issue#7, may 2015
TRANSCRIPT
Issue 7 | May 2015
INTERNATIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION LAUNCHEDGLOBAL MBZIRC TO AWARD USD 5 MILLION IN PRIZES
SKY IS JUST THE BEGINNING FOR STUDENTS FOG DISSIPATION DRONE GARNERS AWARDS & ATTENTION
KU PROFESSOR WINS NASA CHALLENGENOvEL ShIELDING IDEA WOULD REDUCE EFFECTS OF RADIATION ON SPACE TRAvELERS
ALUMNI CYBER SLEUTH SPOTS WEBSITE FLAWSFINDS AND PATChES COMPUTER vULNERABILITIES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dear Khalifa University Community,
What started out as a small newsletter less than three years ago has certainly grown into a full-fledged magazine, boasting almost 100 pages this issue. We’ve done our best to capture all of the important issues, events and causes that our community is involved in, and to showcase the ongoing research and innovation being undertaken in our rapidly growing university. With the campus expansion coming online during Academic year 2015-16, our physical infrastructure is growing at a similarly brisk pace. Our faculty and student research continues to draw national and international attention, and is certainly a source of pride for the University. Just a brief sampling of recent distinctions: six of our students have been granted the Young Emirati Postgraduate Research Students Mobility Award; Dr. Habiba Al Safar has been named one of the top 100 women in the Arab world; Dr. Quan (Abraham) Wang of mechanical engineering has been elected a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering; and, Dr. Wes Hitt of Applied Mathematics and Science/Nuclear Engineering has won first prize in a recent NASA challenge to mitigate radiation exposure on deep space missions. Our faculty and staff, and the research centers our university is building with strong industrial and governmental support, are constantly pushing the boundaries of science and technology through their innovation and creativity. Another of the ways our University shines is in our commitment to organizing and holding events aimed at encouraging an interest in science and technology in the community and
in our youth. The recently announced Mohammed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC), although targeted to attract advanced student and professional participation from around the world, will inspire young people to pursue STEM subjects by bringing focus to cutting-edge robotics on a worldwide stage. The recent Innovation Bootcamp, organized by EBTIC with strong university participation, gave 36 local high school students in-depth exposure to the innovation process, on our campus, during spring break. Upcoming summer activities, including STEMcamp and Medcamp, are further evidence of our commitment to outreach and nurturing of the future talent that will drive the nation’s goals.
The UAE’s National Innovation Strategy, and declaration of 2015 as the Year of Innovation, only highlights the importance of our work to economic and scientific development. The University inaugurated the Reyada initiative this past fall, and continues to work with government and industrial stakeholders to develop an innovation center as a natural extension of the University’s current research and teaching activities. We are assembling and nurturing a remarkable collection of great minds and talents in our small-but-expanding campus. I hope you enjoy reading about our recent results as we continue to push boundaries and surpass expectations.
Thank you,
Dr. Tod Laursen
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
- Dr. Arif Gives Tour of New CAmpus siTe
- JAPAN TRIP
- JAPANESE SPEECh CONTEST
- KOREAN STUDENTS vISIT
campus
DIvERSITy24
- hANS BLIx
- GOODALL
hIGhLIGhTS
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- SPORTS ROUNDUP
JUMP
84
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- PhD AND MASTER’S GRADUATES
GRADUATES
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KhALIFA 88- KUPULSE LAUNCh
- #TAG LAUNCh
- KPC
INNOvATION - MBZIRC
- SMARTSEC
- GSRC
- DRONES FOR GOOD
AWARDS
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- ALUMNI SPEAKER SERIES: ALUMNI FAISAL AL MADANI
- ALUMNI RAShID AL JUNAIBI
ALUMNI
4
- KU PROFESSOR WINS NASA ChALLENGE
- DR. hABIBA TOP 100 ARAB WOMEN RESEARChERS
- LEADERShIP DAy
- STUDENTS WIN GRANTS FROM MINISTRy
- ChOICE TO ChANGE
BEING
20EvENTS- CAREER DAy
- hEALTh AND FITNESS
- OPEN DAy
- IDEx
- WORLD FUTURE ENERGy SUMMIT
52FEATURES- STUDENT FEATURE: FOG DISSIPATION
- FACULTy FEATURE: MARCELLUS
- ALUMNI FEATURE: AIDAROUS
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- CAREER DAy
- hEALTh AND FITNESS
- OPEN DAy
- IDEx
- WORLD FUTURE ENERGy SUMMIT
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ALUMNI- ALUMNI SPEAKER SERIES: MADANI & AL JUNAIBI
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Khalifa University hosted a lecture on “Emotional Intelligence,” on March 2, by one of its esteemed alumni, Faisal Al Madani, as part of the Alumni Speakers Series. Mr. Al Madani, who currently heads Etisalat’s Customer Service Division for the Abu Dhabi region, graduated from Khalifa University in 1999, and has spent the past few years expanding his knowledge of Emotional
Intelligence through courses and workshops. He also is certified in Mind Mapping – a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally “maps out” your ideas.
The lecture was attended by students from the University’s public speaking class, mostly junior and senior Engineering students.
STUDENTS LEARN “EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE” FROM ALUMNI SPEAKER
FAISAL AL MADANI, DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER SERvICE-ABU DhABI REGION AT ETISALAT, DISCUSSES ThE IMPORTANCE OF EQ
Emotional Intelligence refers to a person’s ability to monitor their emotions, and those of others, to guide thinking and behavior. Mr. Al Madani’s interactive lecture highlighted the importance of EQ, or a person’s Emotional Quotient, in guiding personal and professional success.
“When I was in university, there were always these students that worked very hard and achieved top grades, but never interacted with people, could never work in teams and were always alone, doing their own thing,” said Mr. Madani.
“When they started their careers, they continued doing the same thing. Then there were others, who may not have achieved the same grades, but were always sociable, always working well with others, always talking and laughing and getting on with people. Now, the social ones have surpassed
the others in their careers. They’re Senior VP’s while others are managers. More and more companies are realizing that EQ is more important than IQ. Our ability to get along well with our co-workers is the most important thing.”
“It was a pleasant topic,” said Hamad Ali Salmeen Ali Deiban, one of the students in attendance. “It actually enlightened me on new things I personally wasn’t aware of. At first, the idea was a little bit vague, in the sense that I wasn’t sure why it was important to know about “Emotional Intelligence” or what I would gain by knowing it. But after he presented the theme behind it, it all made sense and became clear. He made it clear that it’s not only IQ that matters now when applying for a job or anything else. By the end of the lecture, I felt that he had given me motivation and inspired me to do my best in my future career life.”
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Khalifa University hosted a lecture, March 24, by esteemed alumni engineer Rashid Al Junaibi, as part of the Alumni Speaker Series. Al Junaibi is currently Assistant Director of Smart City & Solutions and Chairman of WYANA Etisalat Engineering engagement program. He is regularly invited to speak at large public events, where he presents on various subjects of culture, happiness and the progress toward Dubai Plan 2021.
Al Junaibi is also a Director of Daralber International Charity Society, and is a regular guest on a TV and Radio program called “Ways of Good.” Al Junaibi lectured on the topic of “Staff Engagement Methodology,” during which he discussed positive ways to increase staff performance and thereby elevate corporate success.
“After a few years, you will be leaders of the country,” he told the KU students in attendance. “It’s important to know how to
effectively motivate staff to make contributions in the workplace and to keep them satisfied with their jobs.”
