Ghalib Al Saidi: CAMS’s First PhD Graduate
Panorama
Thermal Imaging in Agriculture
Mind Over Matter
Advanced General Medicine Conference Held
News Update
The Status of
E-learning at SQU
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 209
View Point
It Really Matters
The broad perspective of centuries old traditional Indo-Oman relations goes
back to the history of early maritime trade in the Arabian Sea. Sultan Qaboos
University’s Administration and the Omani Studies Centre take their cues in
successfully organizing a symposium on Oman-India relations from the long
time relations between the two countries. The Symposium was a remarkable
event and an important step towards exploring the characteristics of the
historical journey of the two societies, and examining the profound cultural and
scientific roots of both civilizations.
Khamis Rajab Al Busaidi
In fact, the cultural relationship between Oman and India is based on great
mutual trust and respect. Both countries also share common views on most
issues. India and Oman are emergent economies and hold lots of promise for
mutually beneficial economic engagement. Because of historical people-topeople contacts, the countries share strong cultural bonds. These factors will
drive the future of the relationship between the neighbouring nations.
Editorial Supervision
Humaid Al Adwani
Editor -in-chief
M.K. Santhosh
Senior Editor
Younis Al Harrasi
Editor & Translator
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Rashad Al Wahaibi
& Photography Dept., CET
Photography
On the occasion of the symposium, the Indian Ambassador rightly pointed out
that the event was a means to rediscover different aspects with recognition of
achievements and identifying future horizons of cooperation in areas of economy,
education and culture. India and Oman have been progressing rapidly towards
closer commercial and economic ties. Oman-India bilateral trade has touched
US $ 4.5 billion in 2009-10 (the Indian Financial year) from less than US $ one
billion in 2006.
The signing of a Cultural Agreement between India and Oman shows the keen
interest of both the governments in enhancing cultural relations and people to
people contact between the two countries. Under the MoU, visits by the cultural,
art and literature delegations and the exchange of knowledge, expertise and
information relevant to support the cultural and art programmes will be
promoted.
When it comes to higher education and research, it should be noted that Indian
scientific organisation, Central for Science and Industrial Research and The
Research Council of Oman are exploring ways to enhance bilateral cooperation
in the field of science and technology with commercial spin-offs. There is vast
potential for cooperation in this field especially in areas of energy, IT, Remote
sensing, agricultural field mapping, fisheries, satellite launches, metrological
study, etc.
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited
for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
Horizon is published three times a month by the Department of Public Relations and Information,
Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
28 February 2011
P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
Advanced General Medicine
Conference Held
Advanced General Medicine Conference, jointly organised by SQU and
the Ministry of Health and held at SQU recently, covered a wide range of
general medicine topics, disease mechanisms and cutting edge advances
in clinical practice. The opening ceremony of the conference was held
under the patronage of Dr. Hamed bin Suleiman Al-Salmi, SQU Deputy
Vice Chancellor for Administrative and Financial Affairs.
The highlight of the conference was the presence of nine well known
professors and medical professionals, mainly from the UK, who gave
presentations on various sub-disciplines in general medicine. Topics
covered included advances in rheumatology (Prof. Graham Hughes,
London Bridge Hospital), oral pathology (Prof. Farida Fortune,
University of London), liver disorders (Prof. Elwin Elias, Queen Elizabeth
Medical Centre), nervous system (Prof. Alastair Compston, Cambridge
University), oncology (Prof. David Cunningham, Royal Marsden Cancer
Centre), bone diseases (Prof. Stuart Ralston, University of Edinburgh),
and, obesity and GUT hormones (Prof. Steve Bloom, Imperial College
School of Medicine, UK. Prof. Sir Gordon Duff (Chairman, UK’s
Committee on Safety Medicines, London) gave the closing remarks in
the conference.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Mansour Al Moundhri, Dean of the College
of Medicine & Health Sciences at SQU, said that the overwhelming
response from physicians, general practitioners, doctors in training,
senior medical students and paramedics testified the success of the
conference which has been organised consecutively for the 11th year.
