Faculty members and students from American University of Sharjah (AUS) are preparing to participate in the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, a special program with a total of US $5 million in grant funding which aims to place the UAE at the international forefront of rain enhancement science through research in this field. The program, which is overseen by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, focuses on providing benefit to the UAE and other arid and semi-arid regions around the world through its research. Up to five projects will be selected to share the grant for the implementation period, which extends for three years.

Expressing the university's keen interest in participation in this research project, Professor Khaled Assaleh, AUS Interim Vice Provost of Research and Graduate Studies said, "The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science is an initiative welcomed by the academic community, because it supports the scientific research activities of universities in the UAE and the wider region."

He said participation in such projects is aligned with the university's direction to become the leading research institution in the region. "AUS is always looking to develop its links with the government sector and other organizations to sustain a culture of scientific research and innovation for the benefit of a knowledge economy appropriate to a developed country," added Dr. Assaleh.

The research program is an initiative launched under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology.

The decision for AUS to consider participating in the program came during a meeting held recently between faculty members and students from the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences and a team from the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science. The university team was also briefed on the program's aim of selecting the best research proposals from an open competition designed to attract the most advanced scientific ideas in the field of rain enhancement and outlined the competition requirements and the application stages.

Dr. Abdullah Mandoos, Director of the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology, and Supervisor of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, said "This visit comes as part of an integrated action plan to raise awareness of the program, which is sponsored by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We will visit a number of universities and institutes in the UAE and other countries in order to explain the program to professors and students and encourage them to participate."

During her presentation on the occasion, Alia Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, said "The program seeks to promote research and scientific studies in the field of rain enhancement in the United Arab Emirates and other arid and semi-arid areas, in order to use these techniques to increase the country's reserves of potable water."