Since its inception in 2013, the WYANA engagement program at Etisalat has had a great impact on staff satisfaction and performance. One of the main features of the program is ensuring that staff have a good work-life balance and that they appreciate the good fortune in their lives.
“Work is important,” said Al Junaibi, “but it’s not everything.”WYANA encourages Etisalat staff to participate in community service. Al Junaibi ended his remarks with a video of joyful Etisalat colleagues playing with kids at the Rashid Pediatric Therapy Centre in Dubai.
“The equation for happiness,” concluded Al Junaibi, “is that if you give it, you will get it.”
ALUMNI TELLS KU STUDENTS HOW TO MOTIVATE FUTURE STAFF
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AWARDS- KU PROFESSOR WINS NASA ChALLENGE
- DR. hABIBA: TOP 100 ARAB WOMEN - LEADERShIP DAy
- STUDENTS WIN GRANTS FROM MINISTRy
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DR. GEORGE WESLEy hITT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PhySICS AND NUCLEAR ENGINEERING, WON TOP hONORS IN NASA’S GALACTIC COSMIC RAyS ChALLENGE FOR hIS NOvEL IDEA “ON REUSING A ShIELD ThAT COULD BE PLACED IN A MARS TRANSFER ORBIT” TO MITIGATE ThE IMPACT OF RADIATION ON SPACE TRAvELERS. NASA RECEIvED A TOTAL OF 136 GLOBAL SUBMISSION FOR ThE ChALLENGE. DR. hITT RECEIvED A CASh AWARD OF $5,000 FOR hIS WINNING CONCEPT.
DR. hITT, WhO OBTAINED hIS PhD FROM MIChIGAN STATE UNIvERSITy IN ExPERIMENTAL NUCLEAR PhySICS, PROPOSED ThAT ShIELDS BECOME PART OF SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE AS OPPOSED TO ThE ShIP ITSELF.
“ShIELDING DESIGNS REQUIRE SOMEThING LIKE 100,000 ExTRA KILOGRAMS OF PAyLOAD TO BE ShOT UP ON A ROCKET AND GO WITh ThE ASTRONAUTS. ThIS IS vERy ExPENSIvE,” hE ExPLAINS. “IT WOULD BE EASIER IF ThE ShIELDING WAS ALREADy UP ThERE. IF yOU DON’T hAvE TO MAKE IT PART OF ThE TRIP, yOU CAN REUSE IT.”
NASA hAS ISSUED A SECOND ChALLENGE ASKING ThE PUBLIC FOR IDEAS ON OPTIMAL CONFIGURATIONS OF ACTIvE AND PASSIvE SOLUTIONS TO PROvIDE CREW MEMBERS MAxIMUM PROTECTION.
KU PROFESSOR WINS NASA GALACTIC COSMIC RAYS CHALLENGE
NOvEL ShIELDING IDEA WOULD REDUCE EFFECTS OF RADIATION ON SPACE TRAvELERS
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DR. HABIBA AL SAFAR NAMED ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN THE ARAB WORLD
AWARDS
Dr. Habiba Al Safar, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Khalifa University, has been recognized as one of the most powerful women in the Arab world by Arabian Business.com. The Emirati researcher came in 52nd –appearing on the list with Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who was ranked number one.
Dr. Al Safar’s work into identifying genetic and environmental risk factors associated with diabetes recently landed her a 2014 L’Oreal-UNESCO Fellowship Award for Women in Science, as well as having received the first Emirates International Award for Genetic Diseases Prevention in the category of Best Scientific Researcher in the field of Genetic Diseases Prevention.Dr. Al Safar’s research has focused on identifying the genomes responsible for the spread of one of the most common diseases in the UAE, diabetes type I and type II, in addition to the complications caused by the disease in many of the UAE’s citizens, especially cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Al Safar has also been very active in the community, conducting awareness activities that have involved Khalifa University students. One
of these activities involved students accompanying diabetes patients to follow up on their condition and help them under the supervision of a medical doctor. She has also conducted a number of awareness lectures that shed light on the risks of diabetes and the importance of prevention.
“It’s wonderful to be named as one of the most powerful women in the Arab world, and an honor to appear alongside such notable Emirati women as Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi and fighter pilot Mariam Al Mansouri,” said Dr. Al Safar. “One out of five Emiratis between the ages of 20 to 79 lives with Type 2 Diabetes, which is why I’m so passionate about it. My hope is that an understanding of the genetic diversity in the region will provide deeper insight into mechanisms that cause disease and that these developments could possibly lead to improved intervention and prevention programs to improve the quality of life throughout Arab nations. Recognition for my research and for my role in raising awareness of the issue is always welcomed, as it will bring more attention to diabetes prevention.”
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KhALIFA UNIvERSITy hONORED ITS hARD-WORKING STUDENTS, FACULTy AND STAFF AT ThE 4Th ANNUAL LEADERShIP DAy, WhICh TOOK PLACE AT ThE UNIvERSITy’S ABU DhABI CAMPUS ON MARCh 10, 2015. h.E. MOhAMMED AL AhBABI, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ThEUAE SPACE AGENCy, GAvE ThE KEyNOTE ADDRESS AT ThE EvENT, WhICh WAS ALSO ATTENDED By SENIOR MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING KhALIFA UNIvERSITy PRESIDENT DR. TOD LAURSEN, ExECUTIvE vICE PRESIDENT DR. ARIF AL hAMMADI AND SENIOR vICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCh AND DEvELOPMENT DR. MOhAMMED AL MUALLA, IN ADDITION TO ThE UNIvERSITy STUDENTS, FACULTy AND STAFF.
During the lecture, H.E. Mohammed Al Ahbabi said, “I would like to thank Khalifa University and the organizers for inviting us to participate in this important event. This event is an opportunity for the UAE’s Space Agency to inform Emirati students on two important issues, the first is the achievements and developments that the space sector in the UAE is witnessing and the second is the opportunities available to the Emiratis in this vital sector.”
Al Ahbabi briefed attendees on developments in the UAE’s space sector, the reasoning behind the development of the space agency, and an overview of future programs that the Agency hopes to launch, including sending the first Arab and Islamic probe to Mars, a project led by an Emirati team.Al Ahbabi pointed to the role of the UAE Nationals in promoting the space sector, “Preparing generations of highly skilled UAE nationals to become leaders in this sector is crucial to our success. We aim to raise awareness and support by working with the education sector in the UAE to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects, and hire Emirati graduates who will be the leaders of this industry in the future.”
Among those awarded during the event were Khalifa University’s outstanding faculty, who have excelled in teaching and research; staff, who have gone beyond their stated duties; and especially students, who were awarded for academic achievements as well as extracurricular activities such as volunteerism and sports participation.
Also included in the awards were students and faculty who have performed well in outside competitions, including the semi-finalists for the Drones for Good International Category and the finalist and semi-finalist for the National Category. Others awarded were winners in the du Cyber Security Hackathon, the du InfoSec Competition, the Engineering Students Ethics Competition 2014, Gulf Programming Contest and Smart Security and Privacy Contest.
AWARDS
STUDENT, FACULTY AND STAFF LEADERS HONORED AT 4TH ANNUAL LEADERSHIP DAY
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Six Khalifa University students, and one faculty member, were awarded grants in support of their ongoing research endeavors by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR). The students were all recipients of the Young Emirati Postgraduate Research Students Mobility Award (YEPRSMA), which granted 50,000 AED to each of them. The faculty member, Dr. Nicolas Christoforou, an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering, was given the University-Industry Research Collaboration Award (UIRCA) , which granted him 175,000 AED for the pursuit of his research into the creation of an “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Bio-Bank for the study of Cardiovascular Disease.”
