27-year-old Usman was awarded the Commonwealth’s highest honor for young achievers by its newly appointed youth ambassador, Prince Harry of England in recognition of his efforts to promote and advance entrepreneurship.

Usman an engineer of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology went onto pursue his Masters in engineering management from Australia. After the completion of his degree with Distinction from the University of Wollongong he faced major roadblocks in pursuing a career in his new home country.

He then went on to cofound Catalysr a first of its kind startup incubator for refugees and migrant workers in Australia that enables and empowers migrants to start their own businesses using the skills and talent they already possess. It is a social enterprise that seeks to cultivate the mindset and skillset necessary for becoming a future business leader.

“A lot of migrants and refugees who come to Australia can’t get into employment for various reasons, cultural barriers, language barriers, helping them say there’s an alternative solution to employment which is entrepreneurship,” he said. He added “We don’t tell people what to do. We find a problem they’re trying to fix through their business, then help them with mentoring and capital to help it become a reality.”

Dozens have budding entrepreneurs and innovators have gone through the program so far ranging from an Egyptian food truck, to people trying to print 3D diamonds.  His venture extends support to a diverse community of migrants with entrepreneurial ideas. His enterprise operates with the goal “to provide an alternate pathway to people and unleash their untapped potential to help change the landscape not just for them but also their communities.”

The Accelertaor program is also complimented with a podcast that features Migrapreneur Stories of different startups in the industry to help other adopt best practices.

References:

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1688706/3-pak-australian-engineer-bags-commonwealth-young-person-year-award/

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australian-who-empowers-migrants-in-business-takes-out-commonwealth-youth-award

https://nation.com.pk/18-Apr-2018/commonwealth-young-person-of-the-year-pakistani-australian-engineer-steals-the-show?show=preview/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/usmaniftikhar/

https://www.dawn.com/news/1402339

The Transform Fund, launched last month in Tunisia aims to foster sustainable solutions through funding innovation and entrepreneurship in developing Muslim countries. Its mission is in alignment with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals that also aim to make provision for greater food security, healthy lifestyle, inclusive and equitable education, sustainable management of water and sanitation, access to affordable and clean energy, and sustainable industrialization across the developing world.

The fund was launched at the IsDB group’s Annual General Meeting in Tunisia. Speaking at the event H.E. Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank said: “The Islamic Development Bank understands that people living in the developing world need more than just grant funding. They need sustainable solutions to help them build their own way out of poverty. At the same time, we do need to offer access to the resources they need to realize their goals and change the world. That is why we have launched Transform. We know that real financial support in the science and technology sectors is needed in order to drive inclusive and sustainable development. Transform will ensure our members have access to a vital flow of financing facilities to help finance innovative ideas linked to real development solutions.”

In addition the IsDB has also established two high level boards that constitute the world’s leading scientists, thinkers and policy makers who will provide counsel and expertise to ensure the fund is able to achieve its ultimate development objective.

The IsDB Scientific Advisory Board includes ten leading scientists including Prof. Zakri Abdul Hamid, Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Abdallah Daar, Professor of Public Health Sciences and of Surgery, University of Toronto. They will provide guidance in setting the Bank’s Science, Technology and Innovation strategy and will review applications for funding.

Moreover a Board of Trustees that constitutes dignitaries like Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group and Mr. Mehmet Simsek, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey among others has been set up to ensure that the fund works to accelerate economic and social progress in the developing world through the power of science, technology and innovation.

The launch event featured a host of prominent leaders including Dr. Hayat Sindi, Scientific Advisor to the IsDB and member of the UN Scientific Advisory Board. He said: “The projects supported by the Transform Fund will greatly benefit local communities in our member countries, as well as Muslim communities in non-member countries. We know that science and technology are critical enablers of every Sustainable Development Goal, which is why we are focusing so much of our attention on innovative partnerships built around science and tech-led solutions. Through Engage and the Transform Fund, we look to foster collaboration from all around the world to help ensure that everyone has the right to live in dignity and with access to basic human needs.”

Applicants who are interested in securing seed money for their startups or SMEs are invited to submit their business proposals by July 31, 2018.

References:

https://www.isdb-pilot.org/

https://aa.com.tr/en/economy/islamic-bank-idb-officially-launches-500m-science-fund/1107046

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-islamic-development-bank-launches-500m-innovation-fund-to-fuel-economic-growth-in-developing-world-678838373.html

https://www.isdb-engage.org/en/challenge/call-for-innovation-via-transform-fund

With the global introduction of high speed modes of transportation the UAE government sprang to the challenge of advancing these highly automated future transport systems on its home ground.
Which is why the first ever hyper loop passenger pods were unveiled at UAE’s Innovation exhibit at the final week of UAE innovation Month. The exhibit which was open to the public gave visitors a chance to witness the futuristic transportation system that is believed to revolutionize all aspects of terrestrial transportation.