“I am certain that this conference would provide an impetus to young
researchers in Oman to define areas of collaboration with our eminent
speakers, that has previously materialized in research development
and technology transfer”, the Dean said. The number of registered
participants from various institutions in Oman had reached 300 this
time.
News Update
Business Conference Concludes
The opening ceremony of Oman 2011 International Business Conference,
organized by the College of Commerce & Economics at Sultan Qaboos
University was held under the patronage of HH Sayyida Dr. Mona bint
Fahd al Said, SQU Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation.
This event, the first international conference on” business and society in
the Middle East” organized by the College of Commerce & Economics,
provided an interactive forum for academics, policy-makers, practitioners
in the public and private sectors, researchers, and postgraduate students,
to discuss their research, experiences and ideas relating to the conference
theme.
In his welcome address, Dr. Darwish al Moharbi, Conference Chair, said
that in the last few decades the world witnessed a number of coinciding
events and challenges. “Since 2007 we witnessed a surge in these
challenges, the crunch, the financial crisis, and the environmental changes;
all have shown us that their effect is archetypal, touching every corner of
the world and affecting every human life. They all lead to a number of
socioeconomic and geopolitical implications. The College of Commerce
& Economics at Sultan Qaboos University likes to take part in the ongoing
discourse shaping up in many parts in the world”, he said. The three
conference discussed 68 research papers.
In the opening ceremony, Prof. Piero Formica, Founder of the International
Entrepreneurship Academy, delivered keynote speech on the topic
“Circulation of Talent for Economic Advancement and the Creation of
Born Global Startups”. The famous professor known for his pioneering
ideas in innovation and entrepreneurship , said that tomorrow stands
for talent intensive societies and reiterated that entrepreneurship is an
element that transcends cultures and national or regional boundaries.
EU Parliamentarians Received
al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation and other
top officials. The aim of the parliamentarians’ visit was to explore the
possibilities of academic and research collaboration between the European
Union nations and Oman with SQU as focal point. The team also evinced
interest in cultural interaction with Oman. The members expressed their
delight in the progress that SQU has made in different areas within a term
of 25 years since its inception in 1986.
A European Union Parliament delegation headed by Dr. Angelika Niebler,
visited SQU recently. Dr. Niebler is a member of the European Parliament’s
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and its delegation for relations
with the Gulf States. The delegation was received by Dr. Hamed bin Suleiman
al Salmi, SQU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Financial & Administrative Affairs,
Prof. Amer bin Ali al Rawas, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate
Studies & Research, Dr. Said bin Ali al Yahyaee, Deputy Vice chancellor for
Academic Affairs & Community Service, HH Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd
The visiting parliamentarians revealed that the European Union has
prioritized certain research areas which is spearheaded by European
Research Area that promotes free circulation of researchers, knowledge
and technology. Eco-efficient transport systems, sustainable resources,
internet, renewable and eco-friendly energy sources, combating climate
change, etc are their research priorities. The visiting team discussed
with SQU on innovation in research and aspects of commercialising
and practically applying research outcomes for the benefit of the society.
Promoting entrepreneurship among students was another area of concern.
At the end of the discussion, Dr. Niebler said that the meeting was fruitful
as meaningful interaction has taken place in the direction of furthering
joint activities between the educational and research institutions in the
EU and SQU.
28 February 2011
P3
Insight
The Status of E-learning at SQU
By: Dr. Ali Sharaf Al Musawi & Dr. Ahmed Yousif Abdelraheem
Associate Professors
Department of Instructional & Learning Technologies
College of Education, SQU
E-learning has made leaps and bounds in the education system.
E-learning is a term that is used to refer to computer-based learning.
E-learning uses web-based training and teaching materials, CD-ROMs,
learning management software, discussion boards, e-mail, computeraided assessment, simulation, online conferencing and other related
methods. E-learning is of importance in Oman specifically due to the
continuous increase in students who qualify for higher education. As
e-learning is at an experimental stage in Omani higher education,
there are few reports on the effectiveness of e-learning.
