First Masdar Institute fellowship programme student receives PhD from University of Central Florida

Abu Dhabi (WAM): Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, yesterday announced that Dr. Mohamed Yaseen Al Hosani has become the first graduate under the Masdar Institute Fellowship programme, receiving his PhD from the University of Central Florida, in December 2013. The Masdar Institute Fellowship programme, originally announced in 2007 as the Masdar Research Network (MRN), sought the best young UAE national scholars for its International Fellowship programme. Scholars were placed at one of the MRN partner institutions, including international universities, to obtain Master's and PhD degrees. They were given the chance to interact with top global academics, scientists and corporations through Masdar Institute's extensive network of world class partners. Currently, a total of 11 fellows are pursuing higher learning at overseas institutions. Upon receiving the first PhD through the Masdar Institute Fellowship programme, Dr. Al Hosani has now joined Masdar Institute as a faculty member. Dr. Al Hosani's research during his PhD focussed on ‘islanding' detection and prevention. Islanding' occurs when distributed generators (DGs) or small-scale electric generators, continue to power a location even though electrical grid power from the utility is no longer present. This could prove fatal to utility workers during maintenance. Dr. Al Hosani has proposed new islanding detection methods (IDMs) to improve integrity and performance of DGs while maintaining multi-DG islanding detection capability. Dr. Al Hosani said, "Now that I have become part of the Masdar Institute faculty, I will contribute to developing human capital in the UAE. In addition, I am planning to incorporate my theoretical background and work in collaborative projects with industrial sectors, providing solutions that ensure the reliability, safety and sustainability of power system networks." Dr. Al Hosani believes that his PhD research work is extremely important to ensure the reliability and safety of distributed power generation and may contribute towards achieving Abu Dhabi's goal of getting 7 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. He plans to develop innovative ideas in smart grid applications that can be applied to large-scale industrial use. He aims to achieve his target through persistent focus on R'&'D, collaborative work and government funding and support. - Emirates News Agency, WAM