Dynamic young innovator Hassan Albalawi of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia advanced in an intense elimination episode of Stars of Science, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development's (QF) "edutainment reality" TV program, airing on MBC4. The program sees young innovators compete against each other to turn their creative ideas into reality and is part of QF's mission to encourage Arab youth to reach their potential while fostering and providing a platform to facilitate success. Twelve candidates aged 18 to 30 from across the Arab world travel to Doha, Qatar, where they are mentored by world-class engineering and design specialists in the laboratories of Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a member of Qatar Foundation. There, the innovators take on challenges as they develop their ideas from a concept to a potential product. In this first of three elimination rounds during the engineering stage, the candidates presented their prototypes to an expert panel of jurors. The group, with one computer scientist as well as one Master's and two doctoral students, used its academic firepower to develop projects aimed to make life easier in vastly different ways. Hassan used advanced technology with innovative thinking to solve age-old problems. Hassan's EEG Cap Analyzer uses sensors to measure and alert users to drowsiness. Dr. Francois Gilardoni, a prominent venture capitalist and scientist, judged the candidates alongside perennial jurors Youssif Abdulrahman Al-Salhi, General Manager of Qatar Shell Research and Technology Center and Professor Fouad Mrad, Executive Director of the United Nations ESCWA regional technology center. The jury scored the young innovators based on prototype performance (50 percent), product outlook (30 percent) and the resourcefulness and leadership exhibited by the candidate (20 percent). The next Stars of Science episode will see four more candidates face the jury – and possible elimination – in the engineering stage. It will be shown on Oct. 23rd, at 7 p.m. KSA/ 4 p.m. GMT on MBC4. The four finalists who survive the engineering and design elimination rounds earn a share of the $600,000 prize, with the winner being determined in a special live final episode.