In the Omani context, it seems that many challenges face higher
education. Access to higher education is indeed one of the main
difficulties that must be actively dealt with. Oman has recognised
information technology, and its educational institutions have
embraced it on a large scale. Many students use email facilities and
surf the Web on a daily basis. To ensure that students have access to
these resources, two solutions exist: Electronic storage and retrieval
of information via the Internet are increasingly used by Omanis, thus
transforming the role traditionally filled by books and printed media.
E-learning technologies bring education to the Omanis by providing
access to learning resources at a wide variety of locations, rather
than making people travel to receive education. Omani students are
connected with their counterparts in any place in the world through
the Internet.
SQU consists of nine colleges: Arts, Education, Science, Medicine,
Engineering, Commerce, Law, Agriculture and Nursing. SQU also has a
large Centre for Educational Technology (CET), which assists all faculty
members to improve the effectiveness of their teaching methods by
providing its expertise and guidance.
All SQU teaching rooms are connected to Internet services in order
to make the World Wide Web available for faculty use. SQU, similar
to other Gulf universities, understands the efficiency of Moodle, a
courseware package originally developed to manage online course
provision. SQU provides its faculty members with the opportunity to
implement e-learning using this courseware. Moodle is installed on
an SQU Intranet server by the CET, where the tool is managed, and by
the university’s Centre for Information Systems.
In 2001, SQU began to implement e-learning using this and other
courseware packages. At the beginning there were only 8 online
running courses and 981 users. By the end of Fall 2010, 1,400 running
courses are offered to different colleges with almost all SQU students
enrolled. This indicates a rapid adoption of Moodle utilisation within
the university.
Most of the running courses mentioned above use Moodle with faceto-face (f2f ) instruction. However, other courses such as ‘study skills’
course was administered completely online to first-year students.
According to informal feedback, students were generally in favour of
taking online courses. Many students observed the following positive
28 February 2011
P4
points regarding e-learning instruction: It is preferred over traditional face
to face instruction; it gives them more self confidence; and, more online
instructor involvement is required. However, students also reported the
following negative points: Technical hitches, including Internet delays
and interruption of service; and difficulties using onscreen materials for
learning.
Although teachers can educate students using modern information
technology, ‘study skills’ course tutors at SQU felt that e-learning is a timeconsuming method, specifically in the areas of designing online materials,
downloading assignments, responding to students’ e-mails and sharing
ideas with them. On the other hand, they perceived that an ‘e-presence’
made their students confident about expressing ideas and solving
problems, which teachers felt paved the way for quality learning.
Major recommendations for future use of Moodle included, among others,
infrastructural improvements, and further IT training for faculty in the
design and use of e-courses and learning objects. The experience gained
at SQU on the Moodle implementation has implications beyond the realms
of teaching and learning. Researchers who investigated the potentials and
impact of web-assisted instruction on SQU students’ learning and attitudes
have found that web-assisted instruction is equally effective as face-toface instruction in terms of student achievement. In addition, they found
that students had positive attitudes towards web-assisted instruction.
Researchers assert that higher education in Oman can no longer be
restricted to a single campus but may be extended throughout the country
using distance learning and e-learning solutions. There is a need for an
e-learning strategic plan for the Omani and Arabic contexts. E-learning is
the ‘now big thing’ and not the ‘next big thing’, and that e-learning must be
viewed with awareness towards its benefits in the Gulf region.
Many Omani educators will be better convinced with more research
evidence of the quality, security and credibility of e-learning. They mention
that the Omani concern for comparability of standards with the traditional
system is a genuine one and must be attended to before e-learning can
be developed, disseminated and diffused into higher education on a large
scale.
Omani efforts to utilise IT in higher education are proceeding rapidly.
Today students easily navigate the Internet, searching for knowledge
resources. Since SQU adopted e-learning combined with face to face
instruction, an increase in the number of online running courses and
their users is noticeable. Major results show that e-learning is needed
and that its standards must be set before it can be used widely. At SQU
faculty members use the Internet in their instruction, but it was found that
web-assisted instruction is equally effective as face to face instruction in
students’ achievements.
To date, it seems that the near future of e-learning at SQU is promising
regardless of some issues that have resulted from technical, logistical and
human factors. Through progressive implementation, improvement of
utilisation and quality training, the applications of e-learning in teaching
and learning will eventually develop. We predict that these will help to
overcome problems of enrolment in and access to higher education in
Oman.
