2013 Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar Named by Three-Member Committee

Engineering Systems and Management Student Omar T. Mezher Selected from 25 Applicants

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 12 December 2013 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, and Toyota Motor Corporation, leaders in sustainable technologies and winner of the 2010 Zayed Future Energy Prize, today named Omar T. Mezher, an Engineering Systems and Management student, as the 2013 Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar.

Mezher was selected by a three-member committee out of 25 eligible first-year MSc students who had participated in an essay competition to avail the two-year scholarship. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to a first year student in any one of Masdar Institute's eight MSc programs. In addition to the usual Masdar Institute benefits, the scholarship recipient is provided with a special two-week ‘Japan Experience' arranged by the Toyota Motor Corporation.

Toyota established the Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholarship as a generous response to winning the Zayed Future Energy Prize. The scholarship is designed to promote opportunities for students to work on projects in the area of technologies for sustainable development.

Nobuyuki Negishi, Chief Representative of Middle East & North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “We offer our congratulations to Omar T. Mezher, the third Toyota scholar at Masdar Institute. The naming of the scholar marks our continuous commitment to offer training and guidance to talented youth towards achieving green solutions. We are proud to be associated with leading academic institutions such as Masdar Institute and support the creation of suitable technologies for sustainable development through the scholarship program.”

Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, said: “The announcement of the third Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar further illustrates our collaboration in human capital development efforts. With the support of the UAE leadership, we continue to focus on developing and facilitating sustainable technologies through various partnerships. We congratulate Omar T. Mezher on his selection and hope, similar to the previous two Toyota scholars, his research too will help benefit sustainable development.”

Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Director of Sustainability, Masdar, and Director of Zayed Future Energy Prize, said: “The naming of the third Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar signifies the role of Zayed Future Energy Prize in recognizing and nurturing talented youth capable to become future energy leaders. We hope the scholarship will additionally lead to the development of innovative solutions in renewable energy and sustainable advanced technology.  We congratulate Omar T. Mezher and wish him the best in his research work.”

Omar T. Mezher said: “Winning the scholarship offers me a great opportunity to strengthen my skills, both at Masdar Institute and through the ‘Japan Experience'. At Toyota, I hope to learn from the pace of work and the environment. By understanding their model adoptions and applications, I will be able to derive policies that push the UAE as well as Masdar Institute towards successful implementation of ongoing and future projects.”

In October 2012, Edgar E. Samano Baca from the Engineering Systems and Management program was named the second Toyota Scholar. Ayoola Brimmo, a Mechanical Engineering student who was the inaugural Masdar Institute-Toyota Scholar, successfully completed his two-year program in June 2013. Brimmo was similarly chosen through a competition held in October 2011.

Edgar Samano Baca said: “My research has benefitted as a result of the Toyota Scholarship. The learning opportunities exposed me to new tools and ways to go about solving problems in the transportation domain – my research focus. Also, two-week ‘Japan Experience' provided me with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Many of the ideas and knowledge gained from this experience are scalable and translatable to other situations, while the Japanese way of thinking has broadened my perspective.”

Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar's core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi's knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity's toughest challenges such as climate change.

Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow.  With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.