New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) said it has awarded research grants to four selected initiatives based in the emirate, investing Dh58.8 million ($16 million) into these projects over a five-year period.

The grants, awarded through the university's NYUAD Institute, are aimed at supporting Abu-Dhabi based research initiatives, said a statement from NYUAD.

All of the selected research proposals focus on globally relevant themes: climate change, computer security and privacy, cloud computing, and computational cosmology and relativistic astrophysics, it added.

Together, the four projects encompass a range of cross-disciplinary subjects, including mathematics, science, engineering, public policy, and information technology, said a senior official.

“These research projects have been selected based on their promise to contribute significantly to scientific understanding, and for the role they will play in advancing Abu Dhabi as a capital of ideas, research, and education in the 21st century,” said Al Bloom, vice chancellor of NYUAD.

“And indeed, through its research initiatives and public programming, the NYUAD Institute has already begun to make its mark as a vital intellectual center of this region - and increasingly of the world.”

This is the second round of grants that have been issued by the NYUAD Institute to support research and scholarly activities in Abu Dhabi.

Last year, three lead-off research projects were selected for funding, facilitating the establishment of The Library of Arabic Literature, The Neurolinguistics Laboratory, and the Center for Technology and Economic Development.

“As a research university, an integral component of the learning experience at NYUAD is to provide our students with opportunities to be involved in cutting-edge academic research initiatives,” said Fabio Piano, provost of NYUAD, “and these projects will help to ensure that we live up to that promise.”

NYUAD grant winners are selected after an intensive process of internal and external peer review by the NYU Abu Dhabi Research Review Council, comprising members of senior leadership at both New York and Abu Dhabi campuses.

“These four projects, together with our three lead-off projects announced last year, will both establish the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute as a home to world-class research and ensure deep research connections between our New York and Abu Dhabi campuses,” said David McLaughlin, provost of NYU.-TradeArabia News Service