College of Engineering at AUS recognizes its outstanding students and alumni at CEN Annual Awards

The American University of Sharjah (AUS) College of Engineering (CEN) held its first CEN Annual Awards 2022 in recognition of the contributions of its students and alumni in the areas of academic performance, research, leadership, community service and talent.

“This is the first year we hold the CEN Awards, and I am very proud to see our students and alumni recognized for their hard work, academic performance, research, innovation, leadership, talent and engagement. The awards aim to recognize the work our students do and motivate and encourage them to excel and be recognized as they make an impact in the UAE and the world,” said Dr. Fadi Aloul, Dean of CEN.

He added: “Throughout the years, we have nurtured talented students who have become leaders in their field, and we will continue our mission at CEN as we equip our students with the skills needed to progress in their careers.”

For their academic achievements and obtaining the highest cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA), the CEN Academic Excellence Award was presented to undergraduate students Taima Khairalla Alhazaimeh, Anas Sami Ba Ragaa, Dana Osama Mohamed, Chahed Abdulsatir Alhomsi, Abdulrazak Bichr Alghabra, Haneen Zain Abdelrhman and Ahmed Muhammad Azmeer; and graduate students Rateb Majd Katmah, Mohammed Abdullah Al-Murisi, Yazan Khaled Jian, Fayiz Mohammad Juem, Doha Hesham Elshazly, Mohammad Wasef Abulaila, Lubna Syeda Mahmood, Parham Dadash Pour and Ammar Ahmed Kiftaro.

The Research Excellence Award went to undergraduate chemical engineering student Hafsah Khan, a research assistant in the Department of Chemical Engineering and co-author of several encyclopedia chapters and review articles; and computer student graduate student Ali Reza Sajun, a research assistant in several projects within the Smart City Research Institute at AUS. Sajun developed a smart IoT-based energy monitoring system for the institute’s solar farm project and has published four journal articles and three conference papers. The award also went to engineering systems PhD student Alia Al Sadawi, who is a published researcher with three journal articles, four conference papers and a book chapter.

PhD Engineering Systems Management student Sara Saboor won the Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for her exceptional work in teaching, effectiveness and interaction with students, and helpfulness to faculty and lab instructors. She has supported student theses and capstone projects, assisted in the evaluation of graduate students’ work and provided tutorials, and successfully completed the first two levels of the CEN Certified Graduate Teaching Assistant Technology Supported Learning Training Program, which trains graduate teaching assistants on hybrid education delivery.

For his leadership and active involvement in AUS student life, mechanical engineering student Sherif Khalid Ismail won the Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Ismail is an active member of the CEN student community, taking leadership positions in several CEN-related clubs, including President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), President of Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering Honor Society), Vice-Chair of IEEE SIGHT, Events Coordinator of the Engineering Honor Society (EHS), and representative of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Association of Corporate Engineers (ACE). He is also a member of the AUS Student Leadership Program. Ismail enjoys an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to co-found and head a 3D printing startup, Azure3DP. He is also the recipient of the President of the Year Award and the Club of the Year Award during the Office of Student Affairs Awards in 2021.

For his community service work and extraordinary contribution to the improvement of his departments, the College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah and society in general, mechanical engineering and mathematics student Hadj Babouhoun Kerrouchi received the Student Community Service Award. Kerrouchi is known for his participation in a wide range of events and campaigns including Comedy for a Cause, Used Book Festival, Takatof Volunteering, the Visually Impaired Volunteering Group, Food For the Needy, TOEFL-IELTS voluntary coaching, Ramadan Gift of Health, Arabic classes and the tutoring program at AUS.

Civil engineering student Rafal Habib won the Student Talent Award for her demonstration of talents in a non-CEN related field. She is a content creator, social media influencer and the first woman wearing a hijab whose work was featured in a worldwide campaign for Gucci. Her creative work was chosen for collaborations with the house of Dior, Farfetch, Valentino, Ounass, Carolina Herrera, Mercedes, Charlotte Tilbury and Max. She was featured on the March 2022 cover of Elle magazine’s International Women’s Day issue. Habib has over 30,000 followers on her social media accounts.  

CEN also recognized its alumni this year, presenting the Most Engaged Alumni Award to Dr. Ghanim Kashwani for his active engagement with CEN in promoting and advancing its reputation, offering his services to the college’s departments, and demonstrating sustained excellence, accomplishments and creativity in his professional field during the academic period between 2018-2022. The civil engineering alumnus is the first Emirati to become a Chartered Civil Engineer from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), UK. Dr. Kashwani worked as a team leader in ADNOC, and as an academic at international universities including New York University and Rochester Institute of Technology. He is currently the Senior Manager of Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Higher Colleges of Technology.

The College of Engineering at American University of Sharjah is a leader in engineering education in the UAE and region. It boasts state-of-the-art facilities and internationally recognized faculty members for their research. CEN is committed to providing quality education through its undergraduate and graduate programs.

For more information about the CEN Annual Awards, please visit www.aus.edu/cen/annual-awards.