FOUR Women swept to victory in the inaugural UAE Student Awards for the Advancement of Post Graduate Education 2018, which were launched Thursday at NYU Abu Dhabi by the Minister of Energy & Industry 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 PhD category were both from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology — Aaesha Alnuaimi, PhD in Microsystem Engineering, and Yusra Abdulrahman, PhD in Interdisciplinary Engineering. While the two winners in the Masters category, included Hiba Najini, Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Heriot Watt University; and Manar Almazrouei, Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology.

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 innovative 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 Sheikh 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. — SG

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 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 photovoltaics solar cells. In addition, she received Sheikh Rashed award for scientific outstanding in 2017 for her PhD 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, US, with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Management, and Systems and Industrial minor in May 2014 with honors. Then received her MSc 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 PhD 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. Her dream is to become a successful women so that she can set an example to her fellow country women, youth, and others.‫ ‬ She said, the UAE and the great leadership has given and provided her with the support she needed, and it is her time now to contribute to society and give back to her country.‬‬

Hiba Najini

She is a distinguished graduate from Heriot Watt University for holding a masters degree with distinction under mechanical engineering discipline with focus in energy field and she has 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 ESCO company. Her contributions are consultancy based on energy audits, proposal of energy saving measures, retrotting 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 generation of renewable energy from road traffic and technoeconomic analysis of green building regulations based in UAE. She strongly believes, “A glass is always half full as different perspectives from even a commoner potentially endures ad hoc solutions to top level engineering conumdrums.”

Manar Almazrouei

Manar Almazrouei is 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 bachelor 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 to member in Emirates Youth Council-RAK. She had different scientific papers presented in conferences in Athens, Morocco and UK. She also, submitted her scientific work for different international scientific journals.