia ble—creating systems that bind societies, businesses and governments together for a common goal.
riences. We wanted to highlight how sus tainable development, especially climate action, requires confronting political, economic and social divides head-on. Sustainability permeated every discus-
the global climate discussion. MUN is more than simply a simulation; it’s a setting that promotes collaboration, empathy and diplomatic skills, preparing the next generation to lead change in the real world. advancing sustainability—but only when used thoughtfully..”
