AUS student teams shine at UAE Undergraduate Student Research Competition

Five student teams from the College of Engineering at American University of Sharjah (AUS) won awards at the Undergraduate Student Research Competition held at Abu Dhabi University on May 22, under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Two groups from the Department of Chemical Engineering were awarded a joint first prize in the mechanical engineering section out of a total of 15 teams in the final. The first group's members were Nadia Mustafa, Vandhana Varughese, Rania Ahmed, Ammara Shahid, Umaimah Zaffar and Nawshad Chowdhury, who were advised by Dr. Paul Nancarrow, Dr. Hussain Ahmed and Isam AlZubaidy. Their project was entitled "Evaluation of Ionic Liquid-Enhanced Processing of Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel." The other team was comprised of Gnei Lubna Marjan, Hiba Chekkath, Zeinab Hamad, Areej Aref Hassiba, Lina Youssef El Cheikh and Jawaria Saif, also advised by Isam AlZubaidy. Their project was entitled "Novel Desulfurization Process of Heavy Fuel Oil Using Surfactant."

"The release of harmful sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere from the burning of oil-based fuels is a major environmental problem. Traditional methods of sulfur removal used in oil refineries are not designed to meet the new tighter limits set by governments. Our students have carried out excellent research to develop and evaluate new technologies for removing sulfur compounds during the refining process. We are delighted that their work has been recognized at the national level," said Dr. Nancarrow.

In the environmental and civil engineering category, the team of Umaimah Zaffar, Nawshad Chowdhury, Nadia Mustafa, Vandhana Varughese, Rania Ahmed, Ammara Shahid, Rashid Ali Alharmoudi, Elron Edgar Gomes, also from the Department of Chemical Engineering, won second prize with their research project "Adsorption Study of Biodegradable Natural Sorbents for Remediation of Water from Crude Oil," advised by Isam AlZubaidy.

Taking first place in the IT category was the team from the AUS Department of Computer Science and Engineering for their project "Lung++: Android Based System for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease." Team members Haya Hasan and Basel Safieh were advised by Dr. Fadi Aloul and Dr. Assim Sagahyroon from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

"The students did an excellent job in developing, implementing and testing the app. The results closely match what an advanced spirometer would display. This team has already won other awards, including second place in the National Mobile Contest and first place in the department's senior design project competition. The project also reflects the creativity and innovation at AUS," said Dr. Aloul.

Placing second in the electrical engineering tract were students Faris Adi, Hamad AlShanoo, Haitham Elsayed and Yehia Younes, advised by Dr. Aydin Yesilderik and Dr. Ayman Elhag of the Department of Electrical Engineering. Their project was entitled "Partial Discharge Detection and Classification using AE Sensors."