Research

Al Khalid Lagoon

Rising sea-levels due to climate change are a global problem that will have an impact on local communities. In response, Dr. Geórgenes Cavalcante and his colleagues Dr. Mohamed Abouleish, Dr. Serter Atabay and Mr. Filipe Vieira from American University of Sharjah are examining how Sharjah’s man-made lagoons may be affected in the future.

Pointing out how coastal lagoons are one of the most important assets in the Arabian Gulf region, Dr. Cavalcante said that Sharjah’s lagoons play an essential role in the emirate’s socio-economic environment. “Not only are they part of the smooth operation of the port and its maritime traffic, the lagoons are where many of Sharjah’s residents spend their leisure time, whether swimming or sailing, or at the restaurants overlooking the water.”

Originally coastal salt flats and two tidal creeks (Khor in Arabic), dredging started on Khor Khalid and Khor Khan in the 1970s, which led to the digging out of a bay to form Khalid Lagoon.  Some 20 years later, Al Khan and Al Mamzar lagoons were created. Today, a man-made sand spit divides Al Mamzar between the emirates of Sharjah and Dubai.

Due to their shallowness and narrow channels to the wider Gulf, the lagoons may experience this rise more immediately. “During our two-year project, we will apply numerical models to investigate how the sea-level rise will affect what’s known as the tidal prism, the volume of water in the lagoons between high and low tide,” said Dr. Cavalcante. “We will also evaluate the time that water remains in the lagoons before being flushed out and replaced with water coming in with the tides. And, more importantly, we will carry out a series of surveys to monitor water quality.”

A possible cumulative effect of the rise in sea-level in such semi-enclosed water bodies is the increase of water turbidity, or cloudiness, caused by the increase in sediment fluctuation in and out of the lagoons. This reduces the light penetration and subsequently the growth of food sources for sea life. It also accumulates on the sea floor, which can change its topography, thereby affecting water currents. 

The AUS research team will start assessing the existing environmental data available on the lagoons, such as the currents, tides, weather, salinity, temperature, oxygen, density of particles, chlorophyll and nutrients. This will reveal trends in water quality conditions to help inform their research, which will entail field surveys and numerical simulation in order to explore present and future conditions, as well as the projected 100 years sea-level rise, based on scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Field observation studies on the actual variables will be conducted to compare them with the modelling results. Dr. Cavalcante said he was looking forward to taking his undergraduate students out onto the lagoons by boat as part of their studies on coastal systems. “It’s important that students have the opportunity to study the impact of natural and man-made effects on the ecosystem first-hand by learning field observation methods using state-of-the-art equipment.” Water quality sensors will measure water oxygen, salinity, temperature, etc, while water movement sensors will study waves and currents.

Dr. Atabay will be involving undergraduate and graduate students from the Department of Civil Engineering in data collection and in addressing concerns about the man-made structure supporting the lagoons. “This project will help us understand how the higher volumes of water and sediment, as a consequence of rising sea-levels, will have an impact on the structure,” he said. “The general findings will be disseminated as a student graduate project.”

The eventual results of the research team’s work will provide a comprehensive assessment of potential risks to water quality and also solutions in terms of the management of waste-water systems throughout the lagoons.

Dr. Mohammed Ibahrine, Associate Professor of Mass Communication, American University of Sharjah, at class.​

From banning single-use plastic to wind farms, the world is moving away from the use of fossil fuels, and this collective effort is leading the Arabian Gulf region to plan its future in the post-oil era. Central to the plans of both the United Arab Emirates (Vision 2021) and Saudi Arabia (Vision 2030), is the use of digital technology for stronger community development and youth empowerment.

Dr. Mohammed Ibahrine, from the Department of Mass Communication at American University of Sharjah (AUS), is exploring how this focus on social media is encouraging the region’s youth to be part of this drive, as well as investigating the relationship between social media usage and civic participation.

