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The Mechanical Engineering Professional Advisory Board

The Mechanical Engineering Professional Advisory Board

As part of its integrated continuous efforts to develop its scholarly activities, the Mechanical Engineering Department held its first Professional Advisory Board (PAB) meeting on Thursday 02 November, 2016 at Riad and Khalil Rizk Engineering Complex. The Advisory Board was instigated with the view of keeping the Department in close and open communication with the industry on matters of mutual interest such as program development, graduates’ compatibility with the modern job market, internship, training, recruitment, industrial R&D requirements, and several other topics. The PAB is comprised of seven local and international members, authorities in their fields, who are close friends of the Department, in addition to three Faculty members from the Mechanical Engineering Department.

​ The PAB members are:

​ • Captain Dr. Mohammed Aziz, Advisor to the Chairman on Aviation Safety and Security; MEA
​ • Dr. Houssam Chebaro, Senior Associate, Mechanical Engineering and Industry, Dar al-Handasa
• Mr. Sumer Daou, Deputy General Manager, Beirut International for Trade and Industry
​ • Mr. Jospeh Frangieh, Acting Mechanical Maintenance Manager, “Cimenteri Nationale”
​ • Mr. Rami El Olabi, Engineering Director and Head of Design Organization at JCB Aero, France
​ • Mr. Wajih Najm, HVAC Design Consultant
​ • Colonel Dr. Wissam Safi, Head of Training Branch, DOI, Lebanese Army;

​Drs. Rai, Honein and Jadayel represent the Department. Although this first meeting was planned to be introductory in nature, yet it went far beyond and was extremely successful in setting out a clear operational vision and logical targets for the Department to pursue.

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Gergess member of the standing committee

Gergess member of the standing committee

​The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Transportation Research Board, TRB has appointed Dr. Antoine Gergess Member, (International Member Slot) of the Standing Committee on Concrete Bridges - AFF30.

​TRB is one of seven program units of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which provides independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conducts other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions.

​Members of the National Academies’ technical committees serve as individuals, not as representatives of the organizations by which they are employed or of which they may be members. Through their appointment, members agree to actively participate in and support the committee’s activities, including those that will require volunteer work.

​Our congratulations!

​More information about the roles and responsibilities of committee membership is available at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/dva/memberguide.pdf

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Clean 2O claimed first prize at the IAAF Awards

Clean 2O claimed first prize at the IAAF Awards

On November 8, four competing projects from the University of Balamand had the opportunity to present their innovative ideas at the Inas Abou Ayyash Competition that was held at the University of Balamand.

​The students had only ten minutes to present and defend their projects to the jury and in the presence of a live audience.

​Mohammad Ziad Fakhredddine, Maher Madi and Ramzi Abou Khalil claimed first prize in for their project Clean 2O, and affordable device that filters river and source water.

​The aim of the competition was to encourage the youth to apply their creativity in developing new ideas, that reflect innovative thinking. It also helps them implement their projects by providing them with access to the necessary resources that enable them to transform their creativity into practical business projects for the future.

​Our congratulations!

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LIRA Awards Ceremony 2008

LIRA Awards Ceremony 2008

University of Balamand students claimed first, second and third prizes in the Annual Lebanese Industrial Research Achievement Program Competition (LIRA).

​ The event took place in Dbayeh on November 28 and 29, 2018, where students from various universities in Lebanon presented their projects.

​ 71 projects were distributed over different categories, where Balamand projects were at the Masters level. The projects aimed at improving the innovation and industrial aspects of the engineering design process.

​ In the Materials and Nanotechnology category, the graduate chemistry student Aida YOUNIS and Eng. Bilal EL KHOURY were the First Prize Winners with their project entitled: “Non Recycled Plastics Conversion into Fuels”. The project was supervised by Dr. Jane ESTEPHANE from the Chemical Engineering Department and Dr. Samer AOUAD from the Chemistry department who were also awarded the Most Distinguished Supervisors Award.

​ The project deals with the catalytic conversion of plastics into a valuable “syngas”.

​ The second prize was awarded to the MS Chemical Engineering graduates Lena Inati and Ali Saad on their project entitled: Nanomaterials for Oil and Gas processing: manufacturing by chemical routes, In the category of “Materials and Nanotechnology”. This group was supervised by Dr. Karam Jabbour and Dr. Nissrine El Hassan (Chemical Engineering Department) and the project was conducted in collaboration with the Sorbonne University (Paris) and the Technical and Engineering Department of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration, LPA (Lebanon).

​ In the category of “Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries”, the third prize was awarded to the MS Chemical Engineering student Joyce Saliba on her project entitled: Physico-chemical characterization of Antihyperglycemic drugs. Miss. Saliba was supervised by Dr. Nissrine El Hassan (Chemical Engineering Department) and Dr. Soula Kyriacos (Head of Research and Development in Pharmaline-Malia group).

​ The Department of Civil Engineering also claimed Third Place Award in the field of Materials and Nanotechnology. The project entitled “Superpave performance grading system for bitumen modified with crumb rubber” accomplished by our graduate student Joseph Dib was supervised by Dr. Edwina Saroufim and Dr. Nariman Khalil, and moderated by Dr. Najib Gerges and Eng. Nina Helal.​


Publons Peer Review Awards

Publons Peer Review Awards

​Dr. Joseph Assaad’s research interests span a variety of topics related to Materials and Structures. Dr. Assaad has authored two books in Concrete Technology, peer-reviewed over 200 journal papers, and published over 75 papers in refereed international journals. He is the recipient of numerous local and international recognitions and awards. Publons Peer Review Awards has recognized Dr. Assaad among the top 1% peer reviewers for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017.

This year (2018), he was recognized as the top 1% peer reviewers in "Engineering". This was based on the Publons global reviewer database, determined by the number of peer review reports performed during 2017-18 year.

Publons awards honor the elite contributors who have demonstrated outstanding expert commitment to protect the integrity and accuracy of published research.

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Mr. AbdelMunim Alameddine awarded IEEE Life membership Pin

Mr. AbdelMunim Alameddine awarded IEEE Life membership Pin

In recognition of a lifetime of service to the Engineering profession, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) has conferred upon Mr. AbdelMunim Alameddine the member grade of IEEE Lifetime Senior Member. IEEE "Life" status is a process which is based on an individual's membership record.

​Dr. Hadi Sawaya, Chair of the IEEE Lebanon Section awarded Mr. Alameddine the life membership pin during the IEEE Lebanon Section General Assembly held on Wednesday February 7th, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hamra. In his speech, Dr. Sawaya thanked Mr. Alameddine for his outstanding services to the engineering profession and his unique dedication and membership record at IEEE.

​Mr. Alameddine is known for his devotion to uphold the core values of the engineering profession and to actively take part of its advancement. He has held several leading positions in professional engineering organizations at national, regional, and international levels. Currently, he serves as Vice President and Chair of the Engineering Education Committee at the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO).

​Mr. Alameddine is the founding advisor for the University of Balamand – IEEE Student Branch. Through his guidance and dedication, the branch was formed and excelled to become one of the most active branches in Lebanon. Currently, Mr. Alameddine serves as advisor to the newly formed UOB – IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group Chapter.

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