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• Leading rain enhancement program doubles number of submissions this year, attracts more pre-proposals than first two cycles combined
• Receives 201 pre-proposals from 68 countries on five continents, from 710 researchers affiliated to 316 institutions
• His Excellency Ahmed Juma Al Zaabi, Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs: This outstanding success testifies to the UAE leadership's determination to encourage and support the innovation needed to combat water scarcity around the world
Abu Dhabi-UAE: 6 April 2017 – The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science today announced that it received 201 pre-proposals for the third cycle of its innovative program. Reflecting the program's growing international reputation, the number of pre-proposals for the current cycle is more than double that received last year, and exceeds submissions of the first two cycles combined.
Highlighting its international scope and popularity among researchers across the world, the program received 201 pre-proposals from 68 countries on five continents, drawing the participation of 710 researchers, affiliated to 316 institutions.
His Excellency Ahmed Juma Al Zaabi, UAE Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the National Center of Meteorology and Seismology, said: “This outstanding success testifies to the UAE leadership's determination to encourage and support the innovation needed to combat water scarcity around the world. In the space of only a few years, the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science has revitalized research in the important field of rain enhancement, while also driving the formation of new and productive international scientific networks. The overwhelming response to the program's call for pre-proposals proves that Abu Dhabi and the UAE are gaining global credibility as leaders in this field.”
For his part, His Excellency Dr Abdullah Al Mandoos, Director of the National Center for Meteorology and Seismology, said: “We are immensely proud of the success achieved by the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science in encouraging the transformative and imaginative thinking needed to solve the water security challenge. Receiving more than 200 pre-proposal submissions for its third cycle, clearly demonstrates the high esteem the program is held in among global scientific communities. We are confident this early success will lead to the launch of exciting new projects that complement the real progress we have already achieved to date in the earlier cycles.”
The high uptake for the program's third cycle also demonstrates the growing interest in innovation and knowledge-sharing in this scientific and technical field under the directives of the UAE's visionary leadership. Offering a grant of US$5 million over a three-year period to be shared by up to five winning research proposals, the program earlier embarked on an intensive campaign to encourage the submission of pre-proposals before March 16, 2017.
The superior quality of the submissions received also reiterates the extensive interest the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science has generated among leading researchers, scientists and technologists around the world. The proposals will be evaluated through a two-stage merit review decision process and the final winners announced and honored at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) in January 2018.
The program's immense achievements represent the culmination of an energetic and creative outreach effort over a 12-month period, involving stakeholder engagement, participation in events and roadshows, and an active media and digital campaign. Throughout its high-intensity and wide-ranging outreach, the program focused on growing transnational research networks to maximize the innovative potential of all the ideas received.
Last year, the program concluded a series of successful international research collaboration visits and event participations across seven countries and four continents. These visits involved meetings with prominent scientists and representatives from top global institutions to build relationships and research collaborations as well as encourage submissions to this year's third cycle.
In 2016, the program and its annual grant made headlines across five continents. Its beneficial impact was highlighted by leading media outlets from countries with active rain enhancement research initiatives, including China, Japan, India, the US, Germany, Russia, and South Africa. More than 350 news articles published helped form opinion and provoke interest in the program's objectives. Notably, CNN, the BBC, The Guardian, Xinhua, Nikkei, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, RFI, Bloomberg and Agence France Presse ensured the program received significant visibility.
Launched by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in early 2015 and managed by the UAE National Center of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science has already attained a leading status in its pursuit of addressing water security challenges through effective international cooperation aimed at advancing innovative scientific and technical research and innovation in the field of rain enhancement.
The awardees of the first cycle of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science are already carrying out ground-breaking work on innovative algorithms, nanotechnology to accelerate water condensation and land cover modification to enhance precipitation. Further projects will commence this year on ice production processes in cumulus clouds, the role of atmospheric aerosols in precipitation enhancement, and the potential for modifying the electrical properties of clouds.
By serving as a hub for an internationally recognized research network, the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science is moving from strength to strength in facilitating active knowledge transfers needed to ensure sustainable development and economic growth in regions of the world that are vulnerable to aridity and water shortages.
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