Dr. Ibahrine studied in Germany and received his PhD in 2006 from the University of Hamburg, going on to consult for technology companies such as Google and Microsoft. He is a Google-certified digital marketer and has a Stanford Graduate Certificate on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. During his upcoming six-month sabbatical, he will work with colleagues at the London School of Economics and the Free University of Berlin to investigate social media platforms and map relevant bloggers and influencers, to gauge the impact of such activities on youth empowerment.

The collated data, said Dr. Ibahrine, will clarify how these platforms can help in building the region’s creative economy. “My research will focus on popular claims that young Emirati and Saudi people have moved on from just consuming media, as with earlier generations, and are now generating their own digitally mediated culture,” he said, adding “it will be worthwhile exploring how this new practice can lead to their personal development, civic participation and business acumen.”

In addition to his research, Dr. Ibahrine is working with the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), which is based at AUS, to help students develop their digital mindsets and skills. “I want to introduce students to the positive concepts of new and disrupting technologies and present opportunities for their careers.”

Dr. Ibahrine pointed out that social media platforms can become digital eco-systems, helping young people to create their own content, and for peer-to-peer collaboration. “The UAE government is paving the way for its citizens to take the lead, as well as creating an environment for them to generate content specific to the local community for civic engagement,” he said. “It encourages them to participate and feel free to fail, but fail fast and try again!”

Dr. Xiaobo (Bob) Xu, Professor of Marketing & Information Systems, giving a lecture in AUS’ School of Business Administration.

Big data is revolutionizing the way in which business decisions are made across the world. However, big data analytics research of IT projects among a number of countries is rare.

Dr. Xiaobo (Bob) Xu, Professor of Marketing & Information Systems at American University of Sharjah (AUS), will be contributing to changing this as he works with colleagues from the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during his upcoming sabbatical. During the next six months he will investigate how a number of IT projects work in some countries and not in others, and why.

“E-commerce is successful in the US and China, where people use websites for their day-to-day purchases,” said Dr. Xu. “However, across the UAE it’s still very much a ‘bricks and mortar’ culture. My research will delve into the current e-commerce websites to see how they differ and what needs to change in order to improve platform development for people across the Middle East region.”

Gaining ground in the US and China is the new business practice of crowdfunding, which Dr. Xu is also eager to explore for its potential in this region. Crowdfunding, where small amounts of money are raised from a large number of people via a website, is practiced on a small scale in the UAE. “I would like to study the UAE government’s policies and regulatory procedures about this type of funding,” he said, “as well as successful crowdfunding projects and their investors, in order to build a research model and an implementation framework for IT professionals.”

Dr. Xu will also investigate how these existing crowdfunding projects screen their potential investors and the mechanisms for a successful match: “It will be interesting to build a marketing model to match the right type of investor to a particular crowdfunding project.” He hopes that his research into these IT projects will lead to the publication of papers in journals. Additionally, he will share the developed models among e-commerce and crowdfunding start-ups and SMEs in the region at different conferences, confident his work will ultimately provide a holistic framework for improving their success rate.

More importantly, Dr. Xu said he will utilize the research results in his classroom at AUS’ School of Business Administration, where students can choose either a bachelor’s degree or a minor course in Management Information Systems (MIS). “Our department has already redesigned the MIS curriculum by offering six new courses, such as Big Data Analytics, Technology Entrepreneurship, Business Applications of Smart Cities and Digital Security, and the research I will carry out over the next six months will play a big part in ensuring our MIS students will have access to courses that reflect cutting-edge tools and technologies and business practices.”

A stylish graphic of prepositions, designed by the AUS creative team.

Using prepositions can be a virtual minefield for a non-native speaker of any language; typical usage in one language may not necessarily be the case in another. So too, in the Arabic language.

Dr. Ronak Husni from the Department of Arabic and Translation Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University of Sharjah (AUS) spent the Fall 2018 semester in pursuit of a preposition’s quintessential structure and function to further the understanding of these troublesome but, nevertheless, necessary language links.

