Nature Middle East | House of Wisdom

AUC and Zewail City partner for nanotechnology research centre

Zewail City of Science and Technology

The American University in Cairo and the Zewail City of Science and Technology have partnered to establish a new research centre for applied nanotechnology research.

The Center for Nanoelectronics and Devices (CND), which will be home to internationally published researchers from both institutes, will look into the uses of nanotechnology in diagnosing and combating diseases, water purification, improving food production and producing clean, renewable energy, among other fields.

“Our aim is to develop a world-class center of excellence that is closely tied to the industry and is recognized internationally,” said Yehea Ismail, professor of electronics engineering and director of the center, in a press statement. “Working on the creation of advanced electronic sensors and devices could help solve Egypt’s most pressing problems, from traffic to hepatitis C.”

The centre will mainly focus on the design and analysis of consumer electronic devices and tiny sensors that are smaller than one billionth of a metre. These are crammed on tiny chipsets that have wide uses in commercial products, such as computers, phones and a myriad of other electronic devices.

While the consumer electronic market has been booming around the world, the Arab world’s share in it has been mostly negligible due to lack of knowledgeable workforce. The CND hopes to produce an experienced workforce that can be leaders of the industry in the region to increase Egypt’s and the Arab world’s share in the ever-growing market.

“The partnership is an initial step toward long-term cooperation between the two institutions. In addition to the exchange of researchers, the partnership includes fellowships for students and will capitalize on state-of-the-art resources available at both AUC and Zewail City, particularly in the area of biotechnology and biomedical diagnostics,” said AUC Provost Medhat Haroun.

The centre hopes to build strong link between academia and the industry, both internationally and locally. According to the CND’s website, the centre already has strong ties with Intel and Mentor Graphics as well as several local companies.

Comments

There are currently no comments.