Previously, a prototype of the Hyperloop which was initially conceptualized as a low cost, energy efficient model was unveiled by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Virgin Hyperloop One at City Walk. This move comes in the wake of one of many tangible efforts by the country to make 25 per cent of all journeys to be driverless by 2030.
The Hyperloop pod which is slated to be launched by 2020, is furnished with leather seats and high definition screens for displaying information. Each pod has the capacity to accommodate 12 passengers who will be travelling at speeds of over 1,000 kilometers an hour, making the normal 2 hour journey in under 12 minutes only. The Hyperloop will initially make journeys between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah and Dubai.

The hyperloop is designed in a way that the passenger pod is enclosed in a tube under a partial vacuum. The pods are made to levitate through the vacuum tube with the help of an electromagnetic propulsion system. The system hovers above the ground and is held in place by concrete columns thereby maintaining a straight trajectory. The pods do not have windows to avoid motion sickness.

A statement revealed that His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the RTA, said: ‘When introduced in future, the hyperloop technology will impact the town planning and the availability of parking spaces. ‘It will revolutionize people mobility between various destinations in the city, logistical hubs like airports and ports, and shipping patterns.

‘These pods, the first of their kind worldwide, have been designed to travel over short and medium distances on dedicated lanes. ‘They can be coupled in 15 to 20 seconds or detached, depending on the destination of riders, in five seconds. ‘They are fitted with cameras and electro-mechanical technologies to carry out the coupling and detaching processes, and this feature can be activated in-motion.’

Sources:
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/transport/first-look-prototype-for-hyperloop-unveiled-in-dubai-1.706889
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/transport/video-rta-unveils-hyperloop-prototype-in-uae-innovation-month-

A number of studies point towards an emerging trend in western countries where Muslim women are increasingly participating in male-dominated STEM fields. Most of these immigrant women are serving an important role in the highly creative and innovative STEM fields. In fact they make up the largest number of highly skilled immigrants in STEM, fast outnumbering men.

In recent years more and more female immigrants are journeying to western countries due to their progressive policies and protection of rights. We look at some extremely talented young Muslim immigrant women who have made considerable strides in STEM fields despite the odds.

Alaa Muratib – UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment & Economic Growth.

In 2017, Dr. Alaa Murabit popularly nicknamed “The Libyan Doogie Howser” was recognized in Forbes magazine 30 under 30 health care category list for her leadership skills in global policy, advancing the role of women in peace and conflict resolution, sustainable development and security cooperation.

Born in Saskatoon, Canada, Alaa Murabit is the sixth child in a family of eleven children who had immigrated to Canada from Libya in the early 1980s. At the age of 15 she moved to Zawia, Libya to pursue medicine at University of Zawia. She later earned her Master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

During her fifth year at medical school at 21 years of age, Alaa founded the Voice of Libyan Women, a non-profit dedicated to promoting women’s participation in peace processes and conflict mediation. In an interview she shared that this organization was founded as an agent for change.

Today Murabit a medical physician, is serving as a United Nations high level commissioner on Health, Employment and Economic growth, in addition to being one of the 17 global sustainable goals advocate. She is the only serving commissioner who is under 45 years of age.

Ala’s contributions to global policy and advocating the rights of minorities were recognized by Harvard Law as she was awarded the tile of the youngest 2017 Woman Inspiring Change. She was also honored by Aspen Ideas and Bay Street Bull and was named Aspen Institute Spotlight Scholar, and Canada’s 30×30 respectively. The New York Times called her the “International Trust Women Hero 2014”, BBC featured her in its “100 Top Woman” the same year.

In 2013 she won the Trust Women Hero Award, while she is also the youngest person to receive the Marisa Bellisario International Humanitarian Award by the Italian Government.

Murabit an Ashoka Fellow from Libya was also featured in the 2014 edition of SAFE Global Heroes. Newsweek magazine listed her as the “One of 25 women under 25 to watch”.  Her Ted Talk, “What my religion really says about women,” was dubbed as one of the four “moving TED Talks to watch right now” by the New York Times.

Alaa’s research focuses on health employment and economic growth – she studied the issue of stigmatization and securitization of disease. She found that people tend to be securitized rather than the disease drawing the conclusion that this kind of response weakens national governance. She offered insights into how to better address diseases in a more holistic way.

In 2016, she founded the Omnis Institute that conducts a global Mentorship Program for empowering and training emerging local leaders. She currently serves as a trustee for The Malala Fund, International Alert, Malaria No More and Keeping Children Safe. She is also an advisor to many international security boards, think tanks and organizations, including the UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group and Harvard’s Everywoman Everywhere Coalition.

In a magazine interview, expressing extreme pride in her culture and Islamic roots she attributed her diplomacy and leadership skills to her upbringing and her parents influence. She credits her family especially her parents for her phenomenal success and her tightly knit family for instilling the qualities of an effective speaker and a diplomat.