The student winners, Sameera Al Mulla, Sara Al Maeeni, Khawla Al Ghafli, Ebtesam Almazrouei, Maryam Al Shehhi and Salwa Alzahmi all won for their various research interests, including research into cooperative localization techniques for WLAN systems, an ontological approach to manipulate visual analytic system interfaces dynamically, an empirical study on the feasibility of applying model driven engineering to a cloud environment, the digital forensics of cloud computing, video carving techniques for digital forensics, and an efficient non-coherent detection technique for broadband cooperative networks.
The grants will allow the students to further develop their research interests by providing them funds to travel to other educational institutes abroad, such as the Imperial College of London, Lancaster University and University of Surrey.
MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AWARDS KHALIFA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH GRANTS
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BEING- ChOICE TO ChANGE
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By Shiza M. Saleem & Aisha Idrees
Living in a country like the UAE that provides a safe and prosperous environment for its citizens and residents, one often takes for granted the accessible blessings of good education, food, clean water and clothes. It also can be easy to forget that many people all over the world are deprived of basic human rights, which is why community service and volunteer work are so important. Apart from the obvious benefits of helping people and making a difference in their lives, service teaches humility and gratitude.
Over the past semester, students at Khalifa University were able to touch the lives of students in the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh through the non-profit organization Choice to Change (C2C). Founded by Eva Kernova, who runs a school in Dhaka for the children living in the slum area, C2C aims to break the cycle of poverty by providing a primary education and basic health.KU’s project, organized by the HOPE Club, involved collecting English books and lunchboxes filled with school supplies for each child.
The project ran from the November 12 – December 7, 2014. More than 60 lunchboxes, a carton filled with extra supplies for the children and office supplies for the teachers, as well as 94 English language children’s books were collected.
According to project heads Aisha Idrees, Sheikha AlMutawa and Shiza Saleem, “Working on this project was an extremely rewarding experience. Seeing the smiling faces of the children upon receiving their lunchboxes was truly heartwarming and making all the hard work put into the project absolutely worth it.” explains the project leaders.
BEING
THE HOPE CLUB MAKES THE CHOICE TO CHANGE (C2C)
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CAMPUS- ExPANSION TOUR
- vISITS: PENN STATE DELEGATION; DR. LEE
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EXPANSION TOURCAMPUS
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PENN STATE DELEGATION VISITS KUOn January 28, 2015, Khalifa University hosted a day-long visit by a delegation from Penn State University in the United States, including the institution’s Executive Vice President, Provost, Dean of Engineering, and the Associate Provost for Global programs.
Khalifa University hosted a visit from acclaimed Korean geologist, Professor Sang-Mook Lee, on Sunday, March 29, 2015. Prof. Lee, who is often referred to as the “Stephen Hawking” of Korea, is a professor of geophysics at the Seoul National University and recipient of South Korea’s Medal of Merit. He is renowned for his work on tectonic plates, underwater earthquakes and volcanoes, in addition to being an advocate for the disabled following a car accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down in 2006.
Prof. Lee met with faculty from Khalifa University’s Civil Engineering program. Together, they discussed Prof. Lee’s research as well as common interests and potential collaborations.
“It’s a great honor to host Prof. Lee,” said KU President Dr. Tod Laursen. “His work, both professionally in his work in geology, and personally, in his advocacy for the disabled, are inspiring on many levels. Our faculty certainly benefitted from the opportunity to speak with him, discuss his incredible research and seek out areas where they can work together to make advancements in the areas of civil engineering, robotics, assistive technologies, and design education.”
Khalifa University offers a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, which focuses on the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and natural environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings.
RENOWNED KOREAN GEOLOGIST VISITS KHALIFA UNIVERSITY
CAMPUS
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DIvERSITy- JAPAN TRIP - JAPANESE SPEECh CONTEST - KOREAN STUDENTS vISIT - vISIT FROM KOREAN ADvANCED INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND TEChNOLOGy
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DIVERSITY
STUDENTS TRAVEL TO JAPAN
A GROUP OF 22 KhALIFA UNIvERSITy STUDENTS hAD ThE OPPORTUNITy TO TRAvEL TO JAPAN IN DECEMBER 2014.
ThE TRIP WAS ORGANIZED AND FUNDED By ThE NIPPON CLUB WITh SPONSORShIP FROM ADNOC AND KhALIFA UNIvERSITy. ThE STUDENTS vISITED MITSUBIShI ELECTRONICS, KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL (ORIx), TOyOTA AND ThE UNIvERSITy OF NAGOyA, AS WELL AS ThE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF KyOTO, ThE hIROShIMA PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND ThE IMPERIAL PALACE. DUE TO JAPAN’S UNUSUALLy COLD WINTER WEAThER AT ThE TIME, ThEy WERE ALSO ABLE TO SEE SNOW IN KyOTO AND IN TOKyO.
“ThE TRIP WAS SOMEThING ThAT WILL ALWAyS BE ENGRAvED IN OUR hEARTS AND MEMORIES FOREvER,” SAID ONE OF ThE STUDENTS. “ESPECIALLy ThAT WE GOT TO KNOW EACh OThER MORE, MADE GREAT FRIENDS FOR LIFE, AND hAD MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT JAPAN, ITS CULTURE, hERITAGE AND LOvELy PEOPLE.”
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EMIRATES SKILLS WIN | WHAT’S HAPPENEDDIVERSITY
KU STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN JAPANESE SPEECH CONTEST
ThREE KU STUDENTS – OMAR AL SUWAIDI, SARA MUBARAK AL SULAIMAN AND NOUR ABURA’ED PARTICIPATED IN ThE ThIRD ANNUAL JAPANESE LANGUAGE SPEECh CONTEST, ORGANIZED By ThE EMBASSy OF JAPAN, AND hELD ON MONDAy, FEBRUARy 23, 2015. ThE CONTEST REQUIRED STUDENTS TO WRITE A TExT, ABOUT A TOPIC OF ThEIR OWN ChOOSING, IN JAPANESE AND ThEN DELIvER IT TO ThE AUDIENCE.
NOUR, A KU MASTER’S STUDENT IN ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING, TOOK FIRST PLACE IN ThE INTERMEDIATE CATEGORy FOR hER TALK ON “MIyAZAKI hAyAO.”
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KOREAN STUDENTS DIVERSITY
ThIRTy KOREAN UNIvERSITy STUDENTS vISITED KU IN JANUARy BEFORE STARTING
INTERNShIPS AT ThE EMIRATES NUCLEAR ENERGy CORPORATION.
KhALIFA UNIvERSITy hELD ITS 5Th ANNUAL KAIST-KU RESEARCh
SyMPOSIUM AT ITS ABU DhABI CAMPUS ON TUESDAy, DECEMBER 16.
ThE EvENT BROUGhT TOGEThER RESEARChERS FROM ThE KOREAN
ADvANCED INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND TEChNOLOGy, KNOWN AS KAIST,
AND KhALIFA UNIvERSITy, TO DISCUSS RESEARCh IDEAS, ThEMES AND
COLLABORATIvE EFFORTS.