Mind Over Matter
Thermal Imaging in Agriculture
Temperature measurement is an important phenomenon in almost all industrial
and agricultural sectors. Several instruments and methods have been developed
to measure the temperature of objects. Temperature measurements in the
agricultural and food industries have mostly relied on conventional contact
methods such as thermocouples, thermometers, and thermistors, which provide
single point measurement. Non-contact methods and temperature mapping
techniques are becoming popular due to higher resolution and visualization.
Several techniques such as x-ray tomography, infrared thermography, electrical
impedance tomography, ultrasound imaging, microwave radiometry, and
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are available to map the temperatures of
biological materials. However, infrared thermography has great potential for
agricultural operations due to the portability of the equipment and simplicity
in operational procedure.
The region in the infrared band with wavelengths from 3 to 14 μm is called the
thermal infrared region. This band is useful in imaging applications that use heat
signatures. Thermal imaging is a non-contact technique to convert the radiation
pattern of an object into a visible image called a thermogram or thermal image.
By this method, the surface temperature of any object can be mapped (in 2
dimension) at a higher resolution. Thermal imaging is a passive technique
which does not require any external source of illumination. An infrared thermal
imaging system provides the surface temperature of any object, and these data
may be used directly or indirectly for many applications. This technique has
been used in various fields such as medicine, electrical, mechanical, and civil
engineering for a long time. The reductions in cost of the equipment and simple
operational procedure have created opportunities for the application in several
pre-harvest and post-harvest operations in agriculture.
The important parameters in plant physiology such as transpiration rate and
heat capacity per unit area of the leaf can be measured to high temporal and
spatial resolution by thermal imaging techniques. Identification of diseases in
the field nursery (before visible symptoms occur), irrigation scheduling based on
soil moisture content and plant parameters, detection of fruits and vegetables
on the plants to guide mechanical harvesting, and yield forecasting are the
potential areas in which thermal imaging methods may be utilized effectively
in the agricultural fields.
Local microclimatic changes in the field nursery will cause severe damage to
the tender seedlings. Early detection of dampness and disease in a nursery
is very important to take early control measures. The microclimatic changes
inside the nursery site can be mapped with great spatial accuracy using infrared
thermography. In a field nursery, significant positive correlation was found
between seedling temperature and degree of damage.
By: Dr. A. Manickavasagan
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences
greenhouse. Infrared thermography may be used as an effective tool in research
and evaluation of the growth process of plants at different energy related
greenhouse conditions.
Unexpected failure of farm equipment during peak operational season can
result in severe economic losses. All mechanical and electrical equipment can be
inspected for wear and tear by a thermal camera. By this method, it is possible
to identify the excessive heat produced by components due to friction or any
other reason. For instance, hay making equipment, planters, combines, tractors,
and other mechanical equipment may be inspected by infrared thermography
regularly and proactive steps can be taken to change parts before they fail or
cause an interruption in production.
Thermography techniques have been used for the determination of mechanical
damage, bruise, and maturity level in fruits. The previous results suggest that
mechanical damages in the agricultural materials can be detected by means of
localized temperature variations. The maturity of fruits and vegetables can be
detected by thermal imaging after some pre-treatments such as heating and
cooling. Past experiments showed that the surface temperature of immature
fruits and vegetables, stored at lower temperature was slightly higher than
matured and over-riped produces. Similarly, the surface temperature of
immature fruits and vegetable stored at higher temperature was slightly lower
than those of matured and over-riped produces.
The thermal imaging method has potential to be used in many pre-harvest and
post-harvest operations of agriculture. However, the opportunities are still in
the experimental stage. Intensive research should be conducted for the realtime applications to increase the productivity and ultimately the net profit to
farmers. Plant, soil, and water relationship by thermal imaging has been studied
in detail by several researchers, and the outcome of this kind of research would
yield valuable data required for the site specific management and precision
farming. Similarly in post harvest operations, thermal imaging methods can be
used for classification of agricultural produce based on certain criteria which
would otherwise not be detected by visual methods.
