Lebanese Prof. Niveen Khashab Wins Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences

Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Lebanese Prof. Niveen Khashab Wins Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences

Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanese Professor Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab won the Great Arab Minds Award-2023 in Natural Sciences, for her contributions in chemistry, bioengineering and biology.

Her research interests focus on applications of programmable, intelligent, engineered nanomaterials and their uses for medical, pharmaceutical, industrial and environmental purposes. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said that scientific and cognitive curiosity has been the base of nations’ cultural development throughout history.

The winning announcement was made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Prof. Niveen Khashab is associate dean of Physical Sciences and Engineering Division and Professor of Chemistry at KAUST - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, given her pioneering contributions in the field of natural sciences and her research in Arab universities.

“Today we announce the winner of the Arab Minds Award in natural sciences, Professor Nevin Khashab, a researcher and academic who inspires a new generation of young scientists in the Arab world and transforms research into advanced innovations in medicine, advanced industries, nanotechnology and sustainable agriculture,” said the Ruler of Dubai.

“Scientific achievement is the basis of civilizational development. We want to preserve scientists, empower them, honor them, celebrate their achievements and provide them with the space they need to transform their ideas and research into reality. Resuming the region’s contribution to human civilization is a comprehensive project and a strategic commitment that focuses on the Arab citizen capable of achievement, creativity and excellence in science and knowledge,” he added.

Khashab is exploring the new opportunities that nano capsules and devices can provide in drugs, gene therapies, medical diagnosis and industries, given their sturdiness, durability and superior thermal resistance.

Khashab is currently experimenting with carbon nanotubes characterized with their exceptional rigidity and strength, as well as electronic properties. She is also testing applications of carbon tubes in smart membranes. Khashab also collaborated on designing smart materials used in biomedical systems based on molecule assemblies at the nanoscale using non-covalent interactions.

The applications of the scientific innovations and smart materials developed by Khashab are diverse, including medical in the fields of sensing and drug, therapeutic and surgical delivery; industrial as in nanocomposites and others; and environmental in sustainable agriculture solutions and platforms.

Mohammad Al Gergawi, chairman of the Committee leading Great Arab Minds, congratulated Khashab on the phone, hailing her contributions in natural sciences and its pioneering research that opened new horizons in the uses of ultra-fine nanomaterials for medical and pharmaceutical purposes and advanced technology applications.

The initiative aims to promote the reverse migration of Arab minds and keep them in the Arab world by celebrating, honoring and highlighting their achievements.

The competition received thousands of nominations in its six categories: engineering and technology, medicine, economics, literature and natural sciences, arts, architecture, and design.

The Great Arab Minds Awards’ winners announced so far are: Dr. Hani Negm from Saudi Arabia in Medicine, Professor Fadel Adib from Lebanon in Engineering and Technology, Dr. Muhammad el-Erian in economics, and Professor Niveen Khashab in natural sciences. The winners in the two remaining categories will be announced later.



Nepal Sharply Hikes Permit Fee for Everest Climbers 

Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. (Reuters) 
Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. (Reuters) 
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Nepal Sharply Hikes Permit Fee for Everest Climbers 

Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. (Reuters) 
Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. (Reuters) 

Nepal will increase the permit fees for climbing Mount Everest by more than 35%, making the world’s tallest peak more expensive for mountaineers for the first time in nearly a decade, officials said on Wednesday.

Income from permit fees and other spending by foreign climbers is a key source of revenue and employment for the cash-strapped nation, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest.

A permit to climb the 8,849 meter (29,032 feet) Mount Everest will cost $15,000, said Narayan Prasad Regmi, director general of the Department of Tourism, announcing a 36% rise in the $11,000 fee that has been in place for nearly a decade.

"The royalty (permit fees) had not been reviewed for a long time. We have updated them now," Regmi told Reuters.

The new rate will come into effect from September and apply for the popular climbing April-May season along the standard South East Ridge, or South Col route, pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Fees for the less popular September-November season and the rarely climbed December-February season will also increase by 36%, to $7,500 and $3,750 respectively.

Some expedition organizers said the increase, under discussion since last year, was unlikely to discourage climbers. About 300 permits are issued each year for Everest.

"We expected this hike in permit fees," said Lukas Furtenbach of Austria-based expedition organizer, Furtenbach Adventures.

He said it was an "understandable step" from the government of Nepal. "I am sure the additional funds will be somehow used to protect the environment and improve safety on Everest," Furtenbach said.

Regmi did not say what the extra revenue would be used for.

Hundreds of climbers try to scale Mount Everest and several other Himalayan peaks every year.

Nepal is often criticized by mountaineering experts for allowing too many climbers on Everest and doing little to keep it clean or to ensure climbers' safety.

Regmi said cleaning campaigns were organized to collect garbage and rope fixing as well as other safety measures were undertaken regularly.

Climbers returning from Everest say the mountain is becoming increasingly dry and rocky with less snow or other precipitation, which experts say could be due to global warming or other environmental changes.