 Anousheh Ansari – First Female Muslim Private Space Explorer & First Space Ambassador

Anousheh Ansari the Iranian born Astronaut is the first female space explorer and the Muslim world’s first female spaceflight participant. On September 18, 2006, she inspired millions around the world, as she made her first self-funded trip into space.

The Iranian-American Ansari moved to the states from Tehran when she was only 16 years old. Having not studied English before, she dedicated herself to her studies putting in extra effort and work to get her degree. She successfully completed her bachelor’s in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University, followed by a master’s degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University.

In 1993, together with her husband and brother in law Ansari cofounded Telecom Technologies Inc., which emerged as one of Inc. magazine’s 500 fastest-growing companies and one of Deloitte & Touche’s Fast 500 technology companies. The company was later sold to Sonus Networks for 750 million dollars. She is also the cofounder and chairman of Prodea Systems Inc.

On May 5, 2004 Ansari along with her brother in law donated one million dollars to the X PRIZE foundation. The X PRIZE was officially renamed the Ansari X PRIZE in honor of their donation. She is also among the Broad members of the foundations Vision circle.

She has received numerous honors and accolades for her work in promoting STEM based education and for her humanitarian efforts. In 2015, she received the Space Pioneer Award by National Space Society for her “Service to the Space Community.” In 2012, her alma mater the George Mason University awarded her with an Honorary Doctorate of Science. She was also presented with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her humanitarian work in 2010. In 2009, in recognition of her entrepreneurial accomplishments she was honored with the first NCWIT Symons Innovator Award by the National Center for Women & Information Technology that recognizes success women tech entrepreneurs. Fortune Magazine featured her in their 40 under 40 list in 2001 and Working Woman declared her the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Currently Anousheh is closely involved with organizations such as X Prize, ASHOKA and the PARSA Community Foundation to empower young entrepreneurs to ignite a global revolution for change.

 Sameena Shah – Director, Research at Thomson Reuters

Sameena Shah is the Director of Research for Thomson Reuters and one of the few Muslim women artificial intelligent experts. She leads NY teams’ R&D work in finding alpha from underexploited data sources. She has been leveraging big data analytics for finding predictive signals from textual information in corporate filings, news, social media, company hierarchy analysis etc. 

Sameena completed her Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia in 2002 and in 2004 she studied Computer Applications for her Masters from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. Her doctorate degree on “Distributed Machine Learning” was judged as the top one for the year across India. She was awarded the Ministry of Human Development & Research fellowship for pursuing her PhD. She worked extensively on artificial intelligence and published several papers in International journals. She was the recipient of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (USA) student scholarship in 2008. Her passion and zeal for the engineering sciences and her ability to apply logic to solve complex problems won her the 2009 “Google India Women in Engineering Award”. She displays an extreme passion for discovering patterns, creating algorithms and proposing a theory. She devised an algorithm in computerized cognitive learning with her team in India.

At Thomas Reuters Sameena and her team build Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence based capabilities for Thomson Reuters businesses. She is the architect of the Reuters News Tracer –  the world’s first fully autonomous machine that tracks breaking news stories from around the world, using topic-focused algorithms to find emerging events in social media.

Sameena is a board member of Cocoa Compassion, a social enterprise seeking to alleviate the social injustices in the cocoa supply chain.

She has the honor of being an award winning scientist who has authored more than 40 papers, has multiple patents, and is on the review panel of major CS/EE journals and conferences.

 Tahani Amer – Senior Technologist at NASA in Washington, D.C.

Tahani Amer a senior space technologist at NASA since 1992, has been playing an active role in the agency’s space research domain. Tahani who majored in aerospace engineering was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt and moved to the US at the age of 17. Despite being new to the American culture and being unfamiliar with the English language she aced her first ever Calculus exam in America. She completed her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s degree in aerospace engineering. She earned her doctorate in engineering from Old Dominion University in Virginia.

Tahani started working at NASA during her senior year of college where one of her first projects was on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This was a valuable learning experience which enabled her to work with renowned scientists and researchers using advanced technology.  Recalling her initial experiences at NASA Tahani says she felt like a little girl in a “candy store” who was enthralled by and amazed at working with large CFD computer codes and climbing up the ceiling of a wind tunnel to install a velocity probe. She later worked on wind tunnel experiments to test how materials would respond in high pressure environments.

Her work towards NASA’s Aeronautic Research efforts helped her gain tremendous knowledge from both a practical and theoretical point of view.

In 2014, NASA awarded her its Public Services award for her efforts to encourage women and minorities to pursue careers in science including participating in “Day of Caring”, Engineering Week, the Speakers Bureau, Diversity Day, and after school science clubs.

