Dr al-Taie, Dr Hasna, Dr Alammari and other officials at the opening of the conference yesterday.

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) yesterday opened the 13th International Conference on Fluid Control, Measurements and Visualisation (Flucome 2015).
The conference, the first of its kind in the Middle East, is sponsored by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF). It brought together over 80 researchers, engineers and practitioners from 20 countries to share, discuss and evaluate the latest developments and applications, and to build networks on academic and research collaboration.
QU vice-president and chief academic officer Dr Mazen Hasna, QNRF executive director Dr Abdul Sattar al-Taie, and CENG dean Dr Rashid Alammari addressing the opening session. Keynote speakers were Virginia Tech University Graduate School associate dean Prof Mohamed Hajj, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering professor Dr Toshiharu Kagawa. They presented on “Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from Aeroelastic Vibrations” and “Energy Considerations and Saving Technology of Pneumatic System”.
The programme agenda included sessions in the form of keynotes and poster presentations that addressed a wide range of topics including “Aerodynamics”, “Hydrodynamics and Pneumatics”, “Coastal and Offshore Structures”, “Environmental Pollution Control”, “Acoustic and Electromagnetic Flows”, and many more.
Oral presentations were delivered by Office of Naval Research global commanding officer Captain Clark O Troyer, US Office of Naval Research global associate director Dr Monique E Beaudoin, and QNRF programme manager for petroleum and chemical engineering Dr Ali Galambhor. They discussed the importance of building collaborations for scientific endeavours.
Dr Hasna said the conference is timely on a local, regional and international level for its focus on fluid control and environmental and energy challenges.
“It also provides our students with an invaluable opportunity to participate and dialogue with experts on these critical and contemporary issues related to fluid control measurement and visualisation,” he observed.
Dr al-Taie explained that fluid modelling and visualisation is of a prime interest to the oil and gas industry in Qatar, as is enhanced by oil recovery, oil and water separation processes, and gas transportation.
“Around 10% of QNRF’s research portfolio focuses on subjects related to the theme of the conference. By putting theory into practice through real-world projects, QNRF shows how investment in the research ecosystem drives the improvement in the quality of life for millions of people,” he added.
Dr Alammari maintained that the event has come at a time when many countries are trying to find sustainable solutions to the challenges related to energy and the environment.
“It underlines the College’s vision to be at the forefront of scientific dialogue and professional recommendations on critical issues that will ultimately benefit the region in this regard.”