UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science

The UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science is participating in the American Geophysical Union, AGU, Fall Meeting which begins tomorrow in San Francisco.

The five-day AGU Fall Meeting convenes leading international experts in the earth, climate, and space sciences. This year's event is expected to draw more than 24,000 attendees to discuss the latest research across a broad spectrum of scientific fields.

Dr. Abdullah Al Mandoos, Executive Director of the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology, NCMS, said, "As part of our efforts to establish a global network of rain enhancement scientists and technologists, we will reach out to scientists and researchers at AGU to explore opportunities of collaboration and advancement. The UAE team is supporting the programme's aim of encouraging substantive international cooperation in the field of rain enhancement and working to develop enduring links with interested stakeholders and the scientific community."

Through its participation, the delegation from the UAE Research Programme on Rain Enhancement Science aims to reach out to potential stakeholders and expand the pool of candidates for the second cycle, evaluate potential reviewers for different stages of the programme, generate sustained interest in the programme, and identify opportunities of collaboration with specialised entities in the United States. Notably, the programme seeks to position the UAE as a global hub for rain enhancement research.

The meeting comes at a time when the UAE Research Programme is nearing the culmination of a momentous and highly successful first cycle. Following an intensive evaluation process of the 78 pre-proposals received in April 2015, a full proposal panel meeting took place in November to select the final winning proposals that will be announced at a special awards ceremony in January 2016.

Alya Al Mazroui, Programme Manager of the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science, said, "The outstanding success of the first cycle of our programme and the quality of this year's submissions confirms that the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science could make a real difference in tackling water security issues around the world. We were delighted to receive 20 research proposals from US in its first year, and we are looking forward towards expanding our contacts with US researchers in order to sustain the momentum of our highly successful programme as we move into its second year."

An initiative of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the programme is designed to encourage the development of existing science and technology used to enhance rainfall in arid and semi-arid regions. The programme will select up to five projects as winners of a total grant of US$5 million to be awarded over a three-year period. –
Source: WAM