KAIST VISIT
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EvENTS ExhIBITIONSEDUCATION- CAREER DAy
- hEALTh AND FITNESS
- OPEN DAy
- IDEx
- WORLD FUTURE ENERGy SUMMIT
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Khalifa University held a special career day for students on the Abu Dhabi campus January 26, 2015. The event hosted more than 45 organizations from Abu Dhabi and Dubai and provided the opportunity to meet with interested students for possible employment and internships.
Some of the organizations represented included Global Aerospace Logistics, Healthpoint Hospital, Strata, Lloyd’s Register, Thuraya Telecommunication,
Turbine Services & Solutions, KEO International Consultants, the National Petroleum Company (NPCC), and Schlumberger.
The organizations met with Khalifa University’s top-notch students, and were able to assess how the University operates while exploring avenues for possible collaboration and support.
Presentations were made by various organizations, including the following
talks: “5 Steps to U.S. Study” by Haya Al Satari the Educational Advisor for EducationUSA; “Skills Required in the Workplace” by Gaby Abi Aad, Country Manager for NCR; and, “Working in the Private Sector, A Perspective from a %100 Locally Owned Technology Company” by Salem AL Shamsi, Head of Sales, Marketing and Business Development for SecureTech LLC.
Other presentations highlighted industry/sector opportunities and internship
EVENTS, EXHIBITION AND EDUCATION
CAREER DAy OFFERS STUDENTS ThE OPPORTUNITy TO MEET WITh POTENTIAL EMPLOyERS
KHALIFA UNIVERSITY HOLDS SUCCESSFUL CAREER DAY FOR STUDENTS
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HEALTH & FITNESSEVENTS, EXHIBITION AND EDUCATION
Khalifa University participated in the Health and Fitness Fun Festival 2015, held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bin Mubarak, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, March 11-13.
With fun, interactive and educational games, KU helped get kids interested in healthy living, science and technology. A “crime scene investigation” had children searching for lost candy by using sleuthing techniques like fingerprinting.
Khalifa University’s booth also featured tests designed to rapidly assess visitors’ health, fitness and general well-being. The stations were managed by students representing several different KU programs, including Biomedical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, as well as students from the Preparatory Program and the Med Club. Faculty and staff were on hand as advisors.
Activities included several non-invasive physical tests, including a lung capacity assessment, a strength challenge, as well as a Body Mass Index test that did not require weighing.
One of the games, designed by students in the University’s Electronic Engineering Program, measured people’s reactions to speed and was “tailored” for those living in Abu Dhabi. Biomedical Engineering students will use the data collected for research purposes and as part of future studies.
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OPEN DAYEVENTS, EXHIBITION AND EDUCATION
Khalifa University invited students to visit the Abu Dhabi campus, February 2-3, to see the facilities and learn about course offerings. Potential students were presented with information and facts about Khalifa University’s undergraduate and graduate programs, and learned about the ways in which the institution is expanding Abu Dhabi’s
knowledge economy. They also had an opportunity to meet current students, faculty and staff; learn about student life, scholarship opportunities; and receive tips on choosing a major. One of the major themes of the event was on career-related information and advice for students and their families.
Prospective students and their parents had the opportunity to meet faculty members from diverse academic programs, including the University’s highly acclaimed preparatory program. They also spoke with members of different university clubs to learn more about the exciting student life Khalifa University offers.
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IDEXEVENTS, EXHIBITION AND EDUCATION
KhALIFA UNIvERSITy ShOWCASES MASTERS PROGRAMS IN SECURITy AT IDEx 2015
KhALIFA UNIvERSITy PARTICIPATED IN ThE INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE ExhIBITION AND CONFERENCE (IDEx) 2015 By hIGhLIGhTING MASTERS PROGRAMS IN INTERNATIONAL AND CIvIL SECURITy AND INFORMATION SECURITy AND DISPLAyING SEvERAL STUDENT/ALUMNI PROJECTS. ThE PROJECTS WERE ALL NON-MILITARy-USE DRONES ThAT WERE FINALISTS IN ThE RECENT UAE DRONES FOR GOOD AWARD. IDEx WAS hELD FEBRUARy 22-26 AT ThE ABU DhABI NATIONAL ExhIBITION CENTER (ADNEC).
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IDEX
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KHALIFA UNIVERSITY SHOWCASES ADVANCEMENTS IN DRONE TECHNOLOGY AT WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT
EVENTS, EXHIBITION AND EDUCATION
KhALIFA UNIvERSITy PARTICIPATED IN ThE WORLD FUTURE ENERGy SUMMIT (WFES) WhICh TOOK PLACE FROM JANUARy 19-22 AT ThE ABU DhABI NATIONAL ExhIBITION CENTER (ADNEC) AND WAS hELD UNDER ThE PATRONAGE OF hIS hIGhNESS GENERAL ShEIKh MOhAMMED BIN ZAyED AL NAhyAN, CROWN PRINCE OF ABU DhABI, DEPUTy SUPREME COMMANDER OF ThE UAE ARMED FORCES AND ChAIRMAN OF KhALIFA UNIvERSITy.
KU showcased several projects, most impressive of which were two drones, one of which is used for fog dissipation (see Student Feature in this issue of Reflections), the other for search and rescue. Drones have a much lower energy consumption than most other aerial vehicles, which makes them energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels.
The fog dissipation drone, is not only energy efficient, it’s also environmentally friendly, using the byproduct of desalination in order to dissipate fog over airport runways and highways. The drone is designed to spray a salt water solution into heavy fog, thereby dissipating it. The drone can even determine automatically how much spray is needed and adjust it accordingly.
The search and rescue drone is a first responder in cases of indoor fires. The drones are designed to do a “sweep” of the inside of the building to look for surviving victims, deliver aid to them and protect them from overexposure to smoke. It can also report their location to rescue personnel resulting in a prompt and quick evacuation process, which will increase the victim’s chances of survival.
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FEATURES- STUDENT FEATURE: FOG DISSIPATION
- FACULTy FEATURE: MARCELLUS
- ALUMNI FEATURE: AIDAROUS
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The team consisted of Mouza and Sameera, who are both completing their PhD in Engineering, as well as Khawla Al Ghafli, also a PhD student, and Alya Almazam who is in her senior year in Communications Engineering, in addition to their academic advisor Dr. Reyad El-Khazali and Engineer Mohamad Quraishi.
“The idea of the project is an excellent one since fog has such a detrimental impact on car accidents, flight delays, and airline losses,” says Dr. Reyad. “A cancellation of a single flight due to fog can cost airlines a loss of hundreds of thousands of US dollars. Interestingly, most researchers continue to focus on cloud seeding to create rain, but never focus on looking for a solution to dissipate fog.”
The drone, which can currently carry 15-20kgs of a special brine solution, which absorbs fog particles, has been tested in a closed greenhouse with artificially generated fog, which it dissipated in 11 seconds. The women hope to build a machine that can carry up to 50kgs, and can be used to clear fog on long stretches of highway or airport runways.
“Perhaps ‘the skies the limit’ is a bit overused,” says Khalifa University student Sameera Almulla. “For us, I think it’s better to say that the sky is just the beginning of our ambitions, and outer space is the limit.”
Certainly the sky appears limitless for Sameera, and her colleague Mouza Shemaili, who recently participated in the “Drones for Good” competition as semi-finalists in the international category with their fog dissipation drone. The unique drone has garnered a lot of attention due to its ability to clear fog by spraying a solution that will turn it into precipitation.
