AUS PhD student wins Roger Kelly Award for research on metal nanoparticles at Laser International School

Amani Yassine, a PhD student in materials science and engineering at American University of Sharjah (AUS), received the Roger Kelly Award under the Young Researcher category for her research on metal nanoparticles. Her research holds promising applications in medical diagnostics, environmental mentoring, forensic analysis, drug delivery and advanced material science.

Yassine was recognized at the Eighth Venice International School on Lasers in Materials Science (SLIMS) in Italy in July, where the Roger Kelly Award recognizes the best research poster and presentation.

Her research focuses on generating metal nanoparticles with non-spherical shapes by manipulating laser pulse duration and aging processes. Notably, her work with gold nanoparticles has led to the creation of gold nanorods— tiny particles shaped like rods rather than spheres, marking a significant advancement given gold’s inert nature.

“Traditionally, laser ablation of metals in water leads to spherical-shaped nanoparticles, but by adjusting laser pulse durations—using nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond lasers—and allowing the nanoparticles to age in water, this study has successfully produced nanoparticles in various shapes such as cubes, triangles and ellipsoids. Specifically, nanosecond and picosecond lasers resulted in diverse shapes like cubic indium and triangular aluminum nanoparticles. These non-spherical nanoparticles offer enhanced performance due to their increased surface area and edge effects, making them valuable for applications such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), drug delivery and advanced material science,” she explained.

For the competition, Yassine summarized her research in a five-minute PowerPoint presentation to attract researchers, professors and students from Italy, Lithuania, USA, Germany, Japan, France, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Romania to her poster.

“Following my presentation, many people congratulated me and asked detailed questions about my project. One professor from the Czech Republic even told me, 'Congratulations, Amani. You gave an excellent talk and did a great job. My team worked on the same topic—gold nanorods—but couldn't achieve what you did. It’s going to be difficult to choose a winner now.' When they announced my name as the winner, I felt immense pride. This achievement was a significant boost to my confidence, especially as an Arab student from Lebanon studying for my PhD in the UAE. Being one of the four young researchers recognized among 34 students from Europe and Asia was a profound honor," she said.

Having enrolled in the PhD in Material Science and Engineering program, Yassine believes the program is well-tailored to enhance doctoral students’ general theoretical and practical skills and help them focus on their field of research.

“Dr. Ali Alnaser, Professor of Physics and program coordinator, provided invaluable support throughout my research work. His guidance and insights encouraged me to delve deeper into relevant research and publications in search for novel solutions. Additionally, Dr. Gangaboy Boltaev, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics and member of Dr. Alnaser’s research group, was instrumental in teaching me the fundamentals of laser operation in the laboratory, including how to run the system and ensure proper laser beam alignment,” she said.

Yassine plans to continue her research on gold nanoparticles.

To learn more about the PhD in Material Science and Engineering program at AUS, visit www.aus.edu/cas/phdmse.