US Organizations to Foster Ties with SQU
News Round Up
Enabling Quality Social Exchange
Mind Over Matter
Bio-Group Holds Open Day
News Update
The Potential of Solar and
Wind Energies in Oman
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 234
News Round Up
US Organizations to Foster
Ties with SQU
A joint delegation from Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
and Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, Santa Fe, New Mexico,
USA visited Sultan Qaboos University recently in order to explore the
possibilities of collaboration between their organizations and SQU. The
delegation consisted of Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Judith Espinar, Creative Director, Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, and two other officers.
The delegation was received by Dr. Hamed bin Sulaiman al Salmi, SQU
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Administrative & Financial Affairs. He
promised all support from SQU in fostering the relationship between
the two US organizations. The two sides also discussed about exchange
of students for internship training and exchange of academics for sharing of knowledge. The delegation later visited the College of Arts & Socials Sciences, Omani Studies Centre and the Cultural Centre at SQU.
Smithsonian National Museum of African is home to a collection of
over 10,000 objects which represent nearly every area of the continent
of Africa and contains a variety of media and art forms. The museum
also conducts research, bring out publications promotes exchange of
scholars. Santa Fe International Folk Art Market is the largest of its kind
in the world, the mission of the which is to foster economic and cultural
sustainability for folk artists and folk art worldwide and to create intercultural exchange opportunities that unite the peoples of the world.
“The Journey Towards
Future Energy”
The Shell Chair in Carbonate Geosciences at SQU hosted a seminar on
“ The Journey Towards Future Energy “ presented by Shell Development Oman on Sunday, 12 February 2012. Mr. Devin Garrity, Director
of Shell Development Oman, outlined the global needs for energy in
various forms towards the year 2050 and how this involves enormous
challenges and uncertainties, as well as great responsibilities and opportunities for global energy companies and governments.
Dr. Elaine Leith, Manager of Shell Technology Oman, described the
role of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in obtaining progressively higher
percentages of oil recovery from discovered reserves and how different methods of EOR need to be used for different types of reservoirs
and fluid types. Oman is of global importance in developing these
methods because of the wide range of these types here and the present
needs for implementing EOR projects on many of the producing fields
here.
These presentations were followed by a very active question and answer session with the SQU students and faculty, with in-depth discussions of the many issues raised. The seminar was hosted by at Dr.
Stephen Neville Ehrenberg, the Shell Chair in Carbonate Geosciences
at SQU.
Satellite Meteorology Course Underway
SAT). The programme is meant as an opportunity for the participants
to learn more about EUMETSAT satellites, the theory of remote sensing,
image processing and interpretation, as well as other applications in satellite meteorology and climate studies. The workshop is conducted by
Henk Verschuur, HansPeter Roesli, and Mark Higgins from EUMETSAT,
Dr. Juma Al Maskari and Humaid Al Badi from DGMAN, and Dr. Andy
Kwarteng from SQU. Additional lectures on practical applications and
case history studies will be provided by guest lecturers from DGMAN
and SQU. Dr Fred Prata from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research
will deliver a distance lecture from Kjeller, Norway on volcanic ash monitoring to the participants
Twenty five participants from Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq and Qatar are attending the 8th
EUMETSAT Satellite Application Course (ESAC-VIII) being by hosted
by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Center of Excellence
in Oman which is coordinated by Meteorological Affairs Department,
Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN) and
Sultan Qaboos University’s Remote Sensing and GIS Center.
The course runs from February 11 to 22 and is sponsored by European
Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMET-
20 February 2012 P6
The World Meteorological Organization Center of Excellence in Muscat
was inaugurated February 2006. It is a joint venture between Meteorological Affairs Department, DGMAN and SQU Remote Sensing and GIS
Centre, and caters for the Arab speaking nations and countries in southwest Asia. The Center’s activities are supported by EUMETSAT. Data
and services from EUMETSAT’s satellites provide a significant contribution to the improvement of weather forecasting and to the monitoring of
global and regional climate. Some 180 weather forecasters and environmental scientists from the Arab and southwest Asian countries have been
trained since the establishment of the Center of Excellence in Oman.