Research News, Awards, and Honors

Khulood Al Awadi (Lecturer of Engineering Design) completed the National Experts Program 4.0, a prestigious 10-month initiative jointly delivered by the NEP and McGill University and developed under the direction of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The program combines academic coursework, immersive sector-based training, and mentorship from national leaders across 20 sectors. Guided by her personal mentor, Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, Al Awadi gained the strategic expertise and leadership skills required to contribute to sectors aligned with the UAE’s national priorities.

Moza Al Nuaimi (Administrative Staff, Sustainability Office) was named one of the Women of the Future: 50 Rising Stars in ESG 2025, a global award supported by The Financial Times, Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and Tesco. The recognition highlights her leadership in ESG at NYUAD, including work on the Climate Action Plan, Cool Food Pledge, COP28 and COY18 engagements, and the Green Workplace and Green Events initiatives. She is pursuing a Master’s in Sustainable Development at the University of Sussex.

Shady Amin (Associate Professor of Biology) published a significant paper, “Microbial community dynamics and first quantification of the toxin domoic acid in a eutrophic bay in the United Arab Emirates,” in Harmful Algae. This publication marks the first instance of documenting the neurotoxin domoic acid in UAE waters. The year-long study focused on an algal bloom in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Bay, underscoring the critical need for continued water quality monitoring to protect public health.

Awam Amkpa (Vice Provost for the Arts; Dean of Arts and Humanities) won Best Director at ZUMA 2025 for The Man Died, which also took home Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume. His direction shaped the film’s storytelling and visuals, marking a milestone for Nigerian cinema and highlighting the growing international recognition of African filmmaking.

Katia Arfara (Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies) has published a new book, Curating the Commons. Socially Engaged Public Art,  with the University of Michigan Press. The book presents an in-depth examination of performance-centered public artworks curated by Arfara in urban spaces in Athens during the austerity years, complicating notions of memory, agency, mobility, and belonging. The book contributes to the larger effort to repair shattered urbanities in response to the multifaceted crises of our time.

Ouided Bouchamaoui (Professor of Practice in Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution) was honored during the 5th Annual Convocation of KISS University, in Bhubaneswar, India, where she served as the invited guest speaker. She was presented with traditional artistic gifts and recognized for her contributions to peacebuilding and global dialogue. The convocation emphasized KISS’s mission toward inclusion and empowerment of tribal and Indigenous students.

John Burt (Professor of Biology; Co-Director, Mubadala ACCESS; PI, Water Research Center and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology) and his team published “Bleaching Impacts on the Last Remaining Acropora-dominated Reefs in the United Arab Emirates” in Diversity, documenting over 50% coral loss at Sir Bu Nair Island and Khor Fakkan following a 2021 heatwave. The findings highlight the critical need for targeted reef conservation. Additionally, Professor Burt co-authored “Two Decades of Coastal Development across the Arabian Gulf: Insights from Remote Sensing and Machine Learning” in ISPRS International Archives, which revealed that urban areas across the Gulf expanded by 55% in just twenty years, driven primarily by land reclamation and dredging.

Federico Camia (Professor of Mathematics) published his paper, “Power-law correction in the probability density function of the critical Ising magnetization,” in Mathematical Physics, Analysis and Geometry as part of a special issue celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Ising model. His work provides new insights into critical behavior in statistical mechanics.

Benjamin Davis (Research Associate and Fellow, Center for Astrophysics and Space Science) co-authored the study “Causal evidence for the primordiality of colours in trans-Neptunian objects” in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters. The research provides new insights into the outer solar system, revealing that the colors of these distant trans-Neptunian objects are determined by their formation zones in the solar system, not by subsequent evolutionary processes.

Nadine Debbas Achkar (Visiting Professor of Practice of Legal Studies) delivered the keynote address at the 2025 Mubadala Business Ethics Forum, held under the theme “See Behind the Numbers.” She explored how overreliance on metrics can obscure deeper ethical considerations, emphasizing that numbers require careful interpretation grounded in human impact.

Erich Dietrich (Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education) presented his research on affirmative action in Brazil at the World Access to Higher Education Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. His book chapter, “What Can the United States Learn about Affirmative Action in Brazil?” (O que os Estados Unidos têm a aprender com as ações afirmativas no Brasil?), was published in The Impact of Quotas: Two Decades of Affirmative Action in Brazilian Higher Education, Autêntia Editora, São Paulo, 2025.

Tishani Doshi (Visiting Associate Professor of Practice, Literature and Creative Writing) organized the campus visit of Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Laureate, Economics), who delivered a public talk at the NYUAD Institute on his seminal work Poor Economics. She also served as the event's interlocutor.

