Research Projects

The staff members in the Environmental Sciences Department have participated in several recent projects in different approaches such as:

• research project titled “Greenhouse gas emissions and organic carbon storage of Lake Mariut: Implications on climate change” supported by Alexandria University Research Development Fund (2010).

• FP6 project: Southern European Seas: Assessing Modeling Ecosystem changes (SESAME) 2006-2010.

• Emhotop Project (Egypt-France) on "Quaternary Climate Fluctuations Study on the Nile Continental Margin and the Nile Deep Sea Fan". 2007-2009.

• An Egyptian-Moroccan Joint Research Project on "Sedimentary Dynamics, biostratigraphy and paleogeographic events in the Jurassic basins of Egypt and the Moroccan Atlas", 2008-2010.

• Kuwait project funded by KISR entitled “Monitoring of Pollen dust along the Kuwait territory”, 2009-2011.

• Strategies for BiotechnologicalProduction of Plastics Biopolymer From Agro-industrial and Environmental Wastes in Saudi Arabia, 2012-2013.Deanship of Scientific Research, Dammam University (Project-2011/2012052).

• Exploring the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHAs) biodegradable plastics by Local Bacterial Isolates in Saudi Arabia, 2011-2012. Deanship of Scientific Research, Dammam University (Project-2010/2011121).

• Biotechnological Production of polyglutamate (PGA) Biopolymer; with Industrial, Medical and Environmental Importance from Local Isolates in Saudi Arabia, 2009-2010. Deanship of Scientific Research, King Faisal Univesity-Continued under supervision of Dammam University (Project-2009/ 10003).

• Microbial Arsenic and Selenium Transformation in the Nile Delta (US-Egypt collaboration Project-2003/BIO7-004-003).

• Greenhouse gas emissions and organic carbon storage of Lake Mariut Implications on climate change 2010-

• Biosorbtion technology for the removal of heavy elements from industrial waste water using plant biomass 2010

• project entitled, “Assessment of Sources, Levels, Trends and Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Mediterranean Coastal Environment of Egypt”. Project Grant # ENV7-003-003 funded by U.S.-Egypt Joint Board on Scientific and Technical Cooperation,  Ministry of Scientific Research (2003 – 2007). The Project was in collaboration with Prof. Terry Wade, Geochemical and Environmental Research Group, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA.

• project entitled, “Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances”, implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, (2001-2002).

http://www.chem.unep.ch/pts/regteams/regtem_medit.htm

• Project entitled "North West Coast and Inland Development Project".  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Ministry of Planning Economic & Social Planning for  Spatial Development, (2001).

• Project entitled, “Assessment of Sources, Levels, Trends and Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Mediterranean Coastal Environment of Egypt”, funded by the U.S.-Egypt Joint Board on Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Ministry of Scientific Research, May 2003. The Project is in collaboration with Dr. Terry Wade, Geochemical and Environmental Research Group, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA, (2004-2007).

• Project entitled, “Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD)" funded by UNU-UNESCO-ICARDA, (2003-2007).

• MEDECO research cruise (Leg-2, November 2007) which is one of the key cruises for the HERMES* research project in the Mediterranean Sea and represents the Pourquoi pas?’s first expedition in this region for Exploring the diversity of Mediterranean deep-sea ecosystems to better preserve them.

• (Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas, 6th FP European research program on the ecosystems of margins in European seas federating a consortium of 36 research institutes and nine companies from 15 countries).

• Project component carried out by the Egyptian Tourist development Agency (TDA) ,to build an Environmental Information System for Wadi El Natroun area- Egypt, using remote sensing and GIS as a part of a bigger project for developing Wadi Natroun area. (2000- 2001)

• Environmental base line studies, and as GIS / remote sensing expert  for the UNDP/Ministry of planning  for the spatial development of the western coastal desert of Egypt 2006-2007.

• EIA studies  and projects at  the Ministry of Planning.2006-2007, namely: Spatial planning and development of the western coastal desert of Egypt

• Multi national Project “ Sustainable management of Marginal Drylands(SUMAMAD), supported by UNESCO, United Nations University and ICARDA 2002-2014 (currently).

• Multinational project on “ ground water vulnerability and human security” funded by United Nations University – Environment and Human security, Bonn.2007-2009

•   Currently in charge of the Environmental studies in assessing the feasibility of the corridor development project,  funded by OUDA/Ministry of economic development. 2008-current

• Review of the Human development report 2008 – funded by UNDP.2008-2009

• Project team for the environment sustainable city planning of Wadi Natroun, funded by HABITAT project – UNDP2008-2009

• EU project on “Innovative Renewable Energy (RE) Driven - Multi Stage Flash (MSF) System with Salts Precipitator and Nano Filtration (NF) Feed Water pre Treatment (RE-NF-MSF) (Currently)

• In research team (Faculty of Science, Alexandria University) carried out a detailed hydrogeochemical survey for the Wadi El-Natrun area in 1999-2000 as a part of the Environment of Wadi El-Natrun Project (Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Development Authority).