In 2011, she was invited to deliver a speech at the Peace week at Old Dominion University on the issue of Women in Islam. She was also a guest speaker at the Annual Luncheon for the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) and chaired the Applied Science Session for the VSGC and the IPAO NASA Program Management Challenge 2011.

Her faith and science play pivotal role on her life as she is rigorously involved in community mosque programs and Arabic teaching centers. She leads her life in accordance to three principles that have helped her make huge strides in her personal as well as professional life. “Please God and you will please all. Education is the key to opportunity. Serve others with compassion and kindness.”

Manahel Thabet – Ranked among the 30 smartest people alive

 Yemini born Manahel Thabet is ranked among the 30 smartest people alive. Dr. Thabet a scientist, mathematician, engineer, economist and women’s rights activist is renowned for her superior intellect and brilliance. With an IQ of more than 168 she has earned the title of the Genius of the Year 2013 by the World Genius Directory representing ASIA and Brain of the Year Award in 2016. She earned her doctorate at the age of 25 becoming the youngest and only Arab to receive a Ph.D in financial engineering. She completed her degree at the University of Illinois and is working towards earning her second Ph.D. in quantum mathematics. In 2012 she came up with a revolutionary 350-page formula to calculate distance in space without the use of light.

In 2014 she was selected the AVICENNA Award Laureate as a successor to Professor Tony Buzan given every year to those who present best practice in science, connecting East with West through science and knowledge. In 2015 Dr. Thabet broke a new Guinness World Record in 2015 in one of the most complicated teaching methods.

She is currently the founder and president of SmartTips Consultants, President (MENA) of The Brain Trust Foundation, President of the World IQ Foundation, Vice President of the World Intelligence Network (WIN), and Deputy Director of the Institute for Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition and Vice Chancellor of The Gifted Academy.

Dr. Thabet is also the winner of Middle East Achievement Awards in Science and was ranked among the 100 most powerful Women in the Middle East and most powerful 500 Arabs in the World by Arabian Business. Dr. Manahel is a Royal Grand Cross Officer of the Companionate of the White Swan and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London, UK. In 2016 she was bestowed with the prestigious honor of Freedom of the City of London. Lately she was featured among the BBC most inspirational 100 women around the world.

Ayah Bdier – one of the pioneers of the Maker Movement and Open Hardware Movement

Ayah Bdier the Labanese Canadain is the founder and CEO of LittleBits – LEGO like plastic units designed to spark the imagination of people in all age groups – encouraging them to create and invent.

She is deemed a pioneer in the Maker Movement and in the space of internet of things. An engineer by profession Bdier is famously known as an interactive artist for attempting to “break down complex technologies so that anyone can build, prototype, and invent.” She is an alumna of the MIT Media Lab where she received her master’s degree. She undertook her undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering and Sociology from the American University of Beirut.

Bdier founded the award winning electronic building blocks company in 2011 after participating in the World Maker Faire in New York City. She is also the recipient of the highly prestigious TED fellowship.
While delivering her hugely famous TED talk Bdier explained that she aspires to encourage a world of creators and inventors by allowing non engineers to program. She explained that LittleBits was conceived as a result of small construction blocks that form the basis of complex structures in many countries. Her company was named one of the 50 smartest companies in 2016 by MIT Technology Review.

She has been awarded numerous accolades including Business Insider’s 26 Most Powerful Women Engineers, a New York Hall of Science Creative Entrepreneur, Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Honoree, one of Inc. Magazine’s 35 Under 35, one of NY Business Journal’s Women of Influence, one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, one of Popular Mechanics’ 25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American Dream, one of Entrepreneur’s 10 Leaders to Watch, one of the CNBC Next List, and one of MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35.

Sources

http://womeninengineeringpmcs.org/

http://knowwithoutborders.org/immigrants-women-and-stem/

http://www.anoushehansari.com/

http://cshlwise.org/wise-wednesdays/2017/3/29/tahaniamer

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/muslim-women-in-stem-to-know

This year’s edition of the World Science Forum was held under the banner of ‘Science for Peace’ – a theme that may have appeared out of place only a decade ago but not in present times and certainly not in the Middle East which, today, is again one of the most volatile regions of the world and stands at a crossroads.  Nobody could ignore the irony of what had happened just over the preceding weekend as the bitter rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran promised to throw the region into yet another conflict, this time in the neighboring Lebanon.

The regional context notwithstanding, this was the first and the largest ever gathering of science policy makers in the Middle East, in particular, and the Islamic World, in general, and Jordan could be immensely proud of its achievement to accord science, often neglected in the region, with the status at the center stage that it did, albeit only for a short period of a week.

The WSF 2017 was held under the patronage of HRH King Abdullah ibn Al Hussein of Jordan and HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, Chair of WSF 2017 and President of the Royal Scientific Society. Welcoming the audience to the event King Abdullah expressed his hope that Jordan will act as an accelerator of global scientific collaboration, opportunity, and peace.

