Student project presentation will cover topics including photovoltaic power generation, voice command algorithms and solar powered cooling systems. Industry professionals will attend and participate in the event, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in lecture hall 144.

For information contact Majid Farooqi: majid.farooqi@qatar.tamu.edu, +974.4423.0282.

The goal of the competition is to showcase individual robots created and designed by freshman students in ENGR 111. The competition is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. in front of the kinesiology activity room.

For information contact Dr. Beena Ahmed: beena.ahmed@qatar.tamu.edu, +974.4423.0111.

Faculty, former students and industry representatives will discuss with students career opportunities connected to each respective major. Shannon McNulty, program coordinator for academic services and event organizer, said, “Career Exploration Days help students find exciting careers in their fields and encourage students in other majors to learn more about various disciplines within the University.” The Petroleum Engineering Program will host its Career Exploration Day on 16 Jan. The Chemical Engineering Program will welcome students on 19 Jan. The Mechanical Engineering Program’s event will take place on 23 Jan., and the Electrical Engineering Program’s on 24 Jan.

For information contact Shannon McNulty: shannon.mcnulty@qatar.tamu.edu, +974.4423.0193.

The first-place team consisted of Mohammed Ayub, Anas Al Rabbat and Ahmad Amra. Ressty Manuzon, Ahmed Shakeeb and Baher Azzam won second place, and Firas Abi Saleh, Faizan Yousaf and Syed Nazarath earned the third place award. For information contact Noha Ezzat: noha.ezzat@qatar.tamu.edu, +974.4423.0152.

Salama, Ahmed and a team of undergraduate researchers, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund and Undergraduate Research Experience Program, will examine how Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) material is presented to secondary school students in Qatar. The editorial hailed the study as an initiative that will “support and enhance the process of creating successful engineers to meet ever increasing demand in the Qatari industry.” For information contact Amanda Field: amanda.field@qatar.tamu.edu, +974.4423.0288.

“Highly specialized experts in the field of power electronics, renewable energy and energy conversion are attending this workshop,” said Dr. Haitham Abu-Rub, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Texas A&M at Qatar, and co-chair of the workshop. “We are hosting more than 14 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) fellows and life fellows, among other reputable attendees from over 20 countries.”

Abu-Rub continued, “The schedule includes over 50 presentations and panel discussions, as well as presentation and publication of 37 scientific articles. This demonstrates the magnitude and importance of this topic to Qatar and within the power electronics field worldwide.”

Power electronic converters are expected to play a major role in the conversion of alternative energy sources and the interface of this energy with power grids. Experts at the workshop see large potential for improving how these technologies are used and controlled in order to reduce energy waste. They will discuss at the workshop how these technologies could be applied directly to Qatar through creation of hybrid renewable electric power plants.

Abu-Rub commented on this, saying, “By bringing members of academia and industry together in one platform, we are able to discuss ideas and seek solutions to the energy problems that are directly affecting Qatar. This is enabling us to define existing challenges and begin developing plans for sustainable energy development in the short term and over an extended period of time through use of power electronic converters.”

The workshop is co-organized by Texas A&M at Qatar and Qatar University and sponsored by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), the IEEE, the Industrial Electronics Society (IES), the Qatar University Wireless Innovations Center (QUWIC), The ABB Group, The Power Electronics and Motion Control Council (EPE-PEMC), RasGas and Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO).

Cem Hosgor, Middle East area sales manager for Tektronix, addressed aspects of signal integrity measurement, challenges in digital design, key performance considerations and logic fault finding using advanced digital storage oscilloscopes. He also discussed digital phosphor oscilloscopes and digital logic analyzers.

For information contact Noha Ezzat: noha.ezzat@qatar.tamu.edu, +974.4423.0152.

The 8-wheel robot was fully designed and manufactured by Texas A&M at Qatar students. Its capabilities include carrying heavy payloads and performing search tasks in rugged terrain with rocks or other barriers. The robot can currently carry and actuate two mine search sensors including a metal detector and ground penetrating radar wirelessly for up to two hours at a time. The robot is also equipped with a high-resolution camera for visual inspection of the field and can detect unexploded ordinates and above-surface mines.

The team, led by Dr. Mansour Karkoub, professor of mechanical engineering, consists of mechanical and electrical engineering subteams. The role of the mechanical subteam was to design, build and control the robot wirelessly. The electrical subteam, advised by Dr. Mazen Saghir, interfaced the metal detector sensor and ground penetrating radar and programed the robot to perform automatic scanning of the field.

“The students have learned from this experience how to work on a humanitarian effort, perform tasks beyond classroom experience, put theories they have learned into practice and innovate solutions to engineering challenges,” said Karkoub.

Hussein Zahreddine ′12, a mechanical engineering student on the team, said, “For engineering students, our engineering knowledge and skills are our capital, and I feel that I invested this capital efficiently when I joined the mine detection robot team. I learned to set deadlines for myself and meet them, as well as make decisions and apply changes without always going back to my supervisors and asking them about every detail.”

Planet NI is a National Instruments initiative aimed at encouraging economic development through providing technology to the developing world at an affordable cost. The goal of the NI Mine Detection Robot Design Contest is to bring visibility to the landmine problem that the developing world faces and to encourage engineering students to use their skills to create positive change in their communities. This goal aligns with Texas A&M at Qatar’s efforts to empower its students to “engineer a world of difference.”

As the frontrunners in the competition, the Texas A&M at Qatar team traveled to Austin, Texas, in the first week of August to showcase the robot at NI Week 2011, a conference and exhibition with over 3,000 engineers and scientists from around the world.

The final results of the competition will be announced in October.