Qatar research programme announces top awards

A project that highlighted wireless sensors for corrosion detection of post-tensioned tendons in bridges has won the top award of Qatar's undergraduate research experience programme (UREP) competition. Qatar University students Mohannad Abu Hassan , Mohammad Shehadeh, Ebrahim Dohair, Abdul Fattah Shehadeh, Mohammad Alfar and Momen Anayeh received QR10,000 ($2,745) each for their work while their supervisors Khaldoon Bani-Hani, Ahmad Senouci and Nasser Al Nuaimi got QR15,000 ($4,117) each. The second prize was awarded to the project "The Qatar Online Oral History Project," conducted by Mariam Dahrouj, Shatha Farajallah and Sara Al Khalfan from Qatar University and supervised by Andrew Mills, from Northwestern University in Qatar. "The Role of Information Technology In Combating Human Trafficking in Globalization Times and Impact on the State of Qatar, conducted by Abdullah Al Mansouri, Abdul Aziz Al Thani and Hassan Al Kuwari, and supervised by Mohammad Salah Hamdi from Ahmed Bin Mohamed Military College, won third place. Organisers said that 101 research projects, completed in 2011, were subject to a careful review through two rounds of assessments until five projects, 18 students and seven supervisors reached the final round. A representative of each team then gave a presentation of their project in front of the judging panel chaired by Hessa Al Jaber, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology, ictQATAR. The top five research projects in the competition had been recognised for their strong link to Qatar's national priorities and their topics reflected the wide variety and diversity of the research ranging from the culture and sustainability of Souq Waqif, to the wireless sensing of corrosion and the oral history of Qatar, they said. Under the research programme, peer-reviewed proposals compete for funding of activities that go beyond the scope of the normal yearly academic coursework. The goal of UREP is to promote undergraduate research activity and provide hands-on learning opportunities by familiarising students with a broad range of scientific research methods while allowing them to benefit from the acquisition of specialised skills.