Innovators in art, science honoured

AMMAN — Professors at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) were honoured on Monday after four years of work on a “continuous solar drying-desalination hybrid system”, nabbing the King Abdullah II Award for Creativity 2015-2016 in the science category. 

The device converts sludge from a water treatment unit into utilisable fuel and produces desalinated water at the same time, Awni Otoom, a member of the winning team told The Jordan Times.

“First, we’ll apply the project at the university’s desalination station,” said Otoom, who worked on the innovation along with professors Fahmi Abu Al Rub, Hasan Hasan and Mays Shadeed, specialists in chemical engineering. 

Mulki visited JUST recently and was shown the device. He suggested some improvements, since he is an engineer, Otoom added.

Monday’s ceremony honourees also included winners from Jordan, Palestine and the UAE, and it was attended by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, who was deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah.

The eighth round of the biyearly award witnessed the participation of 83 innovators from 14 Arab countries who presented research in three main categories — art, science and the Arab city — Majd Al Dein Khamash said in his speech on behalf of the award’s jury.

Author Jamal Naji’s research on the “Arab Character in the Arab Contemporary Novel” won the art category, while research on the “Role of the City in Childhood Care” won the Arab city category award, shared equally by Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Qasimi and the team of Samer Khreino, Qamar Nabulsi and Laura Hadid. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said this award, which is hosted by the Greater Amman Municipality, is a Jordanian contribution to push knowledge, culture and creativity in the Arab world forward. 

In a speech on behalf of the winners, Sheikha Jawaher, who is the wife of the ruler of Sharjah, said Monday’s ceremony “is a new and strong motivation for all those who won to exert more efforts and achieve further success that meets the aspirations of the Arab nation ambitions”. 

“Any nation does not improve without taking care of its innovators,” she added.