JEDDAH — Dr. Mohamed Eddaoudi, from Morocco, professor of chemistry and director of the Advanced Membrane and Porous Materials Center (AMPM), Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST, recently received the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers, an annual award presented by Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation focusing on six disciplines of science. Dr. Eddaoudi was not the only KAUST professor to receive this year's Shoman award. Lebanese-born Dr. Omar Knio, professor of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST, was joint recipient of the Shoman Award for Mathematical Modeling along with Dr. Shaher Mohammed Ahmad Momani from Jordan. Dr. Eddaoudi's research focuses primarily on developing new strategies for the design and synthesis of functional solid-state materials from molecular building blocks and advancing the understanding of the structure-property relationship of materials. His team at KAUST is working toward developing made-to-order MOFs to tackle more challenging and lingering problems, such as clean energy alternatives; advancing MOFs to store adequate hydrogen at room temperature and moderate pressures; reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and advancing the field of MOFs in the direction of creating efficient, low-cost MOFs that can capture large amounts of carbon dioxide. Prof. Knio focuses on the development of mathematical methods, algorithms, and software for the simulation of complex thermo-fluid systems, the quantification of uncertainty in model predictions, Bayesian model calibration, optimization under uncertainty, and on the application of advanced computational methods to atmospheric and oceanic flows, combustion, and energetic materials. Earlier in September, the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation announced the winners of the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers in its 37th cycle for 2019. According to the award's scientific committee, winners were selected upon reviewing the reports of twelve specialized committees, including an elite group of Arab researchers, who juried submissions. This year's award received submissions from 382 candidates from Jordan and the Arab world; 23 applications were disqualified due to non-compliance with the basic conditions of the award. Fifteen researchers submitted for the award's six fields. Each field is divided into two alternating topics which are selected by the award's scientific committee. The scientific committee, chaired by Dr. Amin Mahmoud, previously announced that this year's award went to researchers holding the following nationalities: Egypt (5), Palestine (3), Lebanon (2), and one researcher each from Jordan, Tunisia, Oman, Iraq, and Morocco. The award was first established in 1982, and has since then been received by a total of 434 men and women from various universities, institutions, and scientific centers throughout the Arab world. Valentina Qussisiya, CEO of Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, stressed the urgent need to support serious scientific research aimed at overcoming barriers to societal development, and the importance of scientific research directly aimed at problems in the Arab world, particularly those related to localization of technology, food shortage, shrinking arable land, and other problems that hinder development.