Her four-month sabbatical took her on a journey from Cairo to the United Kingdom, where she worked on her forthcoming book, Working with Arabic Prepositions: Structures and Functions, with her co-author, Dr. A. Zaher from the University of Durham. Contracted by Routledge, the world’s leading academic publisher in the humanities and social sciences, they hope to submit the manuscript for publication this coming Autumn.

Explaining the reasons for pursuing this specific research, Professor Husni said, “The usage of prepositions can be highly idiomatic and may not correspond to their English equivalents. This book will assist students, both native and non-native speakers to use prepositions correctly.  It will also provide a clear guide on the uses of prepositions and the structures that involve them.

“With regard to the use of my current project in my teaching, I would hope that aspects of this research will be used in the department’s courses, such as ‘Introduction to Translation’ and ‘Teaching Arabic as a Foreign language’ (TAFL).”

Dr. Husni has previously co-authored four books in collaboration with Professor Daniel Newman of Durham University: Arabic-English-Arabic Translation: Issues and Strategies(Routledge, 2015); A to Z of Arabic-English-Arabic Translation (Saqi Books, 2013); Modern Arabic Short Stories: A Bilingual Reader – Twelve Stories by Contemporary Master from Morocco to Iraq (Saqi Books, 2008); and Muslim Women in Law and Society: Annotated translation of al-Tahir al-Haddad’s Imra ‘tuna fi ‘I-sharia wa ‘I-mujtama, with an introduction (Routledge, 2007). In 2008, Dr. Husni and Dr. Newman were joint winners of the ‘World Award of the President of the Republic of Tunisia for Islamic Studies’.

In 2013, Dr. Husni was invited by the Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE’s Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to work as a member of the International Committee to Modernize the Teaching of the Arabic Language, which made recommendations on improving Arabic language teaching in the Arab world, and led to the publishing of a handbook entitled Arabic: The Language of Life.

In addition to being a judge for the annual ‘HH Mohammed Bin Rashid International Award for the Arabic Language’, Dr. Husni continues to be an authority on the Arabic language and its pedagogy, and is frequently called upon to advise on issues related to teaching Arabic.

Dr. Ali Alnaser, Head of the Department of Physics, leads collaboration among colleagues from the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Sharjah is the only emirate of the UAE that straddles the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, giving it a coastline on both the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Their busy shipping lanes transport millions of barrels of oil daily, which could cause damaging oil spillage in the event of an accident.

In an effort to tackle this danger to an industry so important in this region, American University of Sharjah (AUS) professors and their students are collaborating on a project to rapidly and effectively remove crude oil from seawater by developing a mesh using femtosecond laser technology.

Currently used in newly emerging fields in science and engineering, femtosecond super-intense laser technology is being used for the first time in the Gulf region by the AUS team to research materials with various mechanical, chemical and thermodynamic properties, such as Teflon, titanium and silicon carbide, for potentially successful water-oil separation. To put this into perspective, one femtosecond is to one second as one second is to about 32 million years!

Traditional methods of cleaning up spilled oil from oceans usually involve the use of harmful chemical dispersants or by burning the crude oil, both of which have devastating consequences on the environment. By developing the mesh, the team at AUS hopes that their work will not only help reduce the economic cost accidents, but will also mitigate the environmental threats to marine life and coastal habitats.

The project is being conducted at the newly established research facilities and will be a collaboration among faculty and students from the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. 

Leading the project is Dr. Ali Alnaser, Head of the Department of Physics at AUS’ College of Arts and Sciences, who pointed out that the diversity in the expertise of the faculty working on the project is essential: “The research expertise of the faculty involved range from experience in the technology and applications of intense and ultra-short lasers and their interaction with matter in its different phases, to wastewater treatment technologies and the synthesis and application of novel adsorbents for the removal of pollutants from the environment.”

