Solar collaboration openings in the Middle East
© 2012 EPFL
As one of the two (ultimately five) mirror labs for EPFL Middle East, the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Performance-Integrated Design (LIPID) is exploring collaboration and development activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) region.
The lab’s head, Prof. Marilyne Andersen, and one of LIPID’s research scientists, Dr. Boris Karamata, spent a week exploring collaboration options with industries and academics within Ras-Al-Khaimah (RAK), Dubaï and Abu Dhabi.
One visit of note was to the CSEM (Swiss Center for Electronic and Microtechnology ) antenna in RAK, where the innovative Solar Island concept, initially developed by CSEM’s former director Thomas Hinderling, is being further developed and refined under the leadership of Dr. Hamid Kayal (see article in The National). Another visit of note was to the "zero-energy" Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, where research activities related to light-guiding technologies, energy-efficient building systems and sustainable urban development are being developed at the Masdar Institute under the leadership of Profs. Peter Armstrong and Afshin Afshari.
Both of these research centers could provide powerful opportunities for student exchanges and synergistic projects.