Jack B. Du (Visiting Assistant Professor of Interactive Media) presented PAPERCUTTING.art: Reimagining a Millennia-Old Folk Art in the Web Browser at the IAPMA Congress 2025 (International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists) in Shanghai, China, on Saturday, November 1, 2025. His talk showcased innovative browser-based tools that reinterpret traditional papercutting techniques, broadening global access to this millennia-old art form while preserving its cultural legacy.

Evgeniya Efremova (Director of the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning), represented NYU Abu Dhabi at the Global AI Summit on Higher Education, hosted by the Digital Education Council in Hong Kong on November 4–5, 2025. She led a panel on rethinking faculty roles in the age of AI, highlighting the importance of redesigning learning experiences where AI serves as a cognitive partner that strengthens critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and intellectual independence within human-centered education. Key takeaways from the Summit are summarized in the Center’s Key Insights report, available here.

Mary Gatchell (Visiting Lecturer of Music) has released a new original single, “Istanbul,” inspired by the vibrant spirit and soulful beauty of her recent travels to the city. Recorded this past summer in New York City with her band and featuring acclaimed artist Ismail Lumanovski on Turkish clarinet, the track evokes the atmosphere and energy of Istanbul. The single is now available on all major streaming platforms and at www.marygatchell.com.

Pradeep George (Professor of Literature and Creative Writing) co-authored the forthcoming publication “Surrogate Model-Assisted Machine Learning Optimization of Aerospace Coating Deposition Processes for Enhanced Performance and Uniformity,” which introduces machine-learning-driven strategies for optimizing coating deposition in aerospace manufacturing. The study demonstrates how surrogate modeling can enhance uniformity, performance, and efficiency of aerospace coatings, providing a promising pathway for next-generation aerospace production and maintenance.

Morgan Hardy (Associate Professor of Economics; J-PAL & BREAD affiliate) was featured on the Africa, Which Way Employment? podcast, where she discussed how African governments can translate employment policy into tangible job creation. In conversation with Oluwatamilope Oni of the Oxford Martin School, she highlighted how localized research can guide country-specific strategies and turn academic evidence into practical development outcomes.

Nasser Isleem (Senior Lecturer of Arabic) recently published the article “Proverbs in the Arabic Classroom, Enhancing Language Skills and Cultural Insight” in the Southern Journal of Linguistics. Isleem highlights the pedagogical value of integrating Arabic proverbs, noting that they carry cultural depth, social values, and historical memory. Isleem argues that teaching proverbs strengthens language acquisition while promoting essential cultural literacy, an approach especially effective in Arabic-as-a-second-language settings.

Matteo Marciano (Assistant Professor of Music) received the Innovators Award on November 13, 2025, from NYU Technology Opportunities and Ventures (TOV) and the NYU Abu Dhabi Office of Research Translation and Entrepreneurship (RTE). The recognition, conferred upon first-time innovators and patent creators at NYUAD, acknowledges his contributions to advancing the music-technology ecosystem on campus, particularly through the development, research, and innovative practices associated with Gazelien Records. The award also highlights his broader regional engagement, including mentoring emerging talent, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and expanding the field of music production and audio innovation.

Henriette Müller (Assistant Professor of Gender, Governance, and Society) contributed three single- and co-authored chapters to The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen: Gender, Leadership, Policies, and Crises (Oxford University Press, November 2025), including the introduction, which sets the analytical framework for assessing the Commission’s leadership under von der Leyen, a chapter on leadership and gender equality in crisis governance, and the concluding analysis of the “von der Leyen effect” in European Policy Making. Together, the chapters examine how gender shapes political leadership, agenda-setting, and the Commission’s evolving role under von der Leyen.

Panče Naumov (Professor of Chemistry) and the NYUAD Energy Storage Research Group have advanced the development of durable, low-cost energy-storage materials through new hybrid organic–inorganic systems. Their findings demonstrate promising stability and performance, reinforcing NYUAD’s leadership in sustainability-driven materials research.

Mai Oudah (Associate Lecturer of Computer Science) has been recognized as an Expert on the UAE Research Map. This recognition underscores her contributions in computational biology, AI-driven research, and academic mentorship, reflecting her growing impact within the UAE’s scientific and technological landscape.

Gregory Pardlo (Distinguished Writer in Residence) served as the Rea Visiting Writer at the University of Virginia, where he gave a public reading and met with graduate students for one-on-one conferences about their writing and career development. He also delivered a poetry reading at East Tennessee State University on October 22, 2025, as part of the university’s Black American Writers Series.

