Newsroom

New to our Research Matters newsletter is this section dedicated to highlighting key events and/or research updates of interest and importance that have happened in the past month. To stay atop of how QNRF funding is keeping our community engaged, read more below.

This month’s Spotlight On features Qatar Research Leadership Program Graduate (QRLP) and QNRF-fund recipient Mousa Abuhelaiqa, Ph.D.  Dr. Abuhelaiqa is a Qatari Materials Engineer with an expertise in energy science and data analytics. He graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL) and University College London (UCL) where he researched emerging solar materials.  Through the QRLP program, which is dedicated to producing homegrown scientists who are capable of steering the continuous development and sustainability of Qatar’s research agenda and adding to the nation’s pool of science and research talent, Dr. Abuhelaiqa focused on researching on perovskite solar cells, new types of solar cells with limited long-term stability. His critical research adds to the current body of knowledge on the emerging solar material and tackles the stability challenge by applying novel thin films within the solar cell architecture.

Radhouan Ben-Hamadou (PhD  and Env. Eng.), Associate Professor of Marine Sciences and Lead of the Marine Conservation and Restoration Research Group at Qatar University and ecohydrologist and oceanographer, speaks about his QNRF-funded R&D projects that aim to understand the ecological functioning of offshore oil and gas platforms, their connectivity with natural reefs and their contribution to support local productivity, fisheries and regional biodiversity.

On June 5^th, 2022, QNRF, along with the world, celebrated World Environment Day (WED), the United Nations’ day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. The theme for this year was aptly identified as “Only One Earth” drawing importance towards sustainable living in harmony with nature through consistent efforts by all of us to save the planet.

With funding from QNRF’s National Priorities Research Program (NPRP), Dr. Essam Abelalim leads a globally-inspired and locally-significant research project to provide valuable information about diabetes, the leading health concern in Qatar today. Read more about his research journey below.

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) has announced the results for the 14th cycle of its funding program, the National Priorities Research Program – Standard Track (NPRP14-S), and for the 1st cycle of the new program, the NPRP-Blue Skies Research Award (NPRP-BSRA).

Research funding is an integral part of sustaining and advancing Qatar’s well-established RDI ecosystem as it influences the volume of research activities as well as the productivity of researchers within the field. Since its inception in 2006 as the first national competitive research funding agency in the Middle East, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) has served as the main research funding body in Qatar that fosters original, competitively selected research in engineering and technology, physical and life sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences and the arts.

Allow me first to wish you a blessed month of Ramadan and Eid Mubarak.

Research has, and always will be, an effective catalyst for improving the education, lifestyle, and health of the people in Qatar. It is the foundation on which Qatar developed into an important research hub in the region and around the world. What drives this success? Among other things, it is the effective synergetic mix of locally inspired research, top quality researchers and excellent research facilities. 

Allow me first to wish you a blessed month of Ramadan and Eid Mubarak.

Research has, and always will be, an effective catalyst for improving the education, lifestyle, and health of the people in Qatar. It is the foundation on which Qatar developed into an important research hub in the region and around the world. What drives this success? Among other things, it is the effective synergetic mix of locally inspired research, top quality researchers and excellent research facilities. 

The progress Qatar has achieved in establishing a dynamic research, development, and innovation ecosystem over the last two decades is remarkable. Qatar’s achievements in the RDI sector have been made possible through the work of various academic and research institutions. Founded from the ground up, these institutions have brought together local and global talent to realize the national vision of Qatar while offering unique perspectives toward solving our global challenges