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ADU hosts its 2nd Engineering forum in Collaboration with Arizona State University

The College of Engineering at ADU, the largest engineering college in the United Arab Emirates, hosted the second joint engineering forum in collaboration with the School of Sustainable Engineering and Built Environment at Arizona State University (ASU). The ADU-ASU Research Forum 2021 was held under the theme 'Concrete in Hot Weather: Design for Sustainability and Service Life’. As part of the two-day forum, research and development scientists and engineers discussed topics related to hot weather concreting in sustainable design and service life.

The forum was opened by the Chair of the forum, Dr. Samer Al Martini, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at ADU, and the forum participants were welcomed by Prof. Thomas Glas-Hochstettler, Provost at ADU, and Dr. Hamdi Sheibani, the Dean of College of Engineering at ADU. The forum is in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Municipality and supported by the members of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Dr. Elias Al Sayah, ASCE Director Region 10, and Dr. Reem Sabouni, ASCE UAE Section President, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at ADU and the forum Co-chair.

The second round of the forum was organized based on the success of the first round that was held at ADU’s campus in June 2019. The forum included various virtual sessions featuring keynote, technical and industrial lectures delivered by speakers from ADU, ASU, Abu Dhabi Municipality and several international industrial companies located in the UAE including TransGulf ReadyMix Company, Sika Middle East Services, and Cortec Middle East.

Over 350 attendees including students from ADU and other academic institutions, industry, and governmental sectors attended and participated in the various sessions of the forum as the event was open to the public. The speakers presented insights on sustainability and service life of concrete structures (building materials and construction) and infrastructure under hot climate. The forum's objective was to provide exclusive opportunities for collaboration between ADU and ASU, promote mutual research interests between both institutes, and offer participants unique experiences.

Dr. Hamdi Sheibani, the Dean of College of Engineering at the Abu Dhabi University, said, "At Abu Dhabi University, we pride ourselves on our student-centric approach. This second collaboration with Arizona State University is part of our continued efforts to connect our students with learning opportunities that enable them to gain hands-on experience, develop their soft and technical skills, and build their networks.  The ADU-ASU Research Forum 2021 is the latest in a series of partnerships between Abu Dhabi University, international universities and research centers that allow our students to explore unique solutions to society's most pressing challenges." 

Dr. Samer Al Martini, the Chair of the forum, said "I am pleased that the second round of this research forum has been another resounding success for Abu Dhabi University. I believe that it is through events and partnerships like the ADU-ASU Research Forum 2021 that our students will be able to achieve more, create value for ADU and the larger community, and leave a positive imprint wherever their careers may take them after graduation."

Commenting on the forum, Ahmad Khartabil, MSc. Civil Engineering Student at ADU (ADU BSc. Alumni) and Technical Manager at TransGulf Readymix said, “These types of forums are very important and useful for us in developing our technical skills and keeping us up to date with the evolving technological developments in the field. This will allow us to stand out in the competitive job market”.

Prof. Barzen Mobasher and Prof. Narayanan Neithalath, the forum collaborators from ASU, praised the organization of the forum, the quality of the presentations and the interaction of the participants through intellectual technical questions. They also emphasized on the importance of the forum series on promoting research collaboration and knowledge exchange between the two institutes.

The College of Engineering at Abu Dhabi University is the largest engineering college in the UAE. It offers a range of engineering and technology programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with new and innovative programs being introduced regularly.