President Reid Opens 9th Cairo Conference on Energy & Environment
The location in Sharm El-Sheikh, a pristine spot on the Red Sea coast, for this years biannual Cairo International Conference on Energy and Environment was fitting for the participants gathered to hear the latest about renewable energy sources and research on cleaner forms of energy.
As he did at the last conference in 2003, Honorary Chair President Irvin D. Reid, leading a delegation of WSU faculty and students, opened the meeting in Cairo March 13 to 17. "We stand on the brink of a crises in which both energy and the environment play an important and integrated role, Reid said in his opening remarks. While our individual paths leading here have been wide and varied, we share a common purpose, that is, to change the way the world looks at energy so that all people live in a cleaner, safer world."
Reid told the delegates about the role Wayne State and its partner in its technology park, NextEnergy, have as leaders in Michigan in environmental change. "We at Wayne State University are confident that work carried on at the NextEnergy Center will help meet worldwide demands for more reliable and environmentally-friendly energy products." In its support of research for the development of alternative energy technologies, the NextEnergy Center significantly increases our ability to be a catalyst for positive change.
College of Engineering Dean Ralph Kummler served as co-chair of the conference as he has since the first meeting in 1988. More than 180 participants from more than 30 countries participated this year.
The Cairo International Conference on Energy and Environment is an important event in Egypt, attended by Egyptian government ministers, and covered extensively by the Egyptian media. Tangible results from past conferences include the increased use of rooftop solar energy systems to heat water in Egyptian apartment complexes. Another big success has been a reduction of lead exposure following improved regulations for Egyptian cars and industry.
Naeim A. Henein, professor, Mechanical Engineering, served as co-chair of the organizing committee, besides presenting several works on low emissions and efficient diesel engines. Henein and Kummler were presenters on a workshop on the Dark Cloud Phenomenon Over Cairo.
Other presenters from or affiliated with the college were: Professor Raouf Ibrahim (Analytical Investigation of Brake Noise Using Time-Frequency Analysis), Associate Professor Nabil Chalhoub on vibration and control, Professor Mumtaz Usman (Analysis and Resolution of Construction Delay Claim and Change Order Due to Utility Relocation) and Professor Haluk Aktan's work on Non-linear Acoustical Methods of Evaluating Strengths and Fracture Parameters of Brittle Materials, Professor Ronald Gibson (Influence of Excitation Amplitude on the Characteristics of Nonlinear Systems), Professor Ming-Chia Lai with Henein (Implications of Emission Reductions by Visualization of Mixing-controlled and Low Temperature Diesel Combustion), PhD student Mona Ossman (Modeling and Simulation of Fate and Transport of Chromium Species in the Atmosphere), alum Alaa El-Sharkawy (Automotive Thermal Protection in Presence of Strict Environmental Regulations) Part-time Professor and alum Robert Banisik (Vibration Suppression for Telescopic Systems of Structural Members with Clearance), and Visiting Professor Xiao Feng (Water System Integration of a Chemical Plant).
Kummler's involvement with Egypt's energy issues began in the early 80s when Alaa El-Sharkawy and his wife, Amal Ibrahim, were Wayne State chemical engineering PhD students. One of El-Sharkawys brothers, Ehab El-Sharkawy, served in the Egyptian parliament, and a second brother, Abdul-Latif, became the executive secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of Research Centers and Institutes. Kummler and Abdul-Latif, and their relationship led to the first conference.