Nathalie Peutz (Associate Professor of Arab Crossroads Studies and Anthropology; published an article in A Political Anthropology of Yemen: Concept and Critique edited by Ross Porter and published by Syracuse University Press (pp. 168–210). She was also invited to deliver talks on her current book project at Middlebury College, Harvard’s Anthropology Department, and the Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin.

Maurice Pomerantz (Professor of Literature) led a reassessment challenging the long-held notion of Arabic literature’s “lost century,” showing that writing and intellectual life continued to flourish after the Abbasid period. Speaking at the Frankfurt International Book Fair in October 2025, he outlined his work as an editor for NYU Abu Dhabi’s Library of Arabic Literature, which has published more than 60 volumes of prose, poetry, and philosophy since 2010. Editing these manuscripts, he noted, reveals an ongoing intellectual exchange across generations, and shows that claims of decline stem largely from Orientalist bias and limited access to untranslated texts. The Library’s work ensures these writings reach wider audiences and strengthen cultural literacy.

Rahul Sagar (Associate Professor of Political Science) has been invited to serve as an inaugural Burt N. Dorsett ’53 Retreat Fellow at the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth in January 2026. He will use the fellowship to develop a new course, “Data for Good,” which will serve as the ethics component of the upcoming MSc in Interdisciplinary Data Science and Artificial Intelligence program.

Muhammad Shafique (Professor of Computer Engineering and AI Systems) received several major recognitions between September and November 2025, underscoring his global leadership in secure, intelligent, and energy-efficient systems. He was selected as an IEEE Featured Author for October 2025, with IEEE highlighting his pioneering work at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and quantum-driven resilience across its media platforms. He was also awarded the AI 2000 Most Influential Scholar Award – Honorable Mention in Chip Technology, recognizing his high-impact contributions to advanced computing and hardware-aware AI systems.

Surabhi Sharma (Clinical Professor of Film and New Media) recently completed her film Music in a Village named 1PB, which premiered at the 29th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival in Czechia and later screened at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival Kerala and the Dharamshala International Film Festival. She also presented A Room of Our Own, a web archive created with filmmakers Reena Mohan and Bina Paul. The project was showcased at major global forums, including the Seoul International Women's Film Festival, the International Documentary and Short Film Festival Kerala, and the Dharamshala International Film Festival, underscoring the importance of preserving diverse cinematic voices.

Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington (Associate Professor of Psychology) was elected a Fellow of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) and presented three papers at its annual conference on decision-making under scarcity, intergroup dynamics, and the psychology of power. She also co-authored a Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin article showing that both egalitarian and anti-egalitarian individuals hold similarly negative mental images of the resource poor, and co-led a multidisciplinary workshop at the Santa Fe Institute on how environmental stability, resource access, and opportunity shape human decision-making. These activities highlight her growing impact in experimental social psychology and NYUAD’s role in cross-disciplinary research.

Ozgur Sinanoglu (Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering) has been named an IEEE Fellow, effective January 1, 2026, in recognition of his contributions to design-for-trust and hardware security. Fewer than 0.1% of IEEE voting members receive this honor each year, following a rigorous review by the IEEE Fellow Committee and approval by the IEEE Board of Directors at its November 2025 meeting. He will receive his IEEE Fellow Certificate and 10K gold lapel pin as formal recognition of this career milestone. The appointment highlights his pioneering work in secure and trustworthy hardware systems and brings distinction to his field and to NYU Abu Dhabi.

Etienne Wasmer (Professor of Economics) was named to the French Legion of Honor in a ceremony in Paris on December 15, one of the country’s highest distinctions, established by Napoleon in 1802. He received the honor in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of economics and his impact on advancing research and public policy.

Peter van der Windt (Associate Professor of Political Science) has been awarded two major grants — a J-PAL Humanitarian Protection Initiative award USD 211,000 and a World Bank State and Peacebuilding Fund award USD 320,000. Working with partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the World Bank, he will launch a 2026 field project examining how AI-driven and digital tools can improve mental-health screening and expand access to care in fragile and conflict-affected regions. This initiative aims to deliver cost-effective, scalable, and culturally grounded mental-health support where systems are overstretched.

Shamoon Zamir (Professor of Literature and Art History) is the author of the forthcoming Photography and Citizenship: The Art and Politics of The Family of Man (Silvana Editoriale), the first sustained study of the most widely viewed photographic exhibition in history. Opening at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1955 before touring internationally and reaching nearly 10 million visitors, The Family of Man is reexamined in this volume as both a curatorial artwork and a politically charged cultural project. The book offers a radically new interpretation of the exhibition’s artistic strategies and ideological aims, and is slated for publication in early 2026.