Setting the bar high: Mechanical engineering students take national and global honors

From addressing environmental challenges through engineering design to shaping one of the region’s most active student communities, students from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) Department of Mechanical Engineering are gaining recognition at both national and international levels.

A team of senior mechanical engineering students—Omar Shaghnoubi, Amro Alatasi, Tarek Kaddoura and Shaikh Mohammad—secured second place in the Teleoperated Track at the Mubadala Higher Education Student Competition, held in Abu Dhabi with participation from 14 universities across the UAE. Their entry, a robotic water surface cleaning system, was also ranked as the top project in the department’s Senior Design Competition at AUS.

Developed as part of their senior capstone course, the project was supervised by Dr. Mohammad Jaradat, Professor of Mechanical Engineering. The robotic system features a dual-hull catamaran structure for enhanced stability during collecting items from water surface bodies, a solar-powered system for extended runtime and sustainability and dual operation modes: teleoperated control via WiFi from ground station to provide the human operator with the ability to control and monitor the robot during operation, and autonomous navigation using computer vision and ultrasonic sensors. The robot mechanical components were designed using computer-aided design software tools and fabricated using 3D printing and aluminum extrusion. The robot also consists of a microcontroller system with sensors to control the robot.

“This group showed strong technical skills,  decision-making, system integration and design validation. Their project met both the academic expectations of a capstone course and the competitive demands of a national-level engineering competition,” Dr. Jaradat said.

Reflecting on the experience, Omar Shaghnoubi said: “Our goal was to create a solution that was both technically effective and environmentally responsible. It was important for us to show how sustainability can be embedded into engineering systems.”

In addition, the hard work of Shaghnoubi and other members of the  AUS Student Section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was recognized with the 2024–2025 Student Section Achievement Award. Presented annually to top-performing chapters worldwide, the award recognizes excellence in leadership, programming and student engagement.

The AUS section was honored for its diverse portfolio of technical events, industry collaborations and outreach initiatives. Over the past academic year, the chapter organized technical workshops, guest lectures and networking opportunities while building strategic relationships with leading companies such as Siemens Energy, Nestlé, Cummins Arabia, Baker Hughes and MAN Energy Solutions. One of its key initiatives, AeroQuest, introduced high school students across the UAE to engineering principles through an engaging paper airplane design challenge.

Shaghnoubi, who serves as President of the AUS ASME Student Section, remarked: “This award reflects our efforts to build a chapter that equips students with both technical and leadership skills. It’s a result of collaborative work across our executive team and subcommittees.”

Commenting on the department’s dual achievements, Dr. Mamoun Abdel-Hafez, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said: “These recognitions highlight the department’s commitment to hands-on learning, industry relevance and student-driven excellence. Our students continue to represent AUS with distinction in academic and professional circles.”

AUS is ranked among the top ​300 universities globally in the category of ​mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing ​engineering (QS World University Rankings 2025). Faculty and undergraduate and graduate students from the AUS Department of ​Mechanical Engineering are engaged in significant research that addresses the world’s most pressing issues. Graduates who have studied mechanical engineering at AUS are the top choice for employers in the UAE (QS World University Rankings 2025). To learn more about the department and its offerings, click here.