First UAE Rain Enhancement Program Award Ceremony to Honor Winners during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2016

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, winners of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s inaugural cycle will be announced and honoured on January 19, 2016 at a gala award ceremony held at the Emirates Palace. 

The event will take place during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the global gathering bringing businesses and nations together to address challenges and celebrate achievements in sustainable development and clean energy.

Launched by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs of the UAE earlier last year and overseen by the UAE National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the UAE Research program for Rain Enhancement Science is an ambitious initiative of global scope designed to stimulate rain enhancement research and augment rain fall in the UAE and arid and semi-arid regions around the world.

Aligned with the UAE Innovation Strategy, the program aims to enhance water security through international cooperation in scientific research and development in the field of rain enhancement. The research areas that the Program addresses include the fundamental understanding of rainfall enhancement, data modelling, analysis, and evaluation, as well as experimental design, technologies and instrumentation. 

The Program seeks to achieve its goals through enhancing the level of research and innovation in the field, promoting scientific understanding of rainfall enhancement, advancing state-of-the-art techniques in rainfall enhancement practice and operation, and developing further capacity in the field both locally and globally. 

His Excellency Dr Abdullah Al Mandoos, Director of the National Center of Meteorology & Seismology (NCMS), said: “The Program witnessed during its inaugural cycle several challenges and achievements. It was the most important confirmation of the leading global role played by the UAE in supporting scientific efforts to develop the best technologies and practices that will contribute to the progress of rain enhancement science and provide effective solutions to the issues of global water security.”

He added: “The results achieved through the first year of the program proves the significance of this initiative.”

Alya Al Mazroui, Manager of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, said: 

“With the launch of the first award ceremony, we are proud to honor the best teams of scientists and researchers in this field. The international acceptance the program has had in its first cycle proves the importance of rain enhancement science globally.” 

She added: “We hope that the research projects that have been presented in the first cycle will shape the base for the following cycles, paving the road to effective solutions to the issues of global water security.”

Following its launch in January 2015, the Program attracted a remarkable level of international interest. In its first cycle, it drew the participation of 325 scientists, affiliated with 151 organizations representing a diversified pool of governmental and non-governmental, private and public, domestic and foreign entities as well as individuals. 

Notably, the Program received 78 research teams that were given extensive feedback from the anonymous reviewers of the selection committee on the strength and weakness of their pre-proposals. 

Following the intensive evaluation process, the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science has selected the most promising proposals. Among them are projects offering creative and path-breaking ideas on cloud forecasting and modification, modelling and the use of advanced cloud seeding agents. 

The Award ceremony will be followed by a press conference that will be attended by His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Al Mandoos, Director of NCMS, Alya Al Mazroui, Manager of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, and the winners of the first cycle of the Program.