Four Young Women Sweep Inaugural 2018 UAE Student Awards for Advancement of PG Education

The Gulf Intelligence

H.E. Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy & Industry, Presented the Awards to the Two Ph.D. & Two Masters Students at a Ceremony Hosted at New York University Abu Dhabi

Source: The Gulf Intelligence

Four Women swept to victory in the inaugural UAE Student Awards for the Advancement of Post Graduate Education 2018, which were launched today at NYU Abu Dhabi by the Minister of Energy & Industry H.E. Suhail Al-Mazrouei to celebrate young pioneers in the "Year of Zayed" who are building the country’s capacity to realize the vision of a knowledge economy.

The two Student Award winners of the 2018 Ph.D. category were both from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology -- Aaesha Alnuaimi, Ph.D. in Microsystem Engineering, and Yusra Abdulrahman, Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering. While the two Winners in the Master's category, included Hiba Najini, Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University; and Manar Almazrouei, Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology.

H.E. Suhail Al Mazrouei was joined at the Awards presentation ceremony, which was hosted during the annual Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum, by Professor Sehamuddin Galadari, Senior Vice Provost of Research Outreach & Managing Director of the Research Institute at New York University Abu Dhabi. The Awards are aligned with the National Innovation Strategy, which aims to make the UAE one of the most innovative nations in the world. The strategy seeks to create innovation champions in individuals, companies, institutions, and government.

"It is a great sense of achievement for the UAE that these young women have scored the highest marks amongst all nominees to be recognized in this special commemorative year that marks 100 years since the birth of the country’s Founding Father, with 2018 declared the Year of Zayed," said Sean Evers, Managing Partner, Gulf Intelligence, which created the awards in partnership with NYU Abu Dhabi. “The Award Winners and their fellow nominees are the UAE energy industry’s future inventors and scientists who will underpin the growth of the country‘s innovation ecosystem,“ he said.

The International Selection Committee convened to review and grade all the nominees for the UAE Student Awards for the Advancement of Post Graduate Education 2018 included Dr. Mohammed Daqaq, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, NYU Abu Dhabi; Dr. Steven Griffiths, Interim Executive Vice President for Research, Khalifa University of Science and Technology; Dr. Abdulrahman Alraeesi, Director, Emirates Center for Energy and Environmental Research, UAE University; and Professor Martin Blunt, Chair of Petroleum Engineering, Imperial College London.

In 2015 the UAE President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, announced the adoption of the Emirates Science, Technology and Innovation Higher Policy which included 100 national initiatives in the educational sector, health, energy, transportation, space, and water. The plan projected a possible investment of over Dh300 billion and included new national policies in legislation, investment, technology, education, and finance to build a vibrant knowledge economy in the UAE.

Winners of The UAE Student Awards for the Advancement of Post-Graduate Education 2018

Aaesha Alnuaimi

Dr. Aaesha Alnuaimi received her M.Sc and Ph.D. in Microsystem Engineering from Masdar Institute of science and technology in 2013 and 2017. During her studies, she worked as a research and teaching assistant in the electrical engineering department. Dr.Aaesha Alnuaimi was awarded the young Emirati researcher prize in 2013 by the national research foundation in recognition of her research on thin film crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cells. In addition, Dr.Aaesha Alnuaimi received Shaikh Rashed award for scientific outstanding in 2017 for her Ph.D. work on graphene/silicon Schottky junction solar cells.  Her research interests are in the areas of novel nanostructured materials and 2D materials for photovoltaics and optoelectronics devices as well as silicon and thin-film-based PV modules. She has co-authored more than 20 conference proceedings and scientific journal papers in ranked journals and international conferences. Currently, Dr.Aaesha Alnuaimi works as a Sr. R&D Technologist at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) R&D center in Muhammad Bin Rashid Solar Park where she is exploring the performance and reliability of silicon and thin film PV module technologies in desert climatic condition.

Yusra Abdulrahman

Yusra Abdulrahman graduated from the University of Arizona, the USA with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Management, and Systems and an Industrial minor in May 2014 with honors. She received her M.S in Engineering and Systems Management from Masdar Institute, where she was exposed to the topic of sustainability and got to know more about it by being engaged in national and international events. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering at Masdar Institute, and working on a collaborative research with Strata Manufacturing on Non-Destructive testing and thermal imaging to improve the testing methods currently used to test airplane parts.

Hiba Najini

Hiba Najini is a distinguished graduate from Heriot-Watt University for holding a masters degree with distinction under mechanical engineering discipline with a focus in the energy sector and a bachelor of engineering degree with first class honors with a focus on electrical and electronic engineering. She is currently developing her skills within UAE’s Energy industry by contributing her expertise in an ESCO company. Her contributions are consultancy based on energy audits, the proposal of energy-saving measures, retrofitting for lighting, HVAC, water and other building aspects as per ASHRAE level requirements that comply with UAE’s standards. Additionally, she is a published author and a researcher for her projects on the generation of renewable energy from road traffic and techno-economic analysis of green building regulations based in UAE.

Manar Almazrouei

Manar Almazrouei a 23-year-old master's student in Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology with 4/4 GPA. She also studied at Sharjah University where she obtained her Bachelors in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Engineering and graduated with honors. She received a scholarship from the Scholarship Office - Ministry of Presidential Affairs for 2012-2016. She trained in the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) in 2014 and in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Masdar Institute in 2015. She graduated from the Young Future Energy leader program in 2015 and Al-Maktoum College Summer School in 2016. In 2017 she attended MIT Summer Visitors Program organized under the MIT-Masdar Institute Cooperative Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Presented scientific papers at the 9th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE 2017) (Cardiff, UK) and attended the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) as part of the UAE delegation to COP23. She was selected as a member of Emirates Youth Council-RAK. She had different scientific papers presented at conferences in Athens, Morocco, and the UK. She also submitted her scientific work for different international scientific journals.