The Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) recently awarded prizes to the top three research projects by students in the 8th cycle of its Undergraduate Research Experience Programme (UREP).
As in previous years, the top 25% of completed projects funded under the programme were selected to participate in the annual UREP competition.
The best 19 projects completed in 2015 were selected for an initial review.
The top six scoring teams in the initial review were presented to a panel of judges and the public, while the remaining teams were given the chance to present their work as posters.
Teams covered a range of diverse research areas, such as biomedicine and health, engineering and technology, ICT, and social sciences and humanities.
The projects were conducted by teams from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Qatar University (QU), Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq), and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (GU-Q).
QNRF executive director Dr Abdul Sattar al-Taie said: “The winning projects were truly exceptional. They pushed the boundaries on all levels and truly demonstrate the research talent that exists in Qatar’s youth.”
QNRF deputy executive director Dr Abdulnasser al-Ansari noted: “We hope that this competition will encourage more students to conduct studies in their universities to nurture the culture of research in Qatar, which is one of the main pillars for sustained prosperity and excellence.”
Abdulla al-Suwaidi from Tamuq won the first position for his project Investigation of the Performances of the Gas Electron Multiplier for Collider Experiments.
The project involved running experimental tests of the Gas Electron Multiplier under different conditions for future use in applications such as high energy collider experiments.
Second place went to Qatar University for a project titled Synthesis and Pharmacological Screening of Novel Chemical Chaperones against Tunicamycin-Induced ER Stress and Renal Cell Death.
A WCM-Q project called Gene Delivery using Novel Cationic Cyclic Peptides won third place.
Finalists included a team from NU-Q, who investigated the engagement and empowerment of Qatari women in society, and a team from GU-Q, who explored the advancement of financial education for transnational families.
Another team from Tamuq also participated in the competition.
Related Story