His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stressed that “The UAE has built its methodology to employ advanced knowledge and science in designing its future plans and strategies, finding solutions to its challenges, and exploring opportunities to enhance the country's march and its preparedness for the next 50 years ».
His Highness said: “The future is for nations that empower their young generations with advanced science, and arm them with tools, knowledge and skills, that make them able to adapt to the rapid global changes in all developmental and cognitive fields.”
This came during the honor of His Highness Professor Lourdes Vega, from the Khalifa University of Science and Technology, the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence at its third session, and the scientist Dr. Rashid Al Yazmi, the Medal for Life Achievements Award, which is awarded to prominent Arab scientists with significant contributions and important achievements during their practical career In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation.
As part of the honoring activities of the medal winners at the Palace of His Highness Zabeel, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum received members of the Emirates Scholars Council, members of the Mohammed bin Rashid Council of Scholars, a group of universities, colleges and academic institutions directors, as well as members of the Council of Young Scientists and a group of scholars And researchers, His Highness praised the role of scientists and their contributions in providing the scientific community with new science and knowledge, and employing their expertise in preparing generations of scientists leading the future of research in the state.
His Highness said: “We count on the pivotal role of scientists, people of minds and exceptional ideas in enriching this methodology, through their contributions to building the capabilities of our children and empowering them with science.” He continued, “His country is open to knowledge, celebrates the owners of scientific achievements, and appreciates their leadership role in providing innovative solutions For future challenges and community service, for the Emirates to be a laboratory for advanced science, an incubator for scientists, and a stimulating environment for scientific research.
His Highness congratulated the winners of the medal for their role in promoting human civilization, and their contributions in utilizing the knowledge they gained for the good of the people, stressing his highness the importance of exerting more effort and exploring new opportunities provided by science, in a way that contributes to supporting the country's march and its readiness for the next 50 years, up to a percentage UAE 2071.
Professor Lourdes Vega obtained a PhD in Physics from the University of Seville in Spain, in cooperation with the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Southern California, and is the Director of the Department of Research and Development Center for Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen, and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi.
Vega focuses on basic and applied research that is concerned with sustainable processes and products, which include modern businesses such as: new refrigerants, water treatment, pollutants removal, carbon dioxide capture and uses, and has more than 200 scientific papers and five patents, and has collected more than 50 million Dollars from grants for its research, and works on the editorial board of five scientific periodicals, and five international conference committees.
As for Dr. Rashid Al Yazmi, he is an engineer and Moroccan scientist with French citizenship. He was born in Morocco in the city of Fez, specializing in the field of materials science, and a graduate of the Grenoble Institute of Technology, where he studied electrical chemistry and materials science, and received a doctorate on integrating lithium with graphite.
In 1998 Yazmi became director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Grenoble, and he finally retired from his position at the center, to become a business leader, and his work related to developing a graphite elevator enabled the lithium ion batteries to be rechargeable.
Al-Yazmi contributed to the invention of the lithium battery, which was able to reduce the size of the batteries of phones and other electronic devices, and is the first to discover the negative pole of the rechargeable lithium batteries, which is used in most portable devices.
The greatest use of lithium graphite anode in commercial lithium-ion batteries is Yazemi's greatest achievement.
Deputy Head of State:
"The future of nations whose generations are possible with advanced science ... and armed with knowledge and skills."
"We count on the pivotal role of scientists, minds and exceptional ideas in enriching this methodology."
"Our country is open to knowledge, celebrates the owners of scientific achievements, and appreciates their leadership role in providing innovative solutions to future challenges."
Variety of domains
The Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence registered, in its first and second sessions, many nominations from the scientific community, and the fields of scientific research diversified to include: «Medicine, Engineering, Biology, Genetics, Earth Sciences, Psychiatry, Materials Science, Physics, Robotics, Neuroscience, Water Technologies, Nanomaterials, etc.» .
3 stages of evaluation
The evaluation phases were divided into three phases, the first being the candidacy process, the second evaluation of the candidates by international specialists, and the third final interviews with the Emirates Scholars Council, and a team from the Council conducted personal interviews with the candidates to choose the winners.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence is one of the initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which he launched in 2017 in honor of scientists, researchers and specialists with exceptional achievements.
The highest scientific honor
The Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence aims to celebrate and encourage scientific competencies in the country, and allow scientists to show their capabilities, by taking advantage of the capabilities and opportunities provided by modern technology in developing vital sectors, and upgrading advanced science, to find and design innovative solutions to current and future challenges, and employ them to serve Humanity, to contribute to supporting efforts to transform the Emirates into an incubator for scientific research in all disciplines and various fields of life and work.