Ras Al Khaimah has started construction of a sophisticated research facility for advanced materials under the banner of RAK Centre for Advanced Materials (RAK- CAM).

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah made this announcement while delivering the keynote address at the 2nd Annual International Workshop on Advanced Materials (IWAM- 2010) which kicked off at the Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort and Spa on Monday.

'The construction of our dedicated RAK- CAM building, with more than 10,000 sq m of laboratory and office space, has just begun at a site close to the Emirates Road,' he informed.

By early 2011, Sheikh Saud said, the facility will be equipped with state- of- the- art equipments such as electron microscopes, x-ray diffractometers, optical spectrometers, and so on.

'RAK-CAM will play a number of roles as its programmes develop over the next 5 years, including the pursuit of world class scientific research here, providing facilities and support for local industries, and offering training and educational opportunities for young people in the community who are interested in science,' he added.

Stressing the need for the Arab world and the region to focus more on scientific research, Sheikh Saud said, 'Apart from developing education, we must invest in research that will propel us to a new era.'

'The Arab world and this region must go into overdrive to keep up with those around and to overcome our problems and create new opportunities for wealth and prosperity,' he opined.

He said that the different applications of materials science and nanotechnology offered great hope for mankind to solve its energy challenges and to create sustainable solutions for the future.

The three-day workshop with the theme `Enabling New Technologies for Energy and Environmental Application through Nanomaterials,' held under the patronage of Sheikh Saud, is being attended by leading materials scientists and around 130 researchers from 30 countries.

Prof M Samy El Shall, director of RAK- CAM, said that the major research focus at the new facility would be solar energy, environmental catalysis, advanced ceramic materials and renewable energy.
 
'Once fully developed, the RAK- CAM campus will be home to 70- 80 people including 40 researchers from across the globe,' El Shall noted.

'So far RAK- CAM has offered six Sheikh Saqr Al Qasimi post doctoral fellowships for researchers undertaking materials science research in leading universities. We hope to increase the number of fellowships this year,' he added.

As part of RAK CAM's education and training initiative, it will be organizing later this year a four- day advanced studies programme dealing with `Next Generation Solar Cells' and `Nano Catalysis for Energy Applications'.
 
Prof Anthony K Cheetham, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of RAK- CAM, Dr. Hans Ulrich Habermeier, head of Scientific Service Group, Max Planck Institute of Solid State Research, Germany, Prof A. Welford Castleman Jr. from the Pennsylvania State University, Prof. Luis M Liz- Marzan from the University of Vigo, Spain, Dr Meyya Meyyapan, director and senior scientist, NASA Ames Center for Nanotechnology and Prof CNR Rao, founding president, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, and several other leading scientists presented papers and participated in the discussions at the workshop.-TradeArabia News Service