Khalifa University’s Dr. Linda Zou, Professor of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering, was selected by the Emirates Scientists Council to be the Deputy of the Women in Science Committee of the Mohammed bin Rashid Academy of Scientists (MBRAS). Dr. Zou will be working with committee lead Dr. Saeeda Al Marzouqi and the other committee members to represent women in the science community.Ěý

The committee aims to advocate the attraction, promotion, and retention of women in STEM fields. It will support and encourage women faculty and researchers to engage and thrive in their chosen careers, specifically in STEM, where women are still relatively minorities.Ěý

“Women scientists have overcome many difficulties to be in current positions and made great contributions to the university and science. Our aim is to promote sustainable engagement and growth, to be recognized and have the same opportunity without facing disadvantages,” Dr. Zou said.Ěý

Dr. Zou is regarded as an expert in water technologies and cloud seeding materials and is well-known for her ground-breaking research using nanotechnology to develop cloud seeding materials.Ěý

Ara Maj Cruz
Creative Writer
13 October 2021

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Amina, Sarah, and Shahd presented their senior project at the WiDS UAE event.Ěý

In March 2021, IBM Dubai hosted the Women in Data Science (WiDS) UAE 2021, a regional event that gathered established and emerging data scientists from a variety of institutions such as universities, corporations, and startups to participate in panels, lightning talks, and tech talks relating to data science, new technologies, and the future of the industry. The event also brings into focus the role of women in data science.

Three Khalifa University BSc in Applied Mathematics and Statistics alumni were invited to share their projects during the event. Amina Abood Mohammad Salem, Sarah AlBastaki, and Shahd Hardan each presented their senior project work during the lightning talks and participated in the following Q&A.

Amina talked about using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays to identify changes in gene expressions that are associated with disease phenotypes. SNPs can provide valuable insights about disease phenotypes, and Amina discussed the careful statistical adjustments necessary when extracting significant genes that may be associated with a complex disease.Ěý

Sarah discussed implementing reinforcement learning in explore-exploit dilemmas to obtain the maximum possible reward from a set of actions. Her discussion included visualization and modeling of psychological data collected at the University of Arizona, USA.Ěý

Shahd explained how to apply principal component analysis (PCA), a dimensionality reduction method, on the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP-CEPH) data, to understand the population structure. Her work showcased a deeper look into this data than is typically done with PCA, visualizing single chromosomes and isolating specific subpopulations within the data.

The three students were supervised by Dr. Samuel Feng, Assistant Professor of Mathematics. “You’re always pleased to see the right people get some well-deserved recognition. Amina, Sarah, Shahd—their quantitative/analytical talent is clear. But they are also much more than “STEM graduates”. They are truth-focused women who work with integrity, don’t cover up mistakes, and have impressive ambitions, exactly the type of people society needs more of. I’ve always thought of helping to produce people, not degrees. So students are the product, and the customer is society.Ěý Being in the UAE, this society clearly needs more people like these three—STEM graduates capable of independent thought and a work ethic based on trustworthiness. The same could be said for most of the rest of the world,” Dr. Feng commented.Ěý

Khalifa University has a 60% female student body, a testament to its support of women to pursue advanced, specialized knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).Ěý

WiDS UAE 2021 is an independent regional event organized by WiDS Ambassadors in the UAE as part of Stanford University’s annual WiDS Worldwide conference. The initiative aims to support women in data science, as well as inspire and educate other data scientists around the world, regardless of gender.

Ara Maj Cruz
Creative Writer
2 June 2021

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Partnership to Offer Three Post-doctoral Researchers and Three PhD Students Fellowships

Khalifa University of Science and Technology and L’Oréal Middle East, the number one leader in the beauty industry, today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to partner on the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science Middle East Program.

The aim of this partnership is to strengthen the program and reach new heights in promoting the outstanding research done by Arab women based in the region. As per this agreement, L’Oréal will offer three fellowships worth €20,000 each for Post-doctoral Researchers and three fellowships worth €8,000 each for PhD Students.

The MoU was signed by Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, and Remi Chadapaux, Managing Director, L’Oréal Middle East, during a ceremony held at the Khalifa University Main Campus.
Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi said: “The MoU with L’Oréal Middle East for the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science Middle East Program illustrates our commitment to encouraging female participation in STEM areas as directed by the UAE leadership. The UAE already prides itself in offering equal opportunities to women while creating the right environment for their intellectual potential to be tapped in science, engineering, technology and math fields.

“Similarly, Khalifa University places huge importance to developing future women leaders as can be gauged by the current number of female students, which stands at over 58% of the total student body. We believe the MoU with L’Oréal Middle East will help us to further expand our role in developing female talent across the science and technology spectrum,” Dr Al Hammadi added.
“We are thrilled about partnering up with Khalifa University, as it is one of the most reputable universities in the region; with leadership in the advancement of learning and world-class recognition in research. Together we hope to achieve new levels of excellence and highlight the importance of gender diversity in research” said Remi Chadapaux, Managing Director, L’Oréal
Middle East. “Since the launch of the program in the GCC, we have empowered 23 outstanding Arab female scientists and recognized the importance of their research for the betterment of our local societies, and the global scientific communities at large,” added Chadapaux.

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East program rewards talented young female scientists in Life Sciences including biology, biochemistry, biophysics, genetics,physiology, neurosciences, biotechnologies, ecology and ethology, as well as Physical Sciences
such as physics, chemistry, petroleum engineering, mathematics, engineering sciences,information sciences, earth and universe sciences.

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science was launched 21 years ago by the L’Oréal Foundation. Since the launch of the program, it has recognized and honored over 3,100 women, including 107 laureates and granted 3000 doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships in 117 countries.

News Writer
16 April 2019

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