The focus of the four day Forum was on global issues like water scarcity, food security, energy and the right to education. Participants emphasized that science plays a vital role in creating equality and provides opportunities for growth. A partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) was also initiated to promote research and development in water availability and sustainable food production.

The event’s opening ceremony was marked by the entrance of “Pepper” the first humanoid robot in Jordan. The robot rolled on the stage accompanied by the Japanese-American physicist and futurist Michio Kaku. Speaking to the audience it announced its plans to stay in Jordan where it would be working with a team of students in the field of robotics, hardware and programming at the Princess Sumaya University for Technology. Later in the evening, Professor Michio Kaku, a keynote speaker at the event, declared that science is the engine of prosperity and called for all nations to capitalize on its remarkable benefits.

A plenary session was also held on ‘The opportunity and Challenges of Digital Transformation’. Damon Horowitz a philosophy professor and serial entrepreneur stressed on the need to devise innovative approaches to problem solving. He remarked, “We cannot solve the problems of today with the same mindset we had when we created them”. Abier Amarin Director CRDF Global MENA emphasized on the need to build a trust relationship between policy makers and young scientists. The forum also featured a panel discussion on cross disciplinary areas of science.

A number of international science organizations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),  International Council for Science (ICSU), World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, also featured at the Conference and organized several sessions.

One of these side events was also a Meeting of the Task Force on the Culture of Science in the Muslim World – an initiative of the Muslim World Science – that brought together 12 leading scholars from around the Muslim World into a two-day huddle to discuss ideas and issues that form the culture of science in the Muslim World.

The Task Force is being chaired by HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan and was convened by Prof. Nidhal Guessoum, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at American University of Sharjah and co-Convened by Dr. Moneef Zou’bi, Director General, Islamic World Academy of Sciences. Its members included, Dr. Muhammad Sabieh Anwar Associate Professor of physics at Lahore University of Management Sciences Pakistan, Dr. Athar Osama member of the Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan and also the Founder and CEO of Pakistan Innovation Foundation, Dr Dato’ Ir. Lee Yee Cheong, Honorary Chairman, International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre, Dr. Rana Dajani, Associate Professor at Hashemite University, Mohammed Yahia, the Executive Editor at Nature Middle East and President of World Federation of Science Journalists, Professor Jelel Ezzine Founding Chair Holder of UNESCO Chair on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, among various other eminent scholars, thinkers, practitioners, and science communicators from Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, and Lebanon. Participants discussed the reasons why a culture of science has failed to flourish in the Muslim world.

Speaking at the event Dr. Rana Dajani remarked that, “In the Muslim World, we always want quick results. We need to have a long-term view and need to strategize and implement initiatives to encourage scientific and critical thinking.”

Other task force members opined that there is a dire need of science communicators in the region who could communicate science related topics. Dr. Sabieh Anwar a proponent of quality science education in Pakistan heads an initiative that aims to develop and strengthen the science culture in Lahore’s educational institutions. He explained how his association that organized around 200 events used social media to market and promote the popular image of scientific content and method. He also shed light on the modern scientific edifice remarking that “a bulk of modern day scientific endeavors are translational”.  Other speakers noted that despite rapid global advancements in the field of science, a scientific culture has failed to take root in the Muslim world. Dr. Moneef Zou’bi, Director General, Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS) revealed that “few universities in Muslim countries have a department of science and technology studies”. He pointed out that the IAS is committed to promoting scientific and inquiry based education in these schools and universities.

Closing Declaration from the World Science Forum 2017

At the concluding session of the World Science Forum 2017 participants issued a global call to action for science and society to facilitate the role of science in addressing global challenges through science and evidence-informed policy. Members adopted a unanimous declaration in which they pledged to make sustained efforts to preserve and promote scientific capacities and harness the potential of science, technology and innovation to promote equal opportunity based sustainable and peaceful development. Partner organizations, scientists and decision makers offered their support and commitment for the launch of an Arab Science Forum to bring together science and research communities as they attempt to address critical regional challenges.

A Declaration adopted at the end of the conference highlighted five main areas on the theme of ‘Science for Peace’ for future implementation.

• The equitable and sustainable management of natural resources is essential to avoid conflicts and to promote peaceful development
• The preservation of scientific capacities, threatened by global migration trends, is key to peace, sustainable development, resilience and recovery
• Diversity is a key enabler of excellence in science, technology and innovation and is essential to optimize its relevance and impact
• A commitment to the fulfilment of the universal right to science
• Support of the launch of a regional science forum for the Arab World.

Sources:

https://worldscienceforum.org/

http://www.sciforum.hu/

https://twas.org/tags/world-science-forum

Image taken from: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/science-technology/science-governance/world-science-forum/

In 2016, Shaheer became the first ever Pakistani to Participate in the International Young Physicists’ Tournament where he provided a visual demonstration of this scientific phenomenon.  Through a practical demonstration he proved that heat gradients are produced when a drop of oil is subjected to heat and that heat is not uniformly distributed through the oil droplet. Moreover, he showed that when electrically charged particles are made to travel through the oil droplet they align themselves into a polygonal pattern that physicists refer to as The Rose Window Instability.