He stressed that using this contemporary femtosecond laser technology for the first time in this region would be of enormous importance in the classroom and laboratory, giving AUS students ample opportunity to employ new technology to overcome environmental challenges in the future. “This project will serve as an ideal training opportunity for our students who will have the opportunity of developing expertise and acquiring skills in advanced laser techniques, which are necessary for research relevant to the environment, as well as the energy industry.” 

Working alongside Dr. Alnaser as a research assistant on the project, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science senior Saeed Alghabra works on data analysis: “I was asked to write the program for the ‘stage’, which holds the various materials that are placed in front of the laser and then I help analyze the results using a Drop Shape Analyzer, to determine whether the material is hydrophobic (repels liquid) or hydrophilic (attracts liquid), by using different parameters, such as the type of liquid, the angle and temperature.”

Explaining how a computer science major could fit seamlessly into a physics lab, Saeed explained that AUS professors facilitate cross-collaboration among disciplines, encouraging students to use their knowledge to co-operate on projects with others, thereby expanding their understanding beyond their chosen major.

Dr. Taleb Ibrahim from the Department of Chemical Engineering, who is also working on the project, explained that it is aimed at addressing one of the primary environmental issues of oil spillage and organic waste water treatment, with the capability of collecting underwater gases and separate micro- and nano-particles.

“By using a powerful state-of-the-art femtosecond laser system on micro- and nano-structure materials, along with a wide array of diagnostic equipment and fabrication techniques, we hope to develop new, more efficient, low-cost and durable materials to remove oil spills, and significantly reduce the environmental and economic impact of such spills,” he added.

Dr. Alnaser stressed how important the results of this research could be for this project and others: “The AUS femtosecond laser light-source is one of only a handful of facilities worldwide with similar characteristics. We hope our research will be successful, not only for this project, but for other research projects we are pursuing into a range of materials. We are confident that it will eventually open the door to a wide range of cutting-edge applications in materials science and engineering.”

In addition to Drs. Alnaser and Ibrahim, the research project team includes Dr. Mustafa Khamis, Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, AUS College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Satish Kannan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, AUS College of Engineering.

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science student Saeed Alghabra contributes to data collection and analysis.

Professors and researchers working in the dedicated lab

The side effects suffered by cancer patients when being treated with chemotherapy are reluctantly accepted as part of their fight in a cure. Knowing that these side effects are caused primarily because the treatment can kill normal and cancerous cells alike, Dr. Ghaleb Husseini is focused on advancing research that can lead to isolating the drug for a more targeted delivery. And results so far are positive.

Dr. Husseini is currently collaborating with Dr. Mohammad Al-Sayah, an organic chemist from the Department of Biology, Chemistry & Environmental Sciences, and three permanent master’s and PhD researchers.

“When we started our research in 2012, we studied a number of drug delivery systems in order to reduce the side-effects of the chemotherapeutic agent,” said Dr. Husseini. “After painstaking research in the initial chemistry synthesis and in vitro testing stages, manipulating cells in the lab, we are currently working on live testing using an animal model.”

Over the past seven years, the research team has investigated a number of nano-sized carriers, namely liposomes, to encapsulate the drug, as well as part of a molecule known as a moiety, which they use as a ‘key’ to allow the tumor to be ‘unlocked’. Once the carrier reaches the desired location, ultrasound is applied to release the chemotherapy drug directly to the cancer site, thus avoiding any interaction with the healthy cells in the body.

Out of seven moieties tested, three have been successful in initial chemistry trials and in in vitro testing: albumin for prostate cancer tumors; estrone, a derivative of estrogen, for breast cancer tumors; and transferrin for colorectal cancer tumors. The research group is currently pursing in vivo trials at the animal facility in the University of Sharjah.

Students have played an integral role in the team’s research efforts. According to Dr. Husseini, their tenacity and perseverance have propelled this project to national prominence and international recognition. “I was very pleased to have 10 master’s students working on the project at various stages over the years, who used aspects of the research in their theses,” he said. “We have five master’s students currently working with us in the lab.”

