NYU Abu Dhabi graduate Mohammed Omar has been selected as a 2017 Schwarzman Scholar, an honor that will support master’s degree study at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Roxanne Roman and Jacko Walz, seniors at NYU Shanghai, as well as Anushka Prasad, a 2013 graduate of NYU’s College of Arts and Science, were also among the 129 chosen.

The 2017 Schwarzman Scholars, founded by Blackstone Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, include students from 30 countries and 75 universities with 45 percent from the United States, 20 percent from China, and 35 percent from the rest of the world.

Scholars pursue degrees in Public Policy, Economics & Business, and International Studies, and spend a year immersed in an international community of thinkers, innovators and senior leaders in business, politics and society.

Originally from South Africa, Mohammed Omar graduated from NYUAD in 2014 with a double major in mechanical engineering and mathematics. He was a member of the inaugural class at NYUAD and was instrumental in establishing the university’s student government, having been elected student body president twice. He then went on to complete his M.S. in mechanical engineering at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, where he worked on analyzing composite materials. His group is the first to successfully create a metal matrix syntactic foam core sandwich composite; the results were published in Material Science & Engineering. In 2015, Omar joined the professional services firm AlphaSights as an associate in its Dubai office.

Mohammed Omar said: "I am so grateful to have the opportunity to study at Tsinghua University through the Schwarzman Program. I hope to use this opportunity not only to broaden my horizon of thinking, but to learn from a community who truly believes they can change the world. The global study experiences, liberal arts education and academically rigorous engineering program I was privileged enough to receive at NYU Abu Dhabi contributed a great deal to my application. I'd like to thank the Career Development Center and the NYUAD community for supporting me throughout the process. I hope to make you proud."

NYU Abu Dhabi Vice Chancellor Al Bloom said: "Mohammed was an extraordinary member of our remarkable inaugural class who went on to engage with powerful intellectual acumen and ever expanding creative imagination the rigor and breadth of our academic program. At the same time he played a central role in creating a distinctive student community of leaders prepared to shape a global world. He was twice elected President of our student body. I know that his extended engagement with Chinese culture will equip Mohammed to build bridges of mutual understanding and cooperation between China and the globe. I congratulate Mohammed as a Scwarzman Scholar."

The 2018 scholars follow last year’s inaugural Schwarzman Scholars, who included Corey Meyer, a 2015 NYUAD graduate, and Kes Rittenberg, a 2016 graduate of NYU’s College of Arts and Science.