Muhammad Shaheer Niazi recently published his work on the electric honeycomb phenomenon in the prestigious Royal Society Open Science journal

Shaheer’s study is based on the premise that above a certain voltage freely charged particles work to restore balance by moving in a polygonal shaped circuit resembling a wax honeycomb.

He photographed images of the procedure using the Schlieren photographic technique that shows the oil surface transforming into an electric honeycomb with the flow of electric charge. The manner in which electric particles travel through a fluid medium has applications in printing, heating, and biomedicine.

This is based on one of the fundamental laws of physics which states that everything in nature seeks to create balance and regain order. In this case the ions are the main cause of instability which subsequently self-organize to form a polygon thus making the system stable.

Shaheer’s work was inspired by Dr Alberto T. Pérez Izquierdo, a physicist at the University of Seville in Spain who termed his work an outstanding achievement at such a young age.

Shaheer received support from Dr. Farida from COMSATS University and worked under the guidance of Dr. Sabieh Anwar at PhysLab at LUMS during the summer of 2016 where he received full access to the laboratories and equipment for carrying out his experimentation and research.

Young Shaheer aspires to further his research on the electric honeycomb and aims to win a Nobel Prize one day.

References:

http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/10/170503

http://www.peacepak.pk/17-year-old-pakistani-students-physics-paper-surprises-older-scientist/

https://propakistani.pk/2017/10/05/17-year-old-pakistani-shocks-world-proving-electric-honeycomb-theory/

The Dubai Media office announced plans to build the world’s biggest space simulation city to support its  Mars 2117 Project that aims to colonize the planet Mars in the next 100 years.

The ultra-modern Space City shall comprise multiple climate controlled domes designed to prevent direct exposure to solar radiation simulating Mars lack of a layer of protective gases to shield its inhabitants from solar radiation.

Scientists and engineers have considered transparent recyclable plastic material as viable option for constructing the giant inflatable dome like structures. Laboratories inside the facility will simulate temperature conditions similar to Mars which are much lower than on earth. However, it not clear how the City will simulate Maritian gravity at 38% of earth’s gravity.

The facility that will attempt to construct “a viable and realistic model to simulate living on the surface of Mars” is the brain child of the celebrated Danish architect Bjarke Ingels; and is a collaboration between his firm BIG, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, and the Dubai Municipality.

The mock multi-domed Martian complex is set to house various scientific laboratories dedicated to space research and planetary exploration, a museum 3-D printed from desert sand, and an amphitheater for recreational and educational purposes. The laboratories will serve as testing sites for food and water security, agricultural farming and energy generation in the future.

UAE recently announced its plan to build a Mars Scientific City on the outskirts of Dubai

A museum to celebrate “humanity’s greatest space achievements” will also be built within the Space City. Its walls shall be 3D printed from the desert sand thus testing the concept on 3D printing human settlements from Mars own resources. An interactive educational zone will draw the attention of the youth and invoke a passion for outer space research and exploration.

One of the highlights of the space age Martian complex would be its inhabitants. It aims to house a team of earthly Martians for a year to work together on develop self-sufficient technologies in energy, food and water.

The UAE’s ambitious plan to build a prototype city as part of its vision to make huge strides in space exploration is one of the biggest initiative in planetary science and space travel from the Muslim world.

This is an extension of the same vision – the Emirates Mars Mission under which UAE will send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2020 which would make it the first Muslim country to send a probe to Mars. By announcing its Mars 2117 Initiative, UAE has now put a stake in for an even greater challenge of Mars Colonisation.

References:

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/space-flight-news/united-arab-emirates-build-mars-science-city/

https://www.sciencealert.com/to-prepare-for-mars-the-uae-is-building-a-simulated-martian-city-on-earth

https://www.popsci.com/united-arab-emirates-mars-city-pictures?src=SOC&dom=

Four students of Pakistani American descent won the coveted $1m Hult Prize in New York City last month. They were handed over their award by former US President Bill Clinton.

Recent graduates of the Rutgers University, Gia Lakhani, Hasan Usmani, Moneed Mian and Hanaa won seed funding for their transportation startup called Roshni Rides. The team devised a solution to provide affordable, readily available and reliable public transportation for informal settlements in the South Asian region. Customers have the option of using preloaded Roshni cards that act as tickets to ensure an efficient and uniform payment option.

The Hult challenge is one of the most prestigious awards for social entrepreneurs and enterprises and has gained considerable popularity in a very short span of time. The contest invites teams from all over the world to address pressing social issues centered around food and water issues, energy, climate change, sustainable growth and education.

