Former astronaut says people of Qatar can ‘transform the world’

An ex-astronaut and scientist has said it would be a “travesty” for Qatar not to become a global leader in innovation – because she believes its people can change the world.Speaking during a visit to Qatar Foundation (QF), Dr Mary Ellen Weber – who spent almost 19 days in space on two Space Shuttle missions as a Nasa astronaut — spoke of how she has been struck by Qatar’s commitment to science, research and innovation while in the country.“Pure research sometimes takes decades to produce results – the results of any applied or theoretical research won’t be apparent immediately,” said Dr Weber. “For Qatar not to participate in the global race for innovation, and be a bystander, would be a travesty. But that is not going to happen. From what I have seen of the people I have met here, and the leadership of the country, the people of Qatar have the ability to transform the world,” she added.During her time in Qatar, Dr Weber was given a tour of Education City and an insight into QF’s work in the fields of research, development and innovation, education and community development.