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Awards and Successes

Achievements and Awards

Marwa Chafii's 2024 Milestone: Triple Accolades Spark Global Recognition

In 2024, Marwa Chafii has celebrated a year of remarkable achievements that underscore her influence in science and technology. Recently ranked among Stanford’s Top 2% Scientists, her innovative contributions have cemented her reputation in the global research community. Additionally, she was honored with the IEEE ComSoc Young Professional Award for Best Practitioner, a testament to her practical impact and forward-thinking approach in the industry. Further elevating her status, Marwa received the prestigious French “Prix Glavieux 2024,” jointly awarded by IEEE and SEE, recognizing her commitment to excellence and leadership in advancing technology. These accolades highlight her diverse expertise and inspire future generations in the field. Learn more about her journey and the individual recognitions here: Stanford Ranking, IEEE Award, Prix Glavieux.

- January 2025

NYU Abu Dhabi iGEM Team Wins Gold for Impactful Coral Conservation

The NYU Abu Dhabi iGEM team earned a gold medal and a nomination for Best Conservation Project at iGEM 2024 in Paris for their project, "Reeform — Engineering the Coral Microbiome." Their innovative approach enhances coral resilience to rising ocean temperatures and diseases, contributing to global coral conservation efforts.

The project is led by Principal Investigators: Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering Yong-Ak (Rafael) Song, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering Andras Gygory, Instructor of Biology Ibrahim Chehade, and instructor of Bioengineering Shafiya Sabah. The team’s student leaders include Fatma Alrebh, Afomia Mengistu, and Sevinch Rakhmon-Zoda, supported by members Sanshika Garg, Abdullah Salman, Diana Alibekova, Mandy Liao, Heesung Tae, Jheel Thanki, Milena Bisenic, and Aknur Kassym.

This year’s iGEM competition brought together over 400 teams from more than 45 countries, each presenting synthetic biology solutions to critical challenges in healthcare, environmental protection, and technology.

- November 2024

Nidal Hilal named Best Engineering and Technology Scientist in the UAE

We are proud to announce that Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the NYUAD Water Research Center Nidal Hilal has been recognized as the Best Engineering and Technology Scientist in the UAE. Nidal has won this award for three consecutive years: 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Professor Hilal is an internationally recognized leader in membrane separation, nanofiltration, and water process engineering. His groundbreaking work has significantly advanced global water research, with over 600 publications, 11 books, and numerous patents to his name. Under his visionary leadership, the WRC has become a hub of interdisciplinary innovation, tackling critical global water challenges through cutting-edge research in desalination, wastewater treatment, and sustainability.

This recognition is a testament to Professor Hilal's extraordinary contributions to science and his unwavering commitment to advancing water security and sustainability worldwide.

- September 2024

Hanan Mohamed wins first prize at the Additive Manufacturing the Future (AmtF) Conference 

Hanan Mohammed won first prize in the 3-minute presentation competition at the AmtF Conference for her work on Cellular Plastics for Interfacing the Gut, highlighting the challenge and reward of concise scientific communication.

- December 2024

Sohmyung Ha received the Best Paper Award in the BioCAS Track at the ISCAS 2024

Sohmyung Ha is leading an innovative project focused on developing a cutting-edge wearable device  for monitoring sleep status using AI and multi-modal sensors.
- December 2024

AqlCare and ARIA-AI Teams Excel at Innovation Health Challenge

The AqlCare and ARIA-AI teams achieved remarkable success in the Innovation Health Challenge organized by the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, securing first place with an AED 50,000 prize and third place with an AED 20,000 prize, respectively. These accomplishments underscore the power of collaboration in driving healthcare innovation. Special appreciation goes to the NYUAD teams, key collaborators, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society UAE for their invaluable support throughout this journey.
- December 2024

The City of Vienna Dissertation Prize 2024

Prof. Shafique's PhD student from TU Wien (Austria), Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Hanif has won The City of Vienna Dissertation Prize 2024, which is an extremely competitive and prestigious award. He has been invited to Vienna to receive this award and prize money in-person in January 2025.

Dr. Hanif is currently working as a post-doc researcher at the eBRAIN Lab, under prof. Shafique's supervision on energy-efficient and robust EdgeAI systems, ML Security, and cross-layer optimizations for ML/Generative-AI.
- November 2024

Congratulations Team Libra on receiving the Distinction Award at the 17th International Space Challenge!

Team LIBRA consisting of Engineering Researcher (Kawader RA) Aliyaa Alzaabi, PhD Student Brian Quartey, Undergrad Aman Assali (Class of 2024) and Mentored by Research Associate Mei ElGindi, received the Distinction Award at the recent 17th International Space Challenge (5000 participants; 150 Institutions; 40 countries). This year's theme was Living in Space.
- November 2024

The S.M.A.R.T. Construction Research Group Platinum Certified by the NYU Office of Sustainability

The S.M.A.R.T. Construction Research Group at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is now officially Green Workplace Certified by the NYU Office of Sustainability. This recognition highlights our commitment to enhancing sustainability in our workspace and contributing to a greener NYU.
- November 2024

Dr. Alberto Marchisio Wins INNS Best Dissertation Runners-Up Award

Dr. Alberto Marchisio, a PhD graduate from TU Wien, received the 2024 INNS Best Dissertation Runners-Up Award at the IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence in Japan. Now a postdoctoral researcher at the eBRAIN Lab, he focuses on advanced AI, including neuromorphic computing and quantum machine learning.
- November 2024

The Annual NYUAD GradSlam Winners

2024 Grand Prize Winner - 2nd Year PhD Candidate Yusheng (Jason) Zhang for his talk "Magic Pill".

2024 Runner-Up - Postdoctoral Associate Soha Yousuf, PhD for her talk "A Drop of Blood, a Beam of Light, and AI".

2024 People's Choice - 2nd Year PhD Candidate Rawan Abu Alwan for her talk "From Ocean to Oasis: Unlocking the Potential of Desalination."
- October 2024

2nd Term Funding approved for 'CalMag ReThink Brine Challenge'

Associate Professor of Civil and Urban Engineering and WRC Co-investigator Kemal Celik's project, "CalMag ReThink Brine Challenge," awarded on 06/16/2021, has been approved for funding until 04/30/2025 under Sandooq Al Watan.

Professor Nidal Hilal, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the NYUAD Water Research Center, is a Co-Principal Investigator on this project.
- September 2024

Azhar Zam and partner Amalia Suzianti secured funding from the University of Indonesia

Azhar Zam, Associate Professor of Bioengineering at NYUAD, and Amalia Suzianti, Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Indonesia, have secured funding for exchange visits and development project ideas related to prototyping optical-based medical devices. One of the possible outcomes from this collaboration will be joint publication at the Q1 journal.
- September 2024

NYU Awards $2 Million in Inaugural Research Grants

In its inaugural year, the NYU Discovery Research Fund for Human Health has invested nearly $2 million across 24 projects. Yi Fang, alongside JR Rizzo from NYU Medical School, has received support for a project aimed at developing an AI-based mental and emotional support model for the visually impaired and blind. The initiative seeks to explore new AI-driven approaches to enhance mental well-being for individuals with visual impairments.
- September 2024