This year’s contest on social ventures to address problems of people residing in informal settlements anywhere. After several rounds in the competition six finalists, including Team Roshni Rides and another team from Pakistan, pitched before a jury in New York to take the ultimate prize.

Roshni Rides had successfully raised around $30,000 through a crowd funding campaign to put their idea to practice in Karachi’s Orangi Town. The team felt that transportation was a major challenge for the informal communities because of lack of infrastructure and this resulted in poor access to hospitals, schools or workplaces. Due to poorly constructed roads even three wheeled rickshaws cannot make it to some of these localities and those that do often demanded often staggering fares.

Beginning with trying to build a solar powered electric rickshaw, the team ended up using ride sharing app for existing rickshaw fleets. This way the drivers could share rides and earn a higher income than what he could as an independent driver.

In the coming years, Roshni Rides hopes to use the prize money to expand the company. By 2022, they aim to have a fleet of 1,200 rickshaws across south Asia and serve 2.2 million refugees. If they meet that goal, the company is projected to make a profit of over $5 million a year through advertising revenue and fares.

As the search for knowledge and quests to explore yonder worlds stays part of human nature, Mars remains the first – and so far – biggest feat for space agencies around the world. The Muslim world is playing its part in this global challenge. UAE’s space agency is building up its mission ‘Al-Amal’ or Hope, which is planned to enter Mars’ orbit in the year 2021.

Ancient history of many cultures associated Mars with war and destruction due to its reddish appearance. In the Muslim world, Mars at times was an omen of triumph and divine blessing. In the 10^th century, the Fatimid Caliphate captured Egypt and moved their royal seat to a newly named city ‘Al-Qahir’ or City of Mars (Fatimid dialect), presently known as Cairo. Astrological connotations were gradually refuted by Muslim astronomers and a scientific approach with empirical arguments gave birth to astronomy and space sciences of the modern world.[i]

The space race between US and USSR led to plethora of missions beyond Earth’s orbit. In the 1960s, Pakistan, primarily due to its location, became a region of major interest for NASA and SUPARCO, the first space agency in the Muslim World was born. Many other Muslim nations have since established space agencies and are playing their part in the global space sector such as LAPAN (Indonesia), ANGKASA (Malaysia), ISA (Iran), MAKA (Azerbaijan), NSSA (Bahrain), UzbekCosmos(Uzbekistan), KazCosmos (Kazakhastan), ASA (Algeria), TSA (Turkey), TNSA (Turkmenistan) and SPARRSO (Bangladesh). Other Muslim countries are also either in the phase of establishing a space agency or joining hands with another.

The UAE Space Agency is the latest entrant in this galaxy.  It is investing $5.44 billion and spearheading the space sector in the Muslim world with its ambitious unmanned mission to Mars. Marking UAE as the ninth country working to explore Mars, Hope, the first Islamic probe to Mars, is planned to start its journey from the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket in July 2020.

The Ruler of Dubai H.E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum says, “this mission to Mars is really for the hope of the Arab world”.

According to H.E. Dr. Mohammad Al Ahbabi, Director General of UAE Space Agency, “Our vision is to launch space projects that will help the development of the UAE’s economy, support local, regional and international space study and technology and create exciting learning and career opportunities for our people.”

After launch, the probe will begin the seven to nine-month long journey.

Emirates mission to Mars is a science mission. The Emirati orbiter is aimed at providing an integrated model of the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Hope will be the first to study dynamic changes in Martian atmosphere throughout its daily and seasonal cycles. The space probe will be built from aluminum into a honeycomb-like compact structure weighing approximately 1,500 kg including fuel. It will collect planet-wide climate tracking because of its special orbit cycles. It is planned to orbit Mars till 2023 at least and may have an extended mission till 2025.

The mission will search for clues to better understand the ancient climate on Mars and today’s Martian weather. This will be done by tracking the escape of hydrogen and oxygen and their behavior as Mars loses its atmosphere to Space. With an onboard storage capacity of 20 GB, it will send back more than 1000 GB of invaluable data that will be made available for free to space specialists to study.

Hope is to be equipped with 600 watt solar panels for power, six 120-Newton Delta-V thrusters, eight 5-Newton Reaction Control System thrusters for navigation and control along with Star trackers for guidance and attitude correction. To stay in contact with Mission Control on Earth, a High-gain directional antenna producing narrow radio-wave will point at Earth. Once in orbit around Mars, the communication bandwidth may be as low as 250 kbps.

