Texas A& M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) has made almost 25 patent disclosures so far, said the Dean of the university Dr Mark Weichold yesterday.
He added that the university has made 7 patent disclosures this academic year alone.
Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the third annual Research Industry Partnership Showcase organised by TAMUQ, Dean Weichold said that the university over the years has been working on many research activities. “These patent disclosures are some of the outcomes of the research projects. Three patents have been issued so far and one has reached the commercial stage,” he added.
He said: “All these patents are on different stages. The disclosure is the first step. All of them are already disclosed and protected. Some are in provisional patenting stage and there are a couple of them in the licensing stage.”
Dean Weichold also pointed out that the number of journals published by the faculty and the students of the university has witnessed a remarkable increase over the years. “Last year, 290 journals were published in some of the leading publications. This is a great achievement for the university.” He added that the university has plans to start PhD programmes in the near future and discussions are going on in this regard.
Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulla al-Thani, chief operating officer, Engineering and Ventures, Qatargas, delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the event.
He said: “Climate change is one of the leading issues that needs to be taken care of. Carbon capture and storage can help the country to overcome many of the environment issues that we are facing today. So the research at TAMUQ can be a great support for the future of the country.”
Dr Ahmed Abdel-Wahab, associate professor of chemical engineering at the university, said: “The university faculty and their research groups are dedicated to discovering and creating new knowledge and solving the biggest challenges facing Qatar’s industrial and governmental sectors. We have had a decade of successful partnerships with the industry and hosting the showcase helps to continue joint research projects and strategic collaborations.”
The event was a platform for TAMUQ researchers and industry stakeholders to engage, share knowledge, exchange expertise and ideas to identify and define the grand challenges facing the industry in Qatar. The event also offered a dialogue with the industry about collaboration potentials, mutual interests and shared opportunities and its national research strategic development goals through strategic research partnerships.