• In  research team (Faculty of Science, Alexandria University) conducted a reconnaissance hydrological survey for the northern region of the Western Desert in 2001 as a part of the environmental studies of the North Western Coastal Region Development Project (Economic & Social Planning for Spatial Development, Ministry of Planning-United Nations.

• Project entitled, “Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD)", carried out site assessment methodology for Omayed Biosphere Reserve, Western Desert, Egypt, funded by UNU-UNESCO-ICARDA, (2003-2007). 

•  Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the new ONYX municipal solid wastes landfill in the southern part of El-Hammam City, Northwestern coast of Egypt through Integral for Environmental Consultancies in August 2005 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the new composting project to the south of Marina Resort in El-Alamein, Northwestern coast of Egypt through Integral for Environmental Consultancies in July 2006 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the new lime production line for the Suez Cement Company in the Ain Sukhna area, Egypt through Integral for Environmental Consultancies in November 2006 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Wood Project of the Assiut Cement Company (CEMEX) in the Western Desert of Assiut, Egypt, through Integral for Environmental Consultancies in February 2007 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the new Qattamiya composting project, Cairo, Egypt through Environics for Environmental Consultancies in June 2007 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the new wastewater treatment plant of Egyptian Fertilizers Company (EFC), Ain Sukhna, Suez, Egypt through Environics for Environmental Consultancies in July 2007 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Sharing in preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the new cement production line of Assiut Cement Company (CEMEX), Assiut, Egypt through Integral for Environmental Consultancies in July 2006 (Geological, hydrogeological and soil studies).

• Participated in the hydrogeological studies and supervised the aquifer test and its analysis as a part of the dewatering system for Al-Nawaras High Rise Building project, Al-Shati District, Cornish Road, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the period 01/05/2008 to 30/06/2008, through Al-Jazzar Consulting Engineers, Jeddah, KSA.

• Participated in the hydrogeological studies and supervised the aquifer test and its analysis as a part of the dewatering system for Sama Dubai Tower, Al-Shati District, Cornish Road, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the period 01/07/2008 to 31/07/2008, through Al-Jazzar Consulting Engineers, Jeddah, KSA.

• Project of “Modeling of Mercury Species in water and sediments of Detroit River”. (2000-2002).

• Sabbatical mission to TEXAS A & M University, USA (GERG Institute )for  extraction OF PCB’s, Pesticides, Aliphatic and Aromatic hydrocarbon as well as heavy metals from sediments of all Egyptian lakes ( January -February, 2005)

• Project team of “Modeling of Mercury Species in water and sediments of Detroit River”. (2000-2002). 

• US-Egypt cooperation project (Assessment of persistent organic pollutants in Nile Delta Lakes, Egypt) with Texas A & M University in college station, Texas. USA (2004-2007).

• Project (Application of Biosorption Technique for Removal of   Toxic Chemical Elements from Industrial Wastes Using Plant Biomass) with princess Nora bint Abdel Rahman University (2010- now)

• The exchange programme funded by the World Wildlife Fund for the Mediterranean countries. The attended event was in Barcelona, Spain titled "Green belts around cities". July 2002.

• In the group establishing the National Academic Reference Standards (NARS) for Environmental Sciences in Egypt, July 2008 – now.

• In  the executive team of the Environmental Impact Assessment Studies at the Faculty of Science, Alexandria University.  2007- Present

• Project: The impacts of Lake Mariut deterioration on Alexandria and the implications for its sustainable development. Funded by Alexandria University 2010

Awards

The staff members in the Environmental Sciences Department have been awarded several prizes and awards on national and international scales such as:

• Sultan Qaboos Prize in 1997 awarded by the UNESCO/MAB Program for the Environmental Preservation
• Poster Award of a paper entitled “Assessment of heavy metals accumulation capability of four aquatic plants in lake Mariut, Egypt” in the 2nd International Conference of Environmental Science and Technology, Houston, USA from 19-22-August 2006.
• Conference Paper Award of a paper titled “Biosorption of cadmium and lead byPhragmitesaustralisL. biomass using factorial experimental design” in the 4nd International Conference of Environmental Science and Technology, Houston, USA from 28-31July 2006.
• Award of Arabian Society of material Science (Material Science and environmental)(2000).
• Award of applied geology from Academy of Science and Technology (2001).
• Award of Scientific distinguished from Alexandria University (2006).
• Alexandria University Gold Medallion for scientific achievements (2006).
• Faculty of Science (Alex University) commemorative Medal for scientific achievements (2005).
• State of Egypt Prize in Geological Sciences from the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology ASRT (2003).
• Alexandria University Prize and Silver Medallion for Scientific Encouragement (2003).
•  UNESCO MAB's National Commission Young Scientists Awards (2010,2011 &2013).
• UNESCO MAB's International Commission Young Scientists Awards (2009-2010).
• Scientific Research Academy Award for young researchers (2013).
• Alexandria University Award for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science, Alexandria University (2003).
• Alexandria University Prize for the Scientