University Resources

Academic Achievement Center

This center offers students assistance in academic matters through individual and group advising. The academic achievement advisors help students with issues such as study skills, time management, test-taking techniques and strategies for course selection. They also help develop a retention plan for students, and follow the progress of students on probation

Architecture and Design Facilities

Beginning with the sophomore year, School of Architecture and Design students benefit from personally assigned workstations in digital studios. Students accepted into the second year have dedicated individual worktables and desktop computer workstations with network connections. The school provides for the use of both Macintosh and Intel-based platforms. All students have 1:1 access to the 100 Mbs Ethernet. Dedicated ancillary spaces, which are shared by all curricula, include digital classrooms and closed networked studios, a high-end Macintosh lab, an Intel-based lab, input/output labs, a printmaking shop, lighting and photography labs, a dedicated student wood and metal shop, the Visual Resource Center, the Technical Equipment Center, a 3-D lab, the Material Resource Room, an exhibition gallery and dedicated critique rooms. Multimedia, video and sound equipment are featured in the Advanced Digital Laboratory, which includes sound editing booths.

AUS Writing Center

TThe AUS Writing Center, located on the first floor of the Library building is dedicated to helping students become independent, confident writers through an interactive approach to writing. Available to all AUS students, the Writing Center offers one-on-one writing conferences by appointment or on a drop-in basis. During these conferences, students and consultants work together on various aspects of writing: thesis development, organization, outlining, paragraph development, vocabulary, sentence structure and mechanics. Students can visit the Writing Center to work on their drafts, to do research or to work with a consultant on particular aspects of their writing. The Writing Center also offers workshops on a variety of writing topics throughout the academic year. For more information, visit www.aus.edu/cas/writingcenter/.

Computer Learning Resources

All classrooms are networked and most are equipped with data projectors and other technology that enable faculty members and students to enhance learning with digital and online content. Wireless network access is available in all academic areas of the campus, and its capacity is being increased in selected locations to support wireless laptops.

AUS departments and programs offer a range of specialized computer laboratories with software to support student work. Additionally, the library features an information commons with an expanded range of computers, software and related technology along with support for students’ research and other academic work.

Engineering and Computing Laboratories

The College of Engineering has approximately 30 undergraduate laboratories and workshops. All equipment and instruments are accessible to and extensively used by the students. Laboratory summaries are presented below by department, and may be reviewed in detail on each department’s website.
Chemical engineering has unit operation, software, environmental, petroleum, water, materials, fluid flow and heat transfer laboratories. Civil engineering laboratories are designed for conducting standard construction materials, soil, rocks, water and environmental tests.

Computer engineering has general-purpose programming, digital systems, microprocessor, very large scale integration (VLSI), embedded systems, industrial computer applications, high-performance computer cluster, computer network, software engineering and database laboratories.

Computer science has one dedicated computer lab as well as a senior project lab. In addition, the computer engineering digital systems lab is used by computer science students for their digital systems laboratory course component.
Electrical engineering laboratories focus on electronics, electric power, control, measurements, machines, communications and signal processing, nondestructive testing and medical electronics.

Mechanical engineering has laboratories for measurements and control, engine testing, advanced manufacturing, fluid mechanics, materials testing, mechatronics, vibrations, computer-aided engineering, refrigeration and air-conditioning, thermodynamics and solar energy.

The various departments share six computer labs with more than 180 stations. All labs have dedicated lab instructors and engineers. Additionally, all engineering facilities offer wireless connectivity.

Library

The AUS Library, a stunning 11,000-square-meter state-of-the-art facility, provides collections, services and programs to support the curricular and research needs of the university community. The majority of the library’s rapidly growing physical collections of 100,000 items is in English; however, there are also materials available in Arabic. An online catalog system can be used to search for library materials from any location on or off campus. Using the library website, students and faculty can access e-books, online databases, full-text journals and other digital resources. Library facilities include the Information Commons, group study rooms, quiet study areas and media viewing rooms. The library offers hands-on information literacy classes to teach students research skills. The library works in conjunction with all parts of the university to provide academic resources for all classes taught at AUS. Further information regarding the library is available at http://library.aus.edu.

Mass Communication Laboratories and Studios

Students in the Department of Mass Communication benefit from high-tech laboratories with computer stations featuring graphic design and desktop publishing software. The Mass Communication Studio is a state-of-the-art video studio dedicated to the development of student media skills. It consists of four digital wide-screen cameras, a wide-screen digital video mixer and a digital audio mixer. A variety of sets and studio environments can quickly be created, including a blue screen, an infinity sweep set, a limbo set, a reality set and a news set. Entry-level students can also benefit from a mini-studio used as a lecture lab before they are allowed to use the main studio.

Office of Alumni Affairs

The Office of Alumni Affairs works to maintain contact between alumni and the university. Together with the AUS Alumni Association, the office organizes events, facilitates contact among graduates and publishes the quarterly magazine AUS Connect. The Office of Alumni Affairs also oversees worldwide chapters of the AUS Alumni Association. For more information, visit www.aus.edu/alumni/.

The office further aims to establish endowments and scholarships to support the academic endeavors of AUS students and faculty through named scholarships.

Research and Grants

AUS supports and promotes the research and consulting activities of its faculty members. In addition, AUS offers its students opportunities to work on faculty research projects, to present papers with faculty at international conferences and to assist faculty in developing research grants.

AUS upholds its ethical and legal responsibility to administratively review all proposed research projects involving humans or animals as participants to ensure compliance with internationally recognized principles and regulations governing the protection of research participants. All research studies at AUS involving the participation of humans must be submitted to and approved by the AUS Institutional Review Board (IRB) before any study is undertaken; research involving animals must be approved by the Animal Care Committee.  

For further information on the university’s research and grant opportunities, please visit the AUS website.

Research Centers

AUS has established a number of research centers as part of its commitment to research and community outreach.

Earthquake Observatory

The AUS Earthquake Observatory uses state-of-the art equipment and software to record and analyze the region’s earthquake activity. The Earthquake Observatory also provides expert opinions on earthquake hazard and related risk in the UAE and the Gulf region; assessment of seismic hazards at construction sites and petrochemical and industrial facilities; assessment of seismic risk of existing structures and recommendations for strengthening and retrofitting; analysis and design of earthquake-resistant structures; evaluation of local site effects; preparation of macrohazard and microhazard zonation maps; evaluation of dynamic soil properties; training workshops for engineers on the analysis and design of structures for earthquake loading; and expertise on the development of earthquake-resistant design codes.

Mechatronics Center

The Mechatronics Center leads research and development in advanced engineering systems and high-tech technology transfer in the region. It promotes multidisciplinary research activities among faculty members and graduate students at AUS, and between AUS and universities in the United States, Europe and Japan. It also cooperates with industry and government agencies where extensive integration of instrumentation, control systems, electronics, intelligent software and computers is required. Areas of expertise within the center include modern industrial installations and systems, computer integrated manufacturing systems, maintenance diagnosis and troubleshooting, micro-electro- mechanical systems, vehicle manufacture and design, robotics, electrical control and drives, and automated production systems.

Institute of Materials Systems

The Institute of Materials Systems collaborates with governmental and private sectors in areas of materials research and applications, focusing on quality control, performance, development and use of standard procedures, and quality assurance materials used in the region. Objectives of the institute are to conduct scientific research focused on materials properties and applications in harsh environments; assist governmental departments in establishing local and regional codes of practice; provide independent technical evaluation and consultation services on materials-related issues; enhance education through seminars, conferences and short courses; and establish collaboration with similar centers of excellence worldwide.

Institute of Urban and Regional Planning and Design

The Institute of Urban and Regional Planning and Design advances urban planning as it relates to the local culture and identity of the UAE and the Arab Gulf region, and promotes sustainability as integral to all activities pertinent to urban planning and urban design. The institute’s objectives are to advance production and accumulation of knowledge in urban and regional planning and urban design; develop and offer educational and training opportunities in urban and regional planning and urban design; collaborate with local governmental, not-for-profit, non-governmental and private agencies concerned with urban planning and development to advance quality of practice and research; advance public discourse on urban planning through public forums (e.g., seminars, conferences, symposia); and increase public awareness in urban planning and urban design.

Science Laboratories

The science programs benefit from up-to-date laboratories and equipment. Chemistry laboratories are equipped with standard chemical instrumentation, including balances, centrifuges, pH-meters, spectrophotometers, a rapid kinetic apparatus, and electrochemical and chromatographic equipment. The environmental sciences and analytic chemistry laboratories are equipped with the latest sampling and analytical devices, including AA, GC-MS, ICP, FTIR and HPLC equipment. The physics laboratories are supplied with up-to-date standard equipment, including computer interfaces, motion sensors, current sensors, voltage sensors, magnetic field sensors, linear air tracks, photogates, smart timers, projectile launchers, ballistic pendulums, rotational systems, digitometer, electric field mappers, current balance apparatus, signal/function generators, oscilloscopes, a Hall effect apparatus, lasers, spectral lamps, photoelectric effect apparatus, Geiger-Muller tubes, radiation counters, h/e apparatus, Frank Hertz apparatus, e/m apparatus, spectrometers, Interferometers, X-ray machines, a Millikan oil drop apparatus, heat engines/gas law apparatus, a thermal expansion apparatus and an adiabatic gas law apparatus. The biology laboratories are equipped with the latest stereo inverted and compound microscopes, a microtome, an autoclave, a laminar flow sterile hood, PAGE and agarose electrophoresis equipment, cryostat and microtome units, a workstation with a computer connected to digital microscope cameras, a growth chamber, IDEXX Colilert and a manifold filtration unit for microbiological analysis.

Interpreting Laboratory

The Department of Arabic Studies has a purpose-built interpreting facility. It features simultaneous interpreting booths, a consecutive interpreting table, Internet access and equipment for simulated video teleconferencing. This interpreting facility is also equipped with the latest technology and machine translation software, TRADOS and other relevant, including Internet-based, software needed in language engineering.