“I actually came up with the idea when I was driving my car on foggy day,” says Mouza. “I was thinking about the Drones for Good competition and in particular H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid’s personality and how he always has limitless hope. I really want to be like him, so I looked at the sky but it was foggy, then I said to myself, I really need to clear the sky first. That was when the idea started in my mind, I asked myself why there is no practical solution to the fog? I forwarded the idea to the team and thank God they liked it.”
STUDENT FEATUREThE SKy IS JUST ThE START
“The Drone for Good competition was just the starting point,” says Sameera. “I believe it will require innovation, persistent and hard work to ensure the success of this project. For us, success can be measured by receiving the news that our drone save the lives of motorists who many otherwise have been killed due to accidents caused by thick fog.”
“One of the most difficult parts of the project was to design a fully autonomous drone that could carry a heavy liquid load of 20 kgs,” says Dr. Reyad. “A liquid load causes a huge instability to any aircraft due to the continuous movement of the fluid, especially for drones. Obtaining the right controller design was a challenge in itself. If it were not for the safety measures, the drone could have crashed several times during testing, as it was, it did fall down several times. Stabilizing such a huge drone was the biggest challenge of the whole project, and I commend the Ultimate UAE in Dubai, who was our partner in developing the drone, for allowing us to use their facilities and for interacting with our team.”
“The idea seemed pretty infeasible at first,” says Mouza. “In order to do it we needed to create fog in our lab and try to come
up with a solution could get rid of it without any harm. Coming up with a suitable solution was not that easy, and we read a lot of research, and experiments just to prove our concept.”“The team did a very good job in implementing an environmentally friendly solution to dissipate the fog,” says Dr. Reyad. “Research into cloud seeding helped us to get the idea of using salt and to develop a brine solution that gave us amazing results. Fog dissipation is not a trivial matter and should be studied further in order to come up with the right solution for the different types of fogs that can be formed worldwide.”
It was all part of the fun for Mouza and Sameera though, whose love for science, mathematics and technology led them to a career in engineering in the first place.
The fog dissipation drone was featured on a BBC News Report about innovation in the UAE.
FEATURES
55 54
Students in “Social Life and the Built Environment,” taught by Dr. Kristina Marcellus, think long and hard about humans and the spaces they inhabit. Examining the complicated relationships between society and physical structures engages young engineering brains on a whole other level.
“And that’s the whole point,” says Dr. Marcellus, “to give them another language and set of tools.”
In one unit of inquiry, Dr. Marcellus’s students are required to consider how key social purposes change when shopping malls replace traditional souks. The souk, as she explains, was once a place for people who came to the city to “get their bearings” by meeting and greeting likeminded locals.
“It was a community center of sorts,” she details. “Today’s malls offer an entirely new way of associating with other people. Old social patterns are not just automatically overlaid over a new building in the same location.”
Aisha Idrees, a junior majoring in biomed, says she used to give very little thought as to how places and spaces affect actions, values and beliefs. But thanks to Dr. Marcellus, Aisha’s world – and mind – have opened up. “This course helps in applying the many ideas we learned in sociology to the physical structure around us,” she says. “And makes you see everything in a different light.”
For her term paper, Aisha plans to reflect on Shalimar Garden, which she visited as a child. “It was built in Pakistan in the year 1641 in the time of the Mughals on the orders of Shah Jahan who was also responsible for the construction of Taj Mahal,” she explains. “It is interesting to learn or even think about why was the garden built, what purpose did it serve, and how is the use of the garden different now and why?”
Ali Abdulla Ali Al Shebli, a junior studying electrical and electronic engineering, believes there is great value in Dr. Marcellus’ methodology. “It’s important for engineering students to understand all the bases of a problem before finding the solution,” he says. What’s next on the list of spaces to consider? Dr. Marcellus will conclude this semester’s class with a tour of the Khalifa University’s campus extension, and ask the students to consider how our community might shift when we are in the new space.
“Of course,” she asserts, “we won’t really know until we’re in it.”
STUDENTS ThINK DIFFERENTLy IN MARCELLUS’ “DEFINING SPACES, DEFINING LIvES” COURSE
FACULTY FEATURE
FEATURES
57 56
person responsible for their security and I told him what was going on and how to fix it,” Aidarous explains of the reaction to his discovery. “Then the CEO called me and said he wants to reward me. I went to his office, and he gave me a trophy, with the picture of the first Al Ittihad newspaper ever.” This isn’t the first time that Aidarous has been recognized for his achievements in Cyber Security. In 2014, he earned first place in the Emirates Skills Cyber Security Competition with fellow undergrad Marwa Jaber. The Competition was a multilevel contest that pitted teams from different institutions around the UAE against each other. The main objective was for students to detect security flaws in a website and to exploit them. They also were required to propose coded security solutions to harden the sites against detected attacks.“It was stressful,” remembers Aidarous. “Especially because the results were shown on a projector in the middle of the field, so we were facing the team from Zayed University, and sometimes they were ahead of us and then we were ahead of them, and back and forth, but at the end we won. It was very exciting, because their team was good.”
Aidarous plans to work for a while, but his goal is to return to Khalifa University and earn a Master’s degree in Information Security.
“When I chose Khalifa University, a lot of people told me it was difficult,” he laughs. “One guy even told me there were 100 people who applied and only 5 graduated. Maybe, but I stayed. When I graduated I noticed that I was much better prepared compared to students form other institutions. I really encourage people to stick with Khalifa University because they will notice that they are well-prepared for the work field more than the students from other institutes. I owe the University a lot and I’m excited to rejoin them as a student soon.”
Aidarous Alhashmi noticed a scripting vulnerability while scrolling through Al Ittihad newspaper website. The flaw, which potentially could allow an attacker to steal sensitive data from users of the popular Arabic daily newspaper site, was an easy spot for Aidarous, who has been testing different systems for vulnerabilities since he was 14.
“My older brother used to do the same thing,” explains Aidarous. “Although I know a lot more now, back then people didn’t really know much about security, but nowadays it’s very important, and it’s a good thing to focus on.”
His passion for computer security is what led him pursue an undergraduate degree in computer engineering from Khalifa University. He graduated in 2014, and moved on to a career at Yahsat. Despite an interesting career, he still enjoys penetrate testing systems for flaws, which is what led him to find the one on Al Ittihad’s website.
After discovering the vulnerability, Aidarous contacted the newspaper and told the editors how to avoid attacks on the website, as well as which functions to use to patch the vulnerability.
“The flaw was what they call cross side scripting,” says Aidarous. “Basically it can let the attacker steal the cookies of any user, including the administrator, or even redirect users to malicious websites. I discovered the vulnerability when I noticed that the website accepts what is called special characters. So, I used the alert() function and it popped up the alert window successfully, which means that the page is vulnerable.”
“They said thank you for helping us, and it’s important for us to hear from our readers and they gave me the name of the
ALUMNI FEATURECyBER SLEUTh AIDAROUS ALhAShMI
FEATURES
59 58
GRADUATES- PhD AND MASTER’S GRADUATES
61 60
GRADUATES
hUSAMELDIN MUKhTARPhD IN ENGINEERING
This PhD thesis considers the performance evaluation and
enhancement of video communication over wireless channels.
The thesis proposes algorithms and techniques to optimize the
throughput, transmission power and complexity of wireless vid-
eo communication systems. For example, the thesis proposes
a novel power optimization algorithm that achieves a significant
power saving of up to 80%. Moreover, an adaptive scheme
is proposed to improve delay performance in state-of-the-art
wireless video systems. The obtained results were published in
leading international journals, namely, the IEEE Communication
Letters, IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Signal Processing
and IEEE Transactions on Communications.
“I wanted to do something that is not only driven by my re-
search interest but also relevant to the region where real-world
applications are apparent. So, I selected a topic that combines
video processing and wireless communication which has many
important applications to communication service providers and
end-users.
We had different challenges during the research and I remem-
ber to test my solution I had to use around 20 computers and
it took 700 hours to complete. This was hard to do, especially
with deadlines to meet, but I’m happy to have
completed my PhD.”
RESEARCh TOPIC:
LINK ADAPTATION FOR WIRELESS vIDEO COMMUNICATION SySTEMS
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST GRADUATES!
hAMAD AL MARZOOQI PhD IN ENGINEERING
Information security and secure transactions are essential in
rapidly evolving communication technologies. Cryptography is
the key tool for securing such information with extreme com-
putational overhead. The aim of this research is to design and
implement an efficient and secure cryptographic processor. Effi-
cient in terms of processing throughput and occupied hardware
resources, whereas, secure against malicious fault injection
attacks and power analysis attacks
“When I was a child my father always said he wanted me to be
a doctor, but he meant a medical doctor. Now I’m a doctor, just
not the way he thought I would be and now when my kids have
career days, they always say they want to be a doctor like
their father.
I want to thank Khalifa University for giving me this opportunity.
They provided me with an excellent environment and tools, and
I want to thank my supervisors, Mahmoud Qataryi and
Khaled Saleh.”
RESEARCh TOPIC:
PRIME FIELD ELLIPTIC CURvE CRyPTOGRAPhy PROCESSOR WITh UNIFIED COUNTERMEASURES
SALWA AL ZAhMIMSC By RESEARCh IN ENGINEERING (ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING)
This project provides an automated framework and tool to
help the enterprises in supporting software reuse rather than
redesign when building software solutions. This is to reduce the
development cost and lifecycle maintenance cost of new appli-
cations. The developed tool (SoaSPL tool) ease and automate
the process of configuring and assembling multiple products
from a high-quality software work-products or artifacts across
all phases of the software lifecycle by applying software product
line approach.
“I have always sense the duty of supporting Knowledge econo-
my within UAE, and that came true when I re-joined academia
as a graduate student in engineering. Both the skills that I
acquired through my work experience in the private sector, and
the valuable guidance that I got from my academic and Indus-
trial supervisors contributed tremendously to my success and
achievement during my Masters study. Despite the difficulties
that I faced when translating my research into good reading
papers, I was motivated to produce high quality research with
high impact.”
RESEARCh TOPIC:
AN AUTOMATED FRAMEWORK AND TOOL TO SUPPORT SOFTWARE REUSE
63 62
In this MSc. research, the aim was to enhance the “Maximally
Stable Extremal Regions (MSER) algorithm” both at the
algorithmic structure and the hardware level, and more
specifically as System-on-Chip. The algorithm is the core for
many computer vision and robotics applications, such as visual
surveillance. Five patents were filed out of this research work
and one got accepted for filing recently. The results of this
research work are very promising for further applications related
to the next-generation automated visual surveillance, intelligent
vehicles, transportation systems, and remote sensing.
“The biggest challenge when doing your Masters, and now in my
PhD, is time management, we are managing our research, our
tasks and we are also working as research assistants, and we
have to make sure that we are juggling it all well and to prioritize
our “stacks” as “time waits for no one”. Working with students
is enjoyable, I feel very enthusiastic when one student jumps
into my office with some burning questions that we can solve
together as, I believe, solving problems with the simplest yet
most informative way is the “art of engineering”.
It’s our ultimate duty to help students enjoy this “art” and to
help humanity progress.”
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST GRADUATES!
GRADUATES
EhAB SALAhATMSC By RESEARCh IN ENGINEERING (ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING)
RESEARCh TOPIC:
REAL-TIME ExTRACTION OF MAxIMALLy STABLE ExTREMAL REGIONS ON SOC FOR vISUAL SURvEILLANCE
In my research, first, I introduce a novel receiver that enhances
the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of a cooperative system
with Space-Frequency Block Coding (SFBC) and Orthogonal Fre-
quency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Second, given the same
cooperative scenario, I present a source precoder design and a
relay antenna selection scheme by exploiting the sparsity of the
relay gain vector with imperfect channel estimation and spatially
correlated antennas at all nodes.
“My father is an engineer and he’s my role model, so that’s why
I wanted to become and engineer. My family is really proud of
me, they never dreamed that I would complete my Masters and
move on to my PhD. I’m happy because I get to do research,
which I love.”
RESEARCh TOPIC:
EFFICIENT RECEIvER DESIGN FOR COOPERATIvE WIRELESS NETWORKS OvER FADING ChANNELS
LINA BARIAhMSC By RESEARCh IN ENGINEERING (ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING)
65 64
hIGhLIGhTS- hANS BLIx
- JANE GOODALL
67 66
EMIRATES SKILLS WIN | WHAT’S HAPPENEDHIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Hans Blix, the Head of the UAE’s Nuclear Program Advisory
Board and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) and United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection
Commission, delivered a special lecture on the importance of nu-
clear power as part of KU’s Distinguished Speakers Series. His talk
took place March 17, at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies
and Research (ECSSR).
Dr. Blix’s lecture focused on the importance of nuclear energy as
a viable, clean fuel source that could not only solve the world’s en-
ergy problems, but also cut down substantially on greenhouse gas
emissions, and other toxins produced by conventional fossil fuels.
“In a world that is desperate for viable energy sources that cause
low or no CO2 emissions, we need to make a sober consideration
of our options,” said Dr. Blix. “I am confident that nuclear power
will see a great expansion, but I am troubled that it has not yet
materialized.”
In addition to discussing nuclear energy’s benefits and safety
concerns, Dr. Blix also talked about security issues, including the
proliferation of nuclear arms, and the future of nuclear energy in
the UAE.
“In the UAE, four (reactors) are now being built at the Barakah site
on the Gulf. So far the work has been on schedule and on budget
and four principles have governed and continue to govern the huge
project: safety, security, transparency, and non-proliferation,” said
Dr. Blix. “It is a well prepared and ambitious project involving many
thousands of people. The project has been said to be setting the
gold standard for states embarking on nuclear power.”
Dr. Blix has been a leading voice in the nuclear world during an
era of fast-paced change and development. He was head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency during the Chernobyl disaster,
and lead investigations into its causes and aftermath, and he has
written multiple reports on the nuclear situations in Iraq and Iran,
on nuclear disarmament and on freeing the world from the threat
of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
DR. HANS BLIX DELIVERS POWERFUL LECTURE ON NUCLEAR ENERGY, SAFETY AND SECURITY
69 68
“Love,” she said. “And another word. Respect. Respect for
everyone, for all living things, for the beautiful forests that were
destroyed, the deserts and the oceans.”
Khalifa University Green Crescent members, Sarah Buzwair and
Senamees Khrais, had the opportunity to meet with world-re-
nowned scientist and conservationist Jane Goodall before she
spoke to a packed auditorium at Khalifa University’s Abu Dhabi
campus on January 18, 2015. As they sat in an empty class-
room, the young engineers eagerly peppered their idol with
questions about her life and her passion for protecting
the environment.
Buzwair and Khrais also asked Goodall if she had a message for
today’s young people.
“Remember that every single day, everyone has the opportuni-
ty to make a difference,” she smiled. “We have a choice about
what differences we are going to make. We need to think about
the consequences. Turn taps off, smile at sad people, help a
stray dog, all the little things make a difference.”
Goodall, who was born in London, England in 1934, and never
earned an undergraduate degree, managed to secure a spot as
a primatologist working with the Gombe Chimpanzees, in the
Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, in 1960. Her ground-
breaking research allowed her to pursue a PhD in Ethology at
Cambridge University. Later, she became passionate about pro-
tecting the environment and create the Jane Goodall Institute
and the Roots & Shoots program.
Buzwair and Khrais were most interested in Roots & Shoots,
which Goodall created after a dozen students from local schools
in Tanzania discussed their environmental concerns with her. Of
the original 12 students, one went on to serve as the Minister
of Environment for Tanzania and another became the Roots &
Shoots’ National Director for Tanzania. The organization now has
chapters in over 132 countries, with over 8,000 local groups
worldwide, involving nearly 100,000 youth.
Goodall share a story from the program’s early days with the
young women. “I knew a little boy, in Africa, and I was talking
about the fact that it doesn’t seem much when you pick up a bit
of garbage, and this little boy of 7 looked at me and said ‘If I pick
up a piece of garbage every day for a month, that’s a lot,’ and I
said, ‘yes, and what if you get 10 friends to do that? And they
get 10 friends?’ He looked at me and his eyes got wide and he
said ‘then we can clean the world!’ I can tell you that, after trav-
elling 300 days a year that Roots & Shoots is making difference,”
she enthused.
“When we think globally it’s so over whelming that people get
frustrated,” explained Goodall. “But when we turn it around and
act locally, we can get things done.”
Buzwair and Khrais wanted to know what message Goodall had
for young engineers, and how she thought humans differed
from chimpanzees.
“We are most different from chimpanzees in the development of
our intellect,” said Goodall. “And where things go wrong is when
this clever brain isn’t connected to the human heart. When the
brain is working without love and compassion and thought for
the future is when we develop technology
that is destructive.”
Goodall ended the conversation with advice on how to get more
people interested in conservation. “Make it fun,” she urged.
“Do things to make it fun and make people happy. People get
involved when you listen to them and ask what they want and
what they think about. Challenge your friends to do things that
encourage others to help the environment.”
DAME JANE GOODALL SPEAKS ABOUT ROOTS & SHOOTS; LOVE & RESPECT
The two young women – both in their early twenties, both undergraduate students with a passion for the environment and a lifetime of achievements ahead of them – asked for one word of wisdom from an 81-year-old environmental pioneer with an incredible life time of achievements behind her.
71 70
INNOvATION- MBZIRC
- SMARTSEC
- GSRC
- DRONES FOR GOOD
73 72
Under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Na-
hyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme of the UAE Armed Forces and
the Chairman of Khalifa University’s Board of Trustees, Khalifa University an-
nounced the launch of the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge
(MBZIRC) on February 15, 2015. The international challenge will be held every two
years with prizes worth a total of USD 5 million. The inaugural MBZIRC will take
place in November 2016.
Attended by HH Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Court and Deputy Chairman of Khalifa University Board of Trust-
ees, as well as other members of Khalifa University’s Board of Trustees, senior
management, members of the international judging committee and distinguished
dignitaries, the Challenge was announced at a launching ceremony at Khalifa
University’s Abu Dhabi campus. The event was facilitated by a robot, Reem, who
directed guests to
their seats.
“We are thankful to His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
for his patronage of this challenge, and to His Highness Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, for his close supervision and continuous encouragement. Challenges
like this stimulate students and researchers from all over the world to enable
scientific research and innovation” said Dr. Arif Al Hammadi, Khalifa University’s
Executive Vice President. “Robotics is the science of engineering, design, manu-
facturing, applications and building of robots. It combines a number of disciplines,
including mechanics, electronics, aerospace and programming.
Robotics technology is poised to fuel a broad array of next-generation products
and applications across a diverse range of fields. The MBZIRC has the potential
to broaden the robotics ecosystem in the UAE, promote robotics within local
industry, bring robotics talent to the UAE, and help attract students to science,
technology and engineering disciplines. It will also encourage UAE universities to
offer new science programs and establish robotic research centers.”
Teams interested in entering the competition can find more information at: www.
mbzirc.com. Proposals must be submitted by June 2015, and participants will be
selected in October 2015.
KHALIFA UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES USD 5 MILLION PRIzE FOR MOHAMED BIN zAYED INTERNATIONAL ROBOTICS CHALLENGE
INNOVATION
75 74
UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES THE “ABU DHABI INNOVATION SERIES”- REYADA .INNOVATION
MBzIRC
77 76
EVENTS, EXHIBITION AND EDUCATION
On February 2, 2105. The team, “Security ACT,” consisting of Dr. Hamad Al Marzouqi (coach), Khalfan Almarashda and Mohammed Al Zaabi, was awarded first place in the Professional/University student category for their project (The Anti-Camera Tag). The EBTIC Innovation Center Team, which included Dr. Dymitr Ruta, Dr. Rom Lee and Dr. Kin Poon, came in second place; while PI-Geon Team from Petroleum Institute, which included Dr. Mahmoud Meribout, Andri Haryono, Susaf Noor Azhar and Jing Shi, came in third.
The event received a total of 35 unique submissions – the work of 79 teammates – with proposals from 25 distinct UAE-based teams, in addition
to 10 submissions from Canada, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia, Qatar and the United Kingdom. Contestants consisted of teams from companies, secondary schools and universities.
The inaugural contest sought participation on important issues facing the use of smart devices, particularly those that are part of the smart government initiative. It also aimed at identifying bright minds that would excel in information and cyber security.
Contestants were asked to develop an innovative hardware/software solution to prevent the use of smart device cameras during certain sensitive events and/or
in sensitive areas. Participants had to show ways of controlling smart devices’ cameras independent from their platform (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows). These solutions needed to secure such areas/events without requiring managers to physically take attendees’ smart devices. Moreover, wireless jamming was not allowed. The main target was to control only the camera without disabling other services such as phone calls and SMS.
The competition was held under the sponsorship of Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), National Electronic Security Authority (NESA) and IEEE, UAE Section.
KHALIFA UNIVERSITY’S TEAM TAKES FIRST PLACE IN INTERNATIONAL SMART SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONTEST
A KhALIFA UNIvERSITy TEAM CAME FIRST IN ThE KhALIFA UNIvERSITy AND ABU DhABI POLyTEChNIC SMART SECURITy AND PRIvACy CONTEST
UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES THE “ABU DHABI INNOVATION SERIES”- REYADA .INNOVATION
79 78
RESEARCh SUBJECTS SPANNED A MULTITUDE OF DISCIPLINES FROM ENGINEERING TO ThE ARTS
Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin
Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific
Research, the UAE Graduate Students Research Conference 2015
(UAE GSRC2015) took place at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu
Dhabi, and was organized by Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC)
and Khalifa University.
This was the first time the UAE GSRC took place, and its first
day witnessed over 100 presentations in various interdisciplinary
fields, including Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Arts,
Humanities and the Social Sciences. The second day of the
conference saw 110 unique paper presentations in the areas
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Communication
Engineering, Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Materials Science,
Health and Life Sciences, and Earth and
Environmental Engineering.
Buti Al Delail, an Emirati Computer Engineering PhD student from
Khalifa University and one of the researchers who submitted a
paper to the conference said: “My paper was about a system that
analyzes and summarizes long videos taken by wearable devises
such as smart watches and smart glasses into short videos and
stills. This is a very important conference as it helps students
illustrate their research to others, listen to the feedback of other
attendees and network with peers to enhance our creativity and
innovation.”
Mariam Al Dhaheri, an Emirati Business Administration PhD
student from the UAE University, who submitted a paper
about the relative market risks of Islamic Sukuk said that her
participation at the UAE GSRC was important since it offered
her an opportunity to share her ideas and discuss and get
feedback from other researchers and professors, in addition to
the importance of networking with other students for possible
research collaboration.
GRADUATE STUDENTS RESEARCH CONFERENCE SEES PRESENTATIONS ON SECURITY, BIOTECH, & SOCIAL ISSUES
81 80
KHALIFA UNIVERSITY TEAM MAKES FINALS IN “DRONES FOR GOOD” COMPETITION
Khalifa University student, Fahad Al Shaibani
and alumna Iman Hableel, were one of five
teams to make it to the finals of the “Drones
for Good” Competition in the national
category. Their site inspection drone is
designed to help enforce regulations at labour
camps, doing everything from ensuring that
employees are taking their midday break to
monitoring sites operating outside permitted
hours and building work that exceeds
permitted boundaries.
The drone is also capable of post construction
inspections. The device would cost between
20,000 to 30,000 AED, and has a live internet
feed capacity and is able to provide three-
dimensional imagery of a building site. help
enforce regulations at labour camps, from
ensuring employees take their midday break
to sites operating outside permitted hours
and building work that exceeded permitted
boundaries.The device is also capable of post
construction inspections, its creators said.
Mr Al Shaibani said: “We were looking at the
municipalities [as possible clients] and it’s
a hard job that’s very time consuming and
covering a huge area.”
The drone, which would cost between
Dh20,000 and Dh30,000, has a live internet
feed capacity and can provide three-
dimensional imagery of a building site.
83 82
JUMP- SPORTS ROUNDUP
85 84
SPORTS ROUNDUPJUMP
FEELING SPORTy? KU STUDENTS CERTAINLy ARE! hAMZEh KhALIL, STUDENT ACTIvITIES OFFICER, REPORTS ThAT ThE FOOTBALL TEAM hAS BEEN PRACTICING TWICE WEEK WITh RECENT GAMES IN ThE ABU DhABI INTER-UNIvERSITy SPORTS LEAGUE. ThE FEMALE BADMINTON AND MEN’S TABLE TENNIS TEAMS ALSO hAvE COMPETED IN ThE LEAGUE. A DOZEN FEMALE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A RECENT yAS CyCLING EvENT; AND, 58 FEMALE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN ThE SWIM CLUB EvERy WEDNESDAy.
87 86
KhALIFA- KUPULSE LAUNCh
- #TAG LAUNCh
- KPC
89 88
On February 2, the first issue of KUpulse, an electronic newsletter designed to raise awareness of the world-class research being conducted at Khalifa University, was sent to more than 3500 recipients from Abu Dhabi to Washington, D.C.
“The level and depth of research activity is growing extremely quickly at KU, and we wanted to provide a way where members of the community, our stakeholders and friends could keep up with recent developments,” explains Dr. Tod A. Laursen, President of Khalifa University. “A major goal for the University is to increase
the available information, via web and electronic sources, about the importance and impact of our ongoing research. KUpulse will be a key stimulant for both content development and dissemination of results.”
The compelling and eye-catching features in the inaugural KUpulse included news and research from the Aerospace Research & Innovation Center (ARIC); a Q&A with David Bull, Professor of Signal Processing at the University of Bristol, who worked with KU to establish the Visual Signal Analysis and Processing Research Centre
(VSAP); spotlights on the work of faculty members Dr. Habiba Al Safar and Dr. Chih-Wen Ni; a profile of the very first Emirati to obtain an Engineering PhD in the UAE, KU’s own Dr. Fatma Taher; and, a write-up about Dr. Moh’d Rezeq, who created the world’s smallest semiconductor transistor.
KUpulse will be distributed quarterly with the next issue scheduled for April. Back issues are archived on the research landing page of Khalifa University’s website.
ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER “KUPULSE” PROMOTES RESEARCH AT KU
Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research in Abu Dhabi produces graduates (BSc, MSc, and PhD) who form a superlative cadre of engineers, technologists and applied scientists. KU faculty are well-versed in the creation of knowledge, as well as its dissemination and transfer.
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BE NExT ON ThIS PAGEPost any photo on instagram and use #KhalifaUni
Khalifa University has launched a new social media endeavor called #tag.
Primarily, #tag is a community blog, but it’s also an opportunity. An opportunity for creativity, for expression, for opinion and for education. It’s also an avenue for you to express yourself and to showcase to the world what our community has to offer.
Whether you want to talk about travel, careers, science & technology, nature, lifestyle advice, art or social interests, #Tag is your venue.
How can you submit? It’s easy. Write you entry (be sure to include high res photos, videos, charts or links as these make posts more inter-esting and searchable), and send it to External Relations at: [email protected]
We will review your post (mostly for grammar and to ensure you aren’t going to get anyone ar-rested) and then post it for you. New posts will go up every Thursday, so be sure to check blog.kustar.ac.ae to see them.
The site itself is pretty straightforward, posts are archived according to date and topic, you can subscribe and leave comments on posts, you can add tags similar to how you would on twitter, and popular posts will always float to the top.
So what are you waiting for? Get blogging!
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KU PROGRAMMING CONTEST TESTS STUDENTS’ PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
KHALIFA
ThE KhALIFA UNIvERSITy PROGRAM-MING CONTEST (KPC), hELD MARCh 19, ChALLENGED TEAMS OF KU STUDENTS WITh COMPLEx, REAL-WORLD PROB-LEMS IN A TWO-hOUR TIMEFRAME. hUDDLED AROUND A SINGLE COM-PUTER, COMPETITORS RACED AGAINST ThE CLOCK IN A BATTLE OF LOGIC, STRATEGy AND MENTAL ENDURANCE. TEAMS COLLABORATED TO RANK ThE DIFFICULTy OF SIx OR MORE PROBLEMS, DEDUCE ThE REQUIREMENTS, DESIGN TEST BEDS, AND BUILD SOFTWARE SyS-TEMS TO SOLvE ThE PROBLEMS – ALL UNDER ThE INTENSE SCRUTINy OF ThE JUDGES.
ThE FIRST-PLACE TEAM CONSISTED OF AhMED T. SULIMAN, ABDULRAhMAN ALhADhRAMI, AND KhALED AL KAABI. ThE SECOND-PLACE TEAM CONSISTED OF ABDULRAhIM NASER EDDIN, SUL-TAN ABDULLA ALQUBAISI, AND hUDA ABUALOLA. ThE ThIRD-PLACE TEAM CONSISTED OF LUBNA ABDUL NAZAR AND ShANNEN ANGELI MEDINA.
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CALL FOR ENTRIES
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ERIN BRANNENExternal Relations OfficeKhalifa University- Abu Dhabi
+971 (02) 501 8540 [email protected]
ABU DHABI CAMPUSPO Box 127788Abu Dhabi, UAET: +971 2 401800F: +971 2 4472442
/khalifauni
/khalifauniversity
SHARJHA CAMPUSPO Box 573Sharjha, UAET: +971 6 5978888F: +971 6 5611789
www.kustar.ac.ae
/khalifauniversity
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