The scientific instruments to be carried by Hope include the Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI), Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) and an Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS). The EXI will send back high-resolution color images and measure properties of water ice, dust aerosols and quantify ozone. The EMUS will measure the variability of the thermosphere and traces of oxygen and hydrogen coronae. The EMIRS will help examine temperature patterns and the thermal structure. It will also measure abundance of ice water vapor and dust in Martian atmosphere. [ii]

At approximately 54.6 million kilometers away from Earth with a communication delay of 13-20 minutes, Hope will have to maneuver into Mars’ orbit autonomously. Once in orbit, internal reaction wheels will be spun for attitude control and to point its solar panels towards the Sun while pointing its antenna towards Earth and on board scientific equipment towards Mars. [iii]

The first Muslim and royal in space, Prince Sultan bin Salman[iv] of Saudi Arabia who was part of the crew of Discovery STS-51G that went into orbit for seven days in 1985, has also endorsed active participation in space mission by nations of the MENA region noting that this would greatly benefit the Muslim world by developing technology and bringing hope and inspiration to a troubled region.

At a Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2016, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon exclaimed “I want to bring UAE into a small community which will be working, and I believe, living on the only other habitable planet in our solar system by 2040.”

The challenges that UAE Space Agency may face include completing the development of the space probe well in time for launch, securing measurable economic benefits, ensuring effective transfer of technology, and retaining the trained professional Emirati scientists and engineers for the mission to Mars who may seek other jobs. 

Dr Benton C Clark – Lockheed

The UAE Space Agency plans to maintain an ongoing engagement with academia.

Dr. Benton C. Clarke[v], Chief Scientist, Flight Systems, Lockheed Martin Astronautics at the launch of Emirates Mission to Mars in Abu Dhabi said, “We’d very much like to see them be successful, because it’s always good to have more science at Mars. These missions help each other. It has a lot of broad reaching implications for education. We found in the US when the Space programs first started especially when first astronauts went into space, that many students became interested in science and technology than they had before.”

The Emirates mission to Mars will set a precedent for other space agencies in the Muslim world. UAE government’s bold initiatives have put its space sector into overdrive and the ambitious Mission to Mars will move UAE far ahead of others in the Muslim World.

References:

[i] Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World By James E. Lindsay (Page 103-4)

[ii] http://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae

[iii] http://www.space.gov.ae

[iv] First Arab in Space https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/the-first-arab-in-space-1.32633

[v] Video interview recorded by author at GSSF UAE

The idea of “Walk to Beat” walking stick initially struck Neha when she saw her grandfather suffering from Parkinson’s for nearly eight years. After witnessing the Parkinson’s freeze herself, she aimed to help patients who suffer from this disease.

Parkinson’s disease refers to a neurological disorder which particularly affects movement in the body and is more common among the elderly. It affects a person’s ability to walk, eat, write and speak. This state has come to be known as a Parkinson’s freeze – a sudden temporary episode of complete immobility. It not only limits the ability to start movement but also hampers an ongoing rhythmic activity such as walking or speaking. The brief pause in walking is very disabling as it gives the sensation of being glued to the ground. During this Parkinson’s freeze, there is a high probability that patients might injure themselves if they continue to stand for too long.

Key components of the Walk to Beat walking stick handle

By conducting research, Neha found a simple solution to remedy this particular aspect of the illness. Neha developed this idea as her final year research project during her Bachelor’s degree at the University of the West of England. She made an initial prototype of the walking stick which she incubated at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. The structure of the walking stick operates using haptic vibrations; the handle of the stick is equipped with a device that gives a vibrating pulse like sensation to the person holding the stick serving as an impulse to continue movement. The rhythmic pulse allows patients to match the pace of their movement with the beating. She also incorporated a recording sensor in the stick that will record the time and duration of the freezing episode based on their walking patterns. Neha believes this is an important modification which will help doctors and health care professionals to better understand the disease and its implications on their patients.

Neha tested the walking stick with Parkinson’s patients making changes over the course of one year based on patients’ feedback. She wanted to develop a product which was not only effective but also aesthetically pleasing to reflect the needs of the patients. This battery operated walking stick has is rechargeable and once fully charged, it operates for 5 days. Each product has a life span of five years.

Neha has received widespread positive feedback on this invention. As a result of this, she went on to found her own company “Walk to Beat” under which she began developing this product further. Neha and her team are continuously making efforts to improve this product and develop a minimum viable product by November 2017, aiming to launch the complete product by early next year. Neha is currently doing her Master’s in Marketing at the University of the West of England, polishing her skills to reach a wider market audience. Her invention has won three awards for entrepreneurship and five prizes including 100,000 pounds worth of investment to produce and develop this walking stick.

Farid Dailami, Associate Professor for Knowledge Exchange in Manufacturing at the Robotics Innovation Facility remarked: “The Walk to Beat walking stick can make a real difference to the lives of people suffering from Parkinson’s, and we are looking forward to providing further support and helping realize its potential.”

References:

http://parkinsonslife.eu/parkinsons-walking-stick-neha-chaudhry-walk-to-beat/

https://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/uwenews/news.aspx?id=3360

http://parkinsonslife.eu/walk-to-beat-innovative-walking-stick-parkinsons-patients-neha-shahid-chaudhry/