Abu Dhabi - MENA Herald: The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced that at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2016 it will highlight its active projects and platforms that drive forward the UAE’s innovation agenda and support moving the global efforts to reduce climate emissions.
Masdar Institute, as the world’s first graduate-level research-based university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, will be announcing a number of collaboration agreements, new project launches, and will be showcasing its achievements in pursuit of its goals of sustainability, including carbon capture and sequestration, renewable energy technology development, and climate monitoring.
Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost, Masdar Institute, said: “Masdar Institute will leverage ADSW and WFES as an opportunity to present its research and collaborations that support the UAE agenda for innovation and economic diversification. These include new projects for water security, advanced materials, carbon capture and sequestration, renewable energy uptake, energy efficiency, sustainability innovations and, more importantly, human capacity building through education and awareness programs..”
“Additionally, our areas of research help to enable countries across the globe to achieve the emissions reduction targets that were discussed in Paris last month,” Dr. Al Yousuf added.
Part of ADSW 2016 that is held from 16-21 January 2016, WFES is an annual platform to exchange ideas, explore the latest developments, and address challenges in the future energy arena. The event is expected to attract more than 30,000 attendees from 170 countries, and 650 exhibiting companies from more than 40 countries.
Masdar Institute’s faculty and students will be integrally involved with several activities at the WFES 2016 and the International Water Summit 2016 (IWS) to highlight the research-based institution’s role in sustainable innovation and clean energy research. Some of the knowledge-exchange sessions that the faculty will be involved with include solar energy, space concentration, water and desalination, bioenergy including biofuel, and graphene research.
This year’s Masdar Institute pavilion will include an Innovation Zone that will feature several leading research projects in energy, water and advanced materials that are relevant to the UAE, the region and the global community. In addition, the Green Career Fair 2016 and the Young Future Energy Leaders’ (YFEL) stands will also be co-located within the Masdar Institute pavilion.
Other features of the pavilion will include presentations by select faculty on high-priority research areas, individual booths and presentations by companies talent-hunting for the green energy sector, an Oculus Rift virtual reality head-mounted display unit providing a glimpse of some of Masdar Institute’s research facilities, and a ‘digital wall’ that will capture, curate and present Masdar Institute followers’ social content in real time from social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Other events in which Masdar Institute will be engaged include the launch of collaborations in graphene research, the Middle East release of the Green to Scale Report developed in collaboration with the Finnish Think-Tank Sitra, the release of a report on the UAE’s efforts toward energy subsidy reform that was written in collaboration with the Washington D.C.-based Brookings Institution, and an important announcement from the Seawater Energy and Agriculture System’s (SEAS) pilot project by the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), the partnership of leading industry and government organizations that was founded by Masdar Institute.
Innovate@IWS 2016 will feature three finalist innovators pitching their innovation to a panel of judges for five minutes each. The event aims to find and accelerate next generation technologies in water sustainability.
Faculty experts will lead and participate in various sessions during the ADSW 2016 and IWS 2016. Dr. Steve Griffiths, Vice President for Research, will speak on the ‘High-level Masdar Institute Research Agenda’ at WFES and on ‘Creating world-class partnerships between research industry, government and academia to build long-term sustainable solutions’ at the IWS. Dr Griffiths will also participate in a session titled ‘Breakthrough technologies to watch’ and share his perspectives on the research being done today that will significantly impact the way we generate, distribute and use energy in future. The focus will be on research which could lead to technological breakthroughs and meaningful business implications.
Dr. Alejandro Rios Galvan, Director of the SBRC and Professor of Practice, Engineering Systems and Management, will highlight the progress of the projects under the consortium, which is a partnership of energy and technology leaders founded by Masdar Institute.
As the official R&D partner for IWS 2016, Dr. Taha B.M.J. Ouarda, Professor of Water and Environmental Engineering, and Head of Masdar Institute Center for Water and Environment (iWater), will drive home the innovations in water related technologies at the Innovate@IWS. Dr. Ouarda will speak on the ‘Innovations in the water-food-energy nexus; and ‘Water adaption strategies to combat climate change and natural disasters.’
At the same time, Dr. Saif Saeed Al Mheiri, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and Dr. Daniel Sunghoi Choi, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, will highlight the developments and contribution of Masdar Institute's new Master’s concentration in space technologies and systems, which is offered across seven of the Institute’s Master’s programs. The programs aims to develop talent for the UAE’s space building program.
The Ghantoot Desalination Project will be elaborated on by faculty from the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, including Dr. Linda Zou, Professor, Dr. Hassan Arafat, Associate Professor, and Dr. Shadi Hasan, Assistant Professor.
Dr. Daniel Sunghoi Choi, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, will offer details about the graphene research that Masdar Institute is conducting in collaboration with the University of Manchester, in the UK.
The continuing advancements made by Masdar Institute in solar energy research through the Masdar Institute Solar Platform will be illustrated by Dr. Nicolas Calvet, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
Masdar Institute will seek to reinforce its dedication to developing sustainable and innovative solutions to the regions’ water and energy challenges through its participation in various discussions and knowledge exchanges during the ADSW 2016.