The research project began in 2012 with the winning of the AUS Provost Challenge competition on campus, which garnered AED800,000. Additional university funding is supplemented by support from Patient’s Friends Committee-Sharjah, AlJalila Foundation, Al Qasimi Foundation, the ‘Technology Innovation Pioneer Award for Health Sciences’ from the UAE government, and the Dana Endowed Chair for Chemical Engineering, of which Dr. Husseini is the current holder at the AUS College of Engineering.

When Architecture Professor Dr. Ahmed Mokhtar published an article in 2002 calling for better design in ablution spaces in mosques, little did he realize the scale of interest it would generate.

In an extension of his teaching and research work related to the technical aspects of architecture, he later published a booklet on guidelines in designing the ablution spaces, in terms of hygiene, safety and comfort.

While he is reluctant to call himself a pioneer, Dr. Mokhtar is pleased that his guidelines, which he incorporated into his classroom teaching, is being realized through AUS graduates, who are now making an impact in architectural practices in the UAE and around the world. “Aspects of my research also drew the attention of the Abu Dhabi authorities in the late 2000s, which led to the guidelines being integrated into the Abu Dhabi Mosque Development Regulations,” he said. “The guidelines are now followed in many construction developments in the UAE, and queries come in constantly from the US, the UK and recently even Kazakhstan.”

The guidelines clarify the concept of a clean zone in designing mosques and prayer facilities in public buildings, emphasizing the need to have the ablution space within the clean zone and not outside it, as it is commonly the case. They show the individual ablution unit models and the dimensions required in making them comfortable and safe to use. Appropriate floor and wall coverings, along with suitable faucet types, are also advised.

Dr. Mokhtar is now developing guidelines for the female side of prayer areas, including ablution spaces, especially for public places such as shopping malls. They include the provision of cupboards for storing abayas and bags, as well dimensions for ‘parking slots’ for baby strollers. “As the female prayer areas are separate to the men’s, where the Imam leads the congregation in prayer, closed-circuit TV and speakers are really needed to allow the female worshippers to follow the Imam.”

Dr. Mokhtar worked also on design strategies to reduce the energy consumption of this building type. “Historically, mosques have high ceilings, which are useful in keeping the building cool when occupied by large congregations, and this high ceiling design continues today for other architectural reasons,” he explained. “However, air conditioning is frequently fitted into these high ceilings, when it would be far more energy-efficient if positioned lower, closer to the occupants’ level. Using fans at this level, which move the air horizontally, also helps keep the occupants cool.”

In another effort to reduce energy consumption in mosques, he advised keeping a small, enclosed area cooled for daily prayer use, and then cooling the greater part of the prayer area on Fridays or feast days when a larger congregation is expected. “I would also like to see better fire safety measures in mosques,” he said, “Something as simple as refitting main doors to open outwards for rapid evacuation would be a small but significant improvement.”

During his sabbatical, Dr. Mokhtar developed a patent for “a completely new ablution unit.” It’s still in its initial stages of evaluation, but will no doubt spark the interest of his fellow architects worldwide in the years to come.

An example of a typical, standalone EV charging station in the UAE

The widespread adoption and use of electric vehicles (EV) will depend on developing affordable and clean power sources. The UAE government is encouraging the use of EVs among residents through financial and other incentives, with a target of increasing the percentage of electric cars by two percent in 2020 and 10 percent by 2030. In support of this initiative, a team of professors from American University of Sharjah (AUS) and Khalifa University is developing a smart EV charging system that can communicate with vehicles to locate charging stations and calculate optimal-value charging rates.

Dr. Mostafa Shaaban from the Department of Electrical Engineering is leading the team’s work to plan an EV charging infrastructure and develop a smart management system. “The government’s ambitious plans for more EV use has involved the installation of a number of charging stations around the emirates,” he said. “We would like to develop this further by planning a charging station infrastructure that would minimize disruption to the national grid by using alternative sources of energy, minimize disruption to traffic flow, incentivize private investment and communicate with EVs for an efficient operation.”

As part of the infrastructure planning, the team will be working with electricity companies to investigate the use of alternative sources of energy in charging stations that, in conjunction with smart charging mechanisms, will reduce the load on the national grid.

Dr. Akmal Abdelfatah, a member of the Department of Civil Engineering, is already working with Sharjah Municipality on a project aimed at achieving better vehicle traffic flow around the emirate. To identify the most suitable locations for EV charging stations, he will develop models on the characteristics of traffic in the UAE, taking into consideration existing traffic flows and the rise of EVs on the roads, and build ‘traffic profiles’ for residents’ trips for typical activities, such as work commuting, school runs and shopping mall visits.

Dr. Abdelfatah explained that the appropriate location of EV charging stations is important to ensure timely access for EV users and minimize the disruption associated with charging station queues, adding, “the selection of EV charging stations’ locations should minimize the negative effect on traffic performance in the surrounding area and the access time for EV users.  This process has several constraints such as the remaining charge on the EV battery, the traffic congestion level on the route to each accessible charging stations, and the expected waiting time.”

The planning stage of the research will also entail using two EVs, a Renault Zoe and a Chevrolet Bolt, to develop driving models.  Equipped with sensors and internet connection, the team will utilize the cars to gather real data on EV battery depletion under several driving, road and weather conditions.

Dr. Ashraf Khallaf, from the School of Business Administration’s Department of Accounting, will be involved in developing the business model for the EV charging stations to incentivize private investment. “We are working on an economically feasible model for the EV charging station that will be profitable for investors,” explained Dr. Khallaf. “And, as more EVs are purchased, the need for more charging stations will increase.”

He said that the planned EV charging stations would have several charging slots, with space for drivers to sit while waiting for their vehicle. “Investors will not only profit from the actual stations, but there will be provision for a coffee shop or restaurant, as well as a convenience store for EV drivers, which, in addition to providing food and beverages, and toiletries, could provide mobile charging stations, dry cleaning services, and even last-mile pick-up and delivery services by courier companies.”

Following the collation of data to build an EV charging station infrastructure, the team will focus their attention on devising a smart charging management system. Dr. Shaaban explained that the system would advise the EV driver of the nearest station to them and the traveling time, according to the state-of-charge (SOC) of the EV’s battery, as well as the times for reduced-rate charging. He will be working on the system with his colleagues from the Advanced Power & Energy Center at the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) Department at Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa University, Drs. Hatem Zieneldin and Ehab El-Saadany. Center Director, Dr. El-Saadany, said: “The UAE is looking forward to leading the region in EV development and utilization, and this project is aligned with the country’s long-term vision of energy-saving and environmental protection.”

The three-year project will involve student research assistants and graduate students in civil and electrical engineering.  “As we work on the research project and uncover aspects of this new technology, we will be able to use it for real time teaching in the classroom,” said Dr. Shaaban, “and there will be opportunities for experiential learning for students by participating in field work.”

Dr. Shaaban and the research team hopes that the research will ultimately have a positive impact on the UAE’s EV charging infrastructure, which will in turn help promote the use of EVs and contribute to reducing carbon emissions.

Team:

Dr. Mostafa Shaaban, Department of Electrical Engineering, PI

Dr. Akmal Abdelfatah, Department of Civil Engineering

Dr. Ashraf Khallaf, Department of Accounting, SBA

Dr. Ehab El-Saadany and Dr. Hatem Zieneldin, Advanced Power & Energy Center, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) Department, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi

The most famous street in the camp is known as the ‘Champs-Élysée’, with restaurants, clothing boutiques and bicycle repair shops.

Going out of your comfort zone is the accepted norm when undertaking research, whether experimenting with compounds in the lab, or surveying an unknown environment in the field. For AUS Professors Kimberly Gleason and Becky Beamer, going out of their comfort zone meant exploring this very experience among refugees in Jordan’s Zaatari Camp. Surprisingly, early results of their research show a higher level of coping and thriving than expected.

