On Friday April 12, the Faculty of Engineering hosted Professor Alim Rustem Aslan, Manager of the Space Systems Design and Test Research Laboratory at Istanbul Technical University. Professor Aslan was accompanied by Dr. Ghaleb Faour, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Lebanon, and by Dr. Loai Abdallah from Crown Agents UK, the agency that manages the CubeSat Technology Project. The CubeSat Technology Project is a European Union funded initiative through the CNRS that aims to transfer space technology to Lebanese scientists to launch the first Lebanese nanosatellite and to lay the groundwork for a Lebanese space program. The University of Balamand is a key participant and contributor to this project. Professor Aslan is a veteran of satellite technology and is considered the grandfather of satellite research in Turkey, having five successful nanosatellite launches to his credit. He has led many successful satellite design and launch projects including the first satellite made in Turkey.

Dr. Faour briefed the attendees on the activities of the Center for Remote Sensing and discussed the aims of the CubeSat Technology project. Professor Aslan delivered a presentation on his experiences designing and launching satellites in Turkey. The presentation was followed by a tour of the engineering labs by the three guests. Acting Dean of Engineering Dr. Elie Karam and a large number of faculty members and students who attended the talk received Professor Aslan, Dr Faour and Dr. Abdallah. Professor Aslan was visiting Lebanon as the principal trainer for the CubeSat Technology project.

The University of Balamand recently participated in a one-week training session provided as part of the CubeSat Technology Project that ran from April 30 to May 4. A total of 7 people consisting of faculty members, staff, and students from the Faculty of Engineering took part in this intensive all-day training program at CNRS in Beirut. This training will be followed by two 5-day intensive training sessions in July. The training consists of theoretical and hands-on components.