Research Matters

Advancements in the human ability to harness energy have been an important factor in shaping the world we live in today. Mankind's history is full of interesting and valuable lessons on the importance of energy production and use, and its role in the rise and fall of empires, human migration, and large-scale wars. While the history of the impact of energy on human civilization is highly fascinating and can inform our present, the decisions we make today will play a crucial role in dictating our future and how it will be impacted by trends in energy production and usage.

Qatar has invested considerable efforts in developing the Qatar National Vision 2030 followed by defining a thorough RDI 2030 Strategy to help build a sustainable model to achieve its economic and development goals. However, to ensure the success of this strategy, it is imperative to protect ideas and improve understanding of intellectual property to foster innovation. Without this, the research and industry will not be able to fully realize the potential and benefits of their ideas and outcomes and less invested in pursuing cutting-edge research and development.

The renewable and sustainable energy industry is growing globally and solar energy production has long been one of the most popular renewable energy sources. However, a major challenge that solar energy production presents is the reduction in efficiency over time of the photovoltaic (PV) materials which makes it an expensive energy option. Therefore, researchers and scientists are constantly navigating the challenge to improve the corresponding cost/efficiency ratio of solar energy so it can compete with fossil fuel energy production.

Dr. Ahmad Sami Abushaikha is a founding faculty member at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He received his BS in Petroleum Engineering and his BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. In 2006, he received his MS in Reservoir Geosciences and Engineering from "Institut Français du Pétrole". From 2007 to 2009, he worked at TOTAL Research Centre at Pau, France, and at Qatar Petroleum. In 2013, he received his PhD in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London. From 2015 to 2017, he received a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from QNRF and specialized in discretization schemes for fluid flow in porous media from Stanford University.