Texas A&M at Qatar petroleum engineering student projects place in UREP competition
Published May 14, 2019Research projects by students and faculty members in the Petroleum Engineering Program at Texas A&M University at Qatar placed first and second in Qatar National Research Fund’s 11th Annual Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) Competition.
In the oral presentation category, Dr. Nayef Alyafei and students AlReem Al-Dosari, Abdul Sattar Al-Kahala, Sara Al-Thani, Hessa Al-Thani, Mohammed Idris and Tabarak Abdulhussein won second place for the project, “From Pore-Scale to Field-Scale Understanding of Multi-Phase Flow in Porous Media.”
In the poster presentations category, Dr. Mahmood Amani and students Alireza Roustazadeh, Saud Al-Emadi and Muhammad Farooq Zia placed first for the project, “An Investigation of the Factors Affecting Barite Sagging Related to Drilling Fluid Properties.”
The competition is held annually to recognize outstanding projects incorporating undergraduate students as researchers. The program, funded by QNRF, develops the Qatar’s research infrastructure by engaging students, building their research skills and contributing to their professional development, under the supervision of a mentor.
Fifty-eight projects were selected in the first stage of the screening process. Of these, 17 projects were shortlisted and 14 passed the final review stage to compete in the final competition held at Qatar National Convention Centre. The competition included six oral presentations in the finale and eight poster presentations in the consolation round, which were evaluated by an expert panel of judges.
Dr. Nimir Elbashir, chair and petroleum engineering professor said, “The UREP program not only supports undergraduate development, but it also acknowledges the mentoring our professors do and how it’s an important part of a student’s academic journey.”
Roustazadeh said, “Our team is ecstatic to win the first place for our poster presentation and we want to thank our mentor Dr. Mahmood Amani for his guidance. This opportunity has improved my research skills immensely — skills I plan to utilize when conducting research for an upcoming project under QNRF’s National Priorities Research Program.”
Amani said, “Over the years, my undergraduate students have built on their UREP experience to pursue advanced degrees and to develop their research to actively contribute toward the development of Qatar.”
