A solar-powered desalination process, a polymer-enhanced foam to improve oil recovery in Qatari reservoirs and a wearable device to detect low blood sugar are just a few research projects of Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) selected to receive funding from the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).Tamuq was awarded 19 projects from QNRF in Cycle 10 of the National Priorities Research Programme.
At least 85 of the 376 proposals had been selected for funding.
In a statement, Tamuq said its branch campus’s research office was also named “Best Research Office of the Year” for the third year in a row — and the fifth time in the past six years.
The research office is responsible for vetting research proposals that are submitted to QNRF for funding and managing the awarded research projects.
Tamuq dean Dr César O Malavé said, “Our researchers are working to address relevant, real-world challenges of relevance to the State of Qatar.
“Through this work, Tamuq directly contributes to Qatar’s goal of becoming a knowledge-based society.
This latest round of awards from QNRF demonstrates the high quality of the research being conducted at Tamuq.”
Many of the awarded projects feature collaborators from industry in Qatar and other institutions around the world.
Dr Haitham Abu-Rub, chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Programme, was awarded two projects this cycle, both with industry collaborators.
The first project, co-funded by Iberdrola QSTP, will focus on designing a smart dynamic control and management system for the existing power grid as an initial step in transforming it to a smart grid.
Application of the work will be co-ordinated with the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp (Kahramaa).The second project, in collaboration with Siemens, will focus on developing and implementing a novel online fault management system to detect faults in the insulation of switchgears and cables in electric utility networks.
Dr Mohamed al-Hashimi, research assistant professor of chemistry in the Science Programme, received an award for a project, in collaboration with researchers from Tamuq’s main campus in the US, with additional funding from Total E&P Golfe Limited in Qatar, Total LQA R&D Centre in France, Alpha Szenszor Inc in the US and Tamuq’s Engineering Experiment Station.
The work takes direct aim at addressing a problem of key importance to the oil and gas industry and beyond: volatile organic compounds, which represent a substantial threat to human health and safety.
“Monitoring the ambient concentration of these compounds is an urgent imperative with implications for clean indoor air quality, workplace safety, manufacturing design and pollution prevention,” al-Hashimi said.