The Zaatari Refugee Camp, established in 2012 by the United Nations in conjunction with the Jordanian government, is home to some 80,000 Syrian refugees in temporary housing. Despite the environment, its inhabitants have built a self-sustaining community, setting up businesses ranging from convenience stores to beauty salons and bike repair shops.

“As a finance professor, I was intrigued by reports of how people had developed this unique ecosystem, after enduring brutal conditions to escape the conflict in their home country,” said Professor Gleason. “I wanted to find out how they managed to cope so well when studies show that similar camps across the globe fare far worse.”

Professor Gleason set about applying for permission to travel to the camp in early 2019 to talk to the refugees. “Finance research typically entails analyzing stock market and company reports, so this was my first time in the field, interacting with real people as we asked questions and collected data for our survey,” she said. “Seeing their business first-hand, I was interested in how human capital encouraged their entrepreneurship.”

Professor Beamer takes a panoramic shot of the camp, home to some 80,000 Syrian refugees.

She explained that human capital entailed both family knowledge of business and skills, and psychological capital or psycap. “Psycap is known by the acronym HERO, which stands for Hope, Efficacy, Resilience and Optimism, an innate ability to overcome adversity and persevere while remaining optimistic.”

Documenting the survey among the refugees through film was a new experience for Multi-media Professor Becky Beamer. “I usually work in the field along with a translator on projects specific to documentary production. However, in this case, we incorporated set survey questions within the short amount of time allowed. While the production constraints were substantial, they were offset by the welcome we received from the community.” The experience will inform her teaching of film-making to students, taking them from concept to post-production, and will focus on the realities of problem-solving.

The researchers conducted a validated written survey among some 150 camp inhabitants to assess the measure of psychological capital, asking them about their access to capital, whether they had family support in Jordan, etc. Their documentary recounts the stories of business owners: one set up a coffee and spice shop; another, a taxi driver, sold his taxi to set up a clothing shop; one woman began styling hair and now runs a beauty salon, as well as teaching young people the trade so that they can set up salons themselves.

Female entrepreneurs take the survey on their efforts to open businesses in the camp.

Professor Gleason is finalizing the survey with the help of her students, who work in translating and coding the data for a comprehensive analysis. Results so far show that the refugees display very high levels of psycap, relative to other studies. “They see themselves as role models who give value to their own community and society at large, as well as contributing to the Jordanian economy.”

Zaatari Refugee Camp is Jordan’s largest and currently the country’s fourth largest city. Professor Gleason was struck by the fact that the Jordanian people have exhibited an unusual willingness to accommodate the Syrian migrants, relative to some countries in the West, despite the severe resource constraints they face. Jordan has permitted a number of Syrian refugees to enter the local Jordanian job market, with His Majesty King Abdullah being quoted as saying that he hoped each job opportunity for Syrian refugees in Jordan would ultimately provide five job opportunities for Jordanians. “We hope that our survey will reveal the factors related to effective economic development by refugees, so that they can be seen as a source of economic support to their host countries, rather than just a burden.”

The researchers expect to publish the results of the survey this Fall, while acknowledging that the documentary will have a broader impact through the cumulative effects of social media. “We are also working with a French NGO [Non-governmental Organization] which has contacts with policy makers in Europe,” said Professor Beamer. “Our mission is to disseminate the results to a larger audience to bring about awareness of issues related to a model of sustainability within refugee communities and the psychological capital of the entrepreneurial residents."

The documentary Psycap can be viewed on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SxKnJZQ6F2Q

Professor Dougan demonstrates attaching a handle to a mug at a workshop at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, during his sabbatical.

While conducting a drawing course for students from the College of Architecture, Art & Design (CAAD) on a Study Abroad course in Italy during the summer of 2018, Professor Brian Dougan began expanding his working knowledge of ceramics. As the drawing group marveled at the Italian architecture and the many museums, Professor Dougan studied Italian ceramics in preparation for spending his sabbatical creating pottery, as well as teaching the Introduction to Pottery that he developed and has taught for many years.

“For the past 15 years, I’ve conducted a summer drawing course in Italy for AUS CAAD students as an expansion of the drawing curriculum on campus,” said Professor Dougan. “I like to refer to drawing as seeing.  It’s a confrontation with reality, supporting awareness. Drawing is important for everyone because it is a human endeavor and it helps designers to both visualize and generate ideas; it’s an informative activity.”

An example of the integral relationship between drawing and making.

Concluding the summer drawing course, Professor Dougan visited the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza and the Museo Regionale Della Ceramica di Deruta. He went on to work with ceramics specialists in two Italian studios in Umbria: Ceramiche Artistiche Giallletti Giulio S.n.c. in Deruta and Terrecotte Fabio Fattorini in Ficule, exploring the Italian methodology to inform his own pottery production.

Professor Dougan spent his sabbatical working in a private studio in downtown Westerly, Rhode Island, as well as in collaboration with a local pottery collective called Small Axe Productions, designing and working with both earthenware and stoneware clays.  “Besides working in two different pottery studios and firing two radically different kilns, the sabbatical gave me the opportunity for supplemental activities that bolstered my creative spirit,” he said. “The opportunity to invest time in the studio over a period of almost five months had a large impact on my skill level working with clay. The sabbatical provided an uninterrupted focus to follow a process that only time can provide.”

He also conducted a pottery production demonstration in December for Fine Arts students at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which he said was quite helpful in relation to his teaching of the Introduction to Pottery course offered as a major elective to all students in the College of Architecture, Art and Design.

A taste of a production of quantity; several examples of a batch of over one hundred similar jars.

Professor Dougan presented a paper on teaching analytical drawing at the 107^th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Black Box conference in Pittsburg, PA. During the winter holiday season, he participated in the sales event ‘Potters of Newport County and Friends’ in historic Newport, Rhode Island.  Professor Dougan currently displays his pottery locally at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre and at the 1971 Gallery gift shop in Sharjah.  In the US, he is represented at the Fantastic Umbrella factory in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Soguksu Power Plant

The UAE is now home to the world’s largest single-site solar plant, which can cover the energy demand of 90,000 people. It’s part of the country’s Energy Strategy 2050 to increase the use of clean energy in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint. This focus on renewable energy systems by the UAE and elsewhere is giving impetus to its study in nearly all engineering fields.

In an effort to keep AUS’ programs on renewable energy relevant in this fast-changing industry, Dr. Mehmet Orhan from the Department of Mechanical Engineering is working with colleagues at Bursa Uludag University in his native Turkey. “The mechanical engineering faculty have access to research-scale laboratories and centers, and they have been carrying out research in this field for quite a long time,” he said. “I’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with them on various projects and will also be able to carry out practical research at the nearby Soguksu Solar Power Plant, as well as be involved in the design and construction of a new solar plant.”

Dr. Orhan teaches classes in renewable energy, fuel cells and hydrogen systems, in addition to the minor program in renewable energy, to mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering students. He explained how the minor program took a practical and hands-on approach to energy systems: “In the Energy Conservation and Management in Industry project, for instance, a team of four students goes out to an industrial facility and assesses potential energy-saving opportunities for a more efficient operation. They perform a detailed energy audit and then submit a report on the annual energy and cost savings and ROI.” The success of the students’ work-study has led to firms recruiting them to continue their projects as internships. 

Dr. Orhan said his experience and observations in fully developed and well-equipped laboratories during his sabbatical will also be helpful in developing and equipping the new labs, especially the renewable energy lab, in the recently built AUS Engineering & Science building on campus.

In addition to assessing the performance of Soguksu Power Plant and the design of the new facility, Dr. Orhan will initiate new research collaboration in order to submit proposals to the European Union’s Horizon 2020, which is investing €30 billion in research and innovation projects.