Unlike other investigation methods, with thermal imaging it may not be
possible to develop universal methodologies for agricultural operations
because the thermal behaviour of plants and agricultural produces vary with
climatic conditions. It may be required to develop different protocols for similar
operations under different growing regions.
When it comes to greenhouses, the environmental conditions inside a
greenhouse chamber should be maintained carefully because the small plants
and seedlings are sensitive to changes in the microclimate. Thermography is
a useful tool to detect temperature anomalies at various locations inside the
28 February 2011
P5
News Round Up
Seminar Discusses AC
Transmission Systems
Finnish Delegation at SQU
A five member academic delegation from Finland visited SQU
recently. The visiting team included Prof. Hannu Tenhunen, a
renowned researcher and one of the leading scientists in the field of
microelectronics and information and communication technology,
Prof. Tapio Salakski, professor of IT solutions and the Head of IT
Department in Turku University, and Dr. Juha Kontio, Head Teacher
for Turku University of Applied Sciences.
At SQU, the Finnish delegation was received by HE Dr. Ali bin Saud
Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Amer bin Ali Al
Rawas, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies & Research
and Dr. Said bin Ali Al Yahyaee, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs & Community Service. Both sides discussed the possibilities of
academic and research coloration between the Finnish institutions and
SQU in the fields of electronics and communication and information
technologies. The delegation later visited the Cultural Centre, Main
Library and Omani Studies Centre.
Satellite Application
Course Held
The Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Department of the College
of Engineering at SQU, and the Oman Society of Engineers-IEEE Oman
Section, IEEE Power & Energy Society-Oman Chapter, jointly organized a
seminar on “Facts Solutions for the Heavy Industries and their Influence on
Transmission and Distribution Grid” at SQU. The seminar was sponsored
by ABB, the leading power and automation company, and took place on
Saturday 12th February. Over 90 engineers attended the seminar from
different industrial sectors including oil and gas, electricity transmission
and distribution companies, Authority of Electricity Regulation Oman,
consultants, and members of the Oman Society of Engineers. In addition,
over 40 participants representing academics from Sultan Qaboos University,
Caledonian College of engineering, ECE post-graduate students and
undergraduate students attended the event.
In the seminar, Himanshu Gole, Region Marketing Manager ABB in the Gulf,
gave a talk on “FACTS technologies for: heavy industries and its impact on
grid & integration of renewable sources into grid”. Christian Payerl, FACTS
Project Sales Manager ABB, spoke about “Distribution grid support–Power
Quality, Renewables. ABB is one of the world’s leading engineering
companies that enables utility and industry customers to improve their
performance while lowering environmental impact. The seminar discussed
Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) technologies for utilities and
heavy industries, to make disturbances invisible to the grid, increasing
network capacity and enabling easy integration of renewables.
SQUH Holds Workshop
on Metabolic Awareness
The 7th EUMETSAT Satellite Applications Course was held at SQU
from February 5 to 16. The yearly workshop was sponsored by
the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites (EUMETSAT) and hosted by the WMO Center of
Excellence in Oman which is coordinated by the Meteorological
Services Department, Directorate General of Meteorology and Air
Navigation (DGMAN) and the Remote Sensing and GIS Center.
Twenty five participants from Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and
Qatar attended the course.
The course covered a number of topics such as history of remote
sensing, introduction to weather satellite, remote sensing theories
and applications, the use of satellite observations, oceanography, etc.
The lecturers were Mr. HansPeter Roesli and Mr. Henk Verschuur
from EUMETSAT, Dr. Juma Al-Maskari and Mr. Humaid Al Badi
from DGMAN, and Dr. Andy Kwarteng from SQU. Ms. Carla
Barroso delivered a long distance lecture from Lisbon, Portugal, to
the participants. Additional lectures on practical applications and
case history studies were provided by guest lecturers from DGMAN
and SQU.
28 February 2011
P6
The metabolic dieticians wing of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
at SQU Hospital recently organized a workshop on “metabolic awareness
and nutrition” under the patronage of HH Sayyida Dr. Mona Bint Fahad
Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation.The event was
aimed at teaching the mothers new recipes for low protein food, creating
opportunities for information exchange among experienced mothers
on feeding newly IEM (Inborn Error of Metabolism) diagnosed babies.
