AUS introduces new PhD program to advance research for a sustainable future

American University of Sharjah (AUS) is set to offer a new PhD program in Materials Science and Engineering (PhD-MSE) that will develop regional expertise and contribute research, innovation and sustainable solutions to benefit the healthcare, energy and infrastructure sectors, among others. Starting in the fall semester, the program will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of highly qualified faculty and researchers across the university, in the areas of science, design and engineering.

Applications are now open to candidates who wish to pursue the PhD-MSE, which is approved by the UAE Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Affairs Division, on a full-time or part-time basis. AUS offers competitive assistantships for qualified students.

Dr. Mahmoud Anabtawi, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), said the program is particularly relevant in the face of major global challenges in health security and pandemics, accelerated environmental changes, and identifying viable alternative energy sources.

“From both an environmental and social perspective, these challenges and crises are shaping our future in ways we never anticipated. They have also further exposed our need for a new way of doing things, of building and designing, and of solving problems,” he said.

“As an institution, AUS is committed to developing the next generation of experts and researchers in science, engineering and design to find solutions to the implications of these crises, and the PhD-MSE program offers tremendous opportunities in this regard,” said Dr. Anabtawi.

Dr. Anabtawi said AUS provides an ideal environment for candidates to acquire cutting-edge knowledge and cultivate their own research interests, as well as contribute solutions to the broader problems and implications presented in areas of healthcare, energy, infrastructure and more.

The program provides access to a range of research areas, including advanced materials such as nanomaterials for electronics or healthcare; materials for energy and environment including green technologies; structures, including construction of sustainable infrastructure systems; and analytical and computational modeling and simulation.

“The PhD MSE program will allow AUS to engage in and support research endeavors that help Sharjah and the UAE move toward a knowledge-based economy and have a positive impact on improving the overall quality of life,” said Dr. Anabtawi.

Adding to the university’s impressive graduate program portfolio, the PhD-MSE program engages an extraordinary collaboration of faculty across the university, all of whom have unique expertise in their specialized fields of research, including physics and chemistry, architecture and design, and all disciplines of engineering.

“I am confident the research outcomes of our PhD students will make a significant contribution to industry and society,” said Dr. Anabtawi.

For more information about the PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at American University of Sharjah, visit www.aus.edu/cas/phdmse.