Business & Money | Sunday 17 March, 2019 3:26 am |

The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the voice of the chemical industry in the Arabian Gulf region, announced the winners of the inaugural edition of the innovation competition, GPCA’s latest initiative aimed at recognizing ingenuity and talent among university students in the Arabian Gulf region.

Winners were awarded at a gala dinner on the sidelines of the 6th GPCA Research and Innovation Summit by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil, Bahrain — a special guest of honor and a patron of the summit — at ART Rotana, Amwaj Islands, Bahrain.

Students enrolled on a B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry at a university in the GCC were invited to submit their final-year projects for the chance to win a two-month internship and cash prize of up to AED10,000. In total 20 entries were evaluated and received by an independent jury panel who shortlisted the five best candidates and the following winners.

Ms. Athari Muhammed Al Hosni from Caledonian College of Engineering in the Sultanate of Oman won first place in the competition and a cash prize of AED10,000 for ‘Production of polymers from sulfur solid waste.’

Ms. Hiba Hamid Aljabri from the National University of Science and Technology in Oman was awarded second place and a cash prize of AED6,000 for her work in ‘Application of nanotechnology in corrosion inhibition of oil pipelines.’

The jury awarded third place and a cash prize of AED4,000 to Hussain Al-Ibrahim from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia for his ‘Design integration of gasification and reforming technologies for the syngas production.’

The initiative’s first edition was sponsored by SABIC and Saudi Aramco, with Popular Science acting as official Arabic scientific partner.

Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, secretary general, GPCA, expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Sheikh Mohammed for attending the ceremony as a special guest of honor and supporting the initiative to recognize local talent in the Arabian Gulf region.

He commented: “The innovation competition was born out of GPCA’s unwavering commitment to advance and support STEM education in the GCC region. With the launch of this competition, we aim to further bridge the gap between industry and academia and instill a culture of innovation among our young scientists and innovators.”

He added, “The initiative is also aimed at engaging university students in chemical research and innovation and providing them with a valuable opportunity to gain exposure in the global chemical industry. The winners were selected from a competitive and talented pool of candidates whose dedication and passion for science was evident in the quality of their work. Although there could be only three winners, this serves as a recognition for all participants in the competition. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors and partners for their contribution and making this initiative a reality.”

The evening continued with the official launch of the Arabic edition of the book ‘Science & Corporate Strategy: DuPont R&D 1902-1980’ translated by King Saud University (KSU) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Saeed Bin Mohammed Al-Zahrani and sponsored by SABIC. In a special ceremony, Dr. David A. Hounshell, one of the book’s authors, delivered a video tribute in front of the audience, while Dr. Moayyed Al-Qurtas, Chairman, Research and innovation Committee, GPCA, presented a brief about its contents.