“I’m Emirati and was raised in Dubai my whole life until I left for college in Los Angeles in 2012,” Ahmad Thaneya says. He has been living in the US since then, first as an undergraduate in Los Angeles and later in the San Francisco Bay Area for graduate school.
Inspired by an uncle who worked in the field, Thaneya pursued a degree in civil engineering, specializing in structural and geotechnical engineering — the designing of buildings and their foundations. After graduating, he realized that particular area of civil engineering was not the right fit and began steering towards the environmental side of it during graduate school. Thaneya looks at how our built environment and energy use interacts with the natural environment, as well as its impacts on our climate and public health. It opened his career to a new path.
When the opportunity came to teach at NYUAD, it did not take long for Thaneya to decide to move back. “When it comes to world-class institutions in the Middle East, very few compare to NYUAD,” Thaneya explains. “The diversity and quality of the students really stands out,” he says.
The transition back to the UAE has been smoother than expected, thanks in part to the proximity of family. “I think the logistics of the move were a bit easier for me than for most, since my family home is only an hour and a half away, Thaneya says. “I’d like to think they’re excited to have me back after I’ve been away for so long!”
As he settles into Abu Dhabi with his wife, Thaneya is energized by both the personal and professional opportunities ahead. “I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life and career in a place that feels both familiar and new. In a way, I’m blending my old life in the UAE with my time in the US, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of that mix.”
