Masdar Institute and US National Science Foundation to Jointly Sponsor Dialogue on Nanotechnology Research

Event on Advanced Energy Harvest and Storage Devices Co-Organized by Several Top Institutions from US and Middle East

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 09 February, 2015 – The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced it will host a gathering of regional and global nanotechnology experts and professionals for a two-day on-campus meeting organized jointly with the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

Titled ‘Nanotechnology for the Development of Advanced Energy Harvest and Storage Devices’, the event will be held from 17-18 February at the Multi-Use Hall in Masdar Institute. It is co-organized by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Chicago, National Research Center of Cairo, University of Jordan, Yarmouk University, Karachi University, Lahore University, Fatih University, Gazi University and Bilkent University.

Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, said: “We are delighted to co-organize this event with several other leading regional and international academic institutions. The involvement by the US National Science Foundation signifies the growing role of the UAE in the international scientific community and the commitment of the UAE leadership’s focus on innovation.”

The meeting, which is jointly sponsored by the NSF and Masdar Institute, is expected to attract specialists from around the region to discuss new concepts and architectures for renewable energy devices, heat and light conversion into electricity, nanoparticle material and films, as well as nano-materials for health applications. The event is expected to catalyze international collaborative research projects between several institutions including Masdar Institute, which will help build bridges between scientists in the US and the UAE.

Dr. Ammar Nayfeh, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Masdar Institute, said: “The main focus of the event is renewable energy harvesting and storage through advanced nano and material technologies. But it transcends energy, as it will impose many important questions of health, safety, impact on the environment, as well as nano-ethics. Moreover, because of the importance of energy, we expect it to open up new channels for international collaborations with industry.”

The keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Munir Nayfeh, Professor of Physics, University of Illinois, on the international collaboration in energy harvest and storage between the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the US.

The event will include talks by various officials on potential collaborations in areas including advanced materials science research and devices, energy research, as well as cooperation and development opportunities in the Arab world.

The second day’s agenda will include laboratory tours, where interested delegates/visitors and guests will be shown the cutting-edge laboratory facilities at Masdar Institute. These facilities include the Nano-Electronics and Photonics (NEP) Laboratory, Fabrication Facility, Electron Microscopy Facility, Photovoltaic Testing Lab, Digital Systems Laboratory, and various other laboratories that support leading-edge nanotechnology research at Masdar Institute.