The workshop recommended allocation of more resources for research
and updates in the field of metabolic awareness, increase the number of
metabolic dieticians in Oman, and to improve the laboratory services for
the Inborn Errors of Metabolism patients.
Salah Salim, Head of Nutrition & Dietetics department said: “The workshop
mainly targeted the families especially the mothers, as we wanted to provide
them with more cooking skills, in order to be able to prepare more selection
of low protein food items, that will ensure a wider horizon of food selection
for the metabolic patients which in turn, will ensure better adherence to the
clinical and dietetic management, will decrease the incident of acute illness
in the future and hope to increase the quality of life”.
Panorama
Ghalib Al Saidi (left) with Prof. Shafiur Rahman and Dr. S.A. Prathapar (right)
Ghalib Al Saidi:
CAMS’s First PhD Graduate
Ghalib Said Hamdan Al Saidi becomes the first registered
student to graduate with a doctorate degree from Sultan Qaboos
University and the first doctoral graduate to pass out from the
College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences (CAMS). His research
into thermal characteristics of gelatine developed from fish skin.
Gelatine is a gelling protein that has widely been applied in the
food and pharmaceutical industries. Ghalib Al Saidi’s thesis,
titled “Thermal Characteristics of Gelatin from Fish Skin and
Mammalian Sources”, was conducted under the supervision
of Professor Shafiur Rahman, Department of Food Science and
Nutrition at SQU.
Commenting on his doctoral research project, Ghalib said that
the overall objective of his work was to measure the different
physico-chemical and thermal properties of gelatine from
different sources. “Gelatine can be produced from fish skin, thus
contributing to solve the problem of waste disposal from fish
processing, by developing a value-added product. Fish skin is a
major by product of the fish-processing industry, causing wastage
and pollution, and could provide a valuable source of gelatine. It
has been found that fish skin could be one of the alternatives for
mammalian gelatine”, he explained.
Ghalib, has been employed in the Ministry of Regional
Municipalities and Water Resources as Health Inspector since he
completed his B.S. in Food Sciences & Nutrition from CAMS in
2003. He completed his Master degree in the same discipline and
from the same institution in 2007. Ghalib, who will receive his
PhD certificate in the next graduation ceremony of the university
to be held in December 2011, took three years to complete his
doctoral degree. One of the final phases of PhD curriculum,
the thesis defense was held on December 21 in the presence of
two evaluators which included a professor from Université de
Technologie de Compiègne (UTC) in France as external examiner
and an academic from the College of Science at SQU as assessor.
Pointing out the achievement of his student, Prof. Shafiur Rahman,
said that Ghalib was a hardworking and sincere student who
developed his academic and research talents gradually during
his study in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition. “We
should say that he built up the skills during his study that lasted
for three years. He developed interpersonal skills and project
management skills in a phased manner”.
In fact, Ghalib contributed three research papers based on his thesis
to reputed high impact factor international journals. Based on
this research work, two conference papers were presented which
included international forums in Canada and Thailand. Utilising
the knowledge gained during his study in the university, Ghalib
played an active participation in the organization of the recently
concluded International Symposium on New Technologies in
Food Processing hosted by SQU recently. He was involved in
compiling the proceedings of the symposium. He also gained
skills by actively participating in other research projects in the
department and provided extensive training to other graduate
students on the Differential Scanning Calorimetry.
Ghalib, a native of Al Khaboura in the Al Batinah region of the
Sultanate of Oman has been living in Muscat for more than 10
years. Married to Suad Alishaqi, Ghalib has two children Al
Julanda and Tamara. On completing his PhD degree, an excited
Ghalib said: “I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Shafiur
Rahman, Dr. Nejib Guizai (HoD, Food Science and Nutrition),
Dr. S.A. Prathapar (Dean, CAMS), other staff in the Department,
and the college administration. I am grateful for my supervisor’s
directness, his ideas, for teaching opportunities and for a wellorganized inspiring research environment”.
28 February 2011
P7
Straight Talk
Horizon: Could you say a few words about IAHR and its activities?
Dr. George: Founded in 1935 by the world’s leading water research institutes,
IAHR is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, water association working in water
engineering. We have members from all parts of the world and most of them are
high level scientists and specialists from engineering companies. About one third
of our members are from Europe, one third from Asia and the rest from North and
South America and a few in Africa. Until now we had very limited presence in the
Gulf region. The association has four regional divisions that are very active in Latin
America, Europe, Africa and North America. However, we have not formed any
regional groups focussing on the Middle East and North Africa. Our Association
has 16 technical groups; including , for example, a group on coastal and maritime
hydraulics. Other groups deal with river issues, ice engineering, hydrology, water
resources, and so on.
Horizon: How would you comment on the involvement of IAHR in the Coastal
Zone Engineering Conference (Arabian Coast 2010) organized by SQU?
Dr. George: This conference is the first technical event that we are actively
supporting in the Middle East and North Africa region and it has the objective of
bringing together experts and scientists in the region to share knowledge and
ideas Now, we are involved in discussions with various organizations in the region
about starting an official, permanent group of IAHR which will respond to the
specific needs of this area in terms of water and environmental issues. One of the
key organizations involved in the discussions is SQU.
Horizon: What are the major water-environment problems in the Gulf region that
needs immediate intervention?
Dr. George: As everybody knows, extremely arid climate conditions, shortage
of water and rapidly increasing population are predominant issues in the Arabian
peninsula. I would say that you are living in a very difficult part of the world in terms
of freshwater availability! Anthropomorphic problems are also important to be
looked at seriously. Due to increase in population density and revenue generation
measures such as tourism, the unspoilt coastlines of most of the Gulf countries
are drastically changed which causes serious environmental problems. Rapid
development has resulted in increased need for water in the whole region which
increases sea water desalination in terms of quantity of desalination plants. These
plants release highly toxic compounds into the sea which can result in destruction
of fish and plankton along the coastline if not properly designed. This is also an issue
that has to be carefully looked at. Another issue is marine oil spills or the release of
liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the coastal waters, which is a form of pollution.
Horizon: To what extent, does rapid tourism development affect the environment
in the region?
Dr. George: I understand that in Oman tourism is a national priority. An important
share of the foreign tourists are from Europe. They are attracted to this country
mainly by the unspoilt beaches and coastlines of this country. One point I would
like to make is that if you build exclusive beach resorts in an area where there are
frequent marine oil spills or other forms of pollution, you can lose the tourists who
come for the pristine environment.
Horizon: How can we sort out these problems? What strategy you would
recommend?
Dr. George: The most important thing is that we should learn from the experience
of other countries. Normally, as tourism occurs in environmentally fragile areas its
impact on the environment is significant. Nowhere in the world is this more evident
than the Mediterranean basin. In fact, large-scale mass tourism is one of the main
forces behind the ecological loss and destruction in the region, particularly in coastal
and marine areas that still maintain high natural value. Through inappropriate
practice and development, once pristine locations have been damaged, sometimes
beyond repair. It is essential to ensure that very strict measures are in place to
safeguard the environment before starting large-scale developmental projects
in fragile areas. Speculators and developers are not always concerned about the
long term impacts of their actions. Before going for large scale constructions for
development, adequate environment impact studies should be carried out to
identify all possible adverse impacts and to initiate mitigation measures. This
requires extensive data collection by government agencies, research institutes and
universities over many years. In Oman, institutions like SQU could play an important
role in environmental impact assessment initiatives. By analysing collected data,
exact predictions can be made before embarking on the construction of resorts,
harbours or apartments.
Dr. Christopher George
Dr. Christopher George is the Executive Director of
the International Association for Hydro-Environment
engineering and Research (IAHR), an organization
based in Madrid, Spain that promotes the advancement
and exchange of knowledge through working groups,
specialty symposia, congresses, and publications on water
resources, river and coastal hydraulics, risk analysis, energy,
environment, disaster prevention, industrial processes. He
came to Oman to attend the Coastal Zone Engineering &
Management Conference held at SQU. Excerpts from his
talk with Horizon: