AUS holds Eighth International Conference on Material Sciences and Engineering

Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah and President of American University of Sharjah (AUS), the university held the Eighth International Conference on Material Sciences and Engineering today, Tuesday, February 2, 2016. Organized by the College of Engineering (CEN) at AUS, the conference focuses on many aspects of traditional and high performance materials; their properties, behavior, production and quality control, in addition to promoting global collaboration among faculty, students, engineers and managers on advances in engineering materials.

Speaking at the opening of the event, Interim Provost Kevin Mitchell welcomed the attendees and briefed them about AUS and its role as a leading higher education institution in the region. He hoped that the delegates would find the conference a fruitful and productive experience.

The basic themes of the conference include, corrosions, mechanical behavior and fracture mechanics of materials, sustainable materials, ceramics, high performance materials, new energy materials, glass performance, recycling material and materials characterizations, among others.

The event brings together engineering material scientists, engineers and technologists to exchange ideas, discuss the latest developments in materials and present their work to the international materials community. The conference encourages scientific research focused on materials properties and applications, taking into consideration the severe environment in the region.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Leland Blank, Dean of the College of Engineering (CEN) also welcomed the delegates. "We are a very diverse institution, and engineering is no less. One of the unique features of AUS is that when students come here, they gain both a liberal arts and a technical education, either in science, engineering, business, or architecture. We have a very practical application in the introduction of engineering in the computing program in terms of how freshmen work together in an interdisciplinary way, competing among particular projects to carry out leadership roles. That sets the stage for our engineering program," said Dr. Blank. He also thanked all the support received from the people who organized the conference, as well as the sponsors including BASF, Sharjah Research Academy and Sahara Communications.

Dr. Adil Tamimi, Professor of Civil Engineering and Co-chair of the conference, also expressed his appreciation to all the delegates attending and thanked the supporters for their efforts in making the conference a successful event.

Keynote speakers of the conference included Professor Mohammed Farid, a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, London, and an active member of a number of international societies. He is a member of the editorial board of international journals, has worked in a large number of scientific committees of international conferences, and is a world leader in energy storage with phase change, and has provided significant contributions to the field worldwide. Dr. Farid completed his PhD in Chemical Reactor Engineering from the University of Swansea, Wales, UK.

Dr. Mufid A. Samarai, Senior Advisor at Sharjah Research Academy, also addressed the conference. Dr. Samarai was a Professor of Civil Engineering, Chair and Dean at Baghdad University in Iraq, Professor at the Applied Science University in Jordan, and at the University of Sharjah in UAE since 1997. He obtained his PhD from University College London in 1976, and has been engaged in teaching, research and consulting work.

Lastly, Dr. Zahid Qamar also spoke at the conference. Dr. Qamar an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. He obtained his PhD from the Mechanical Engineering Department of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He earned a master of science degree from the Institute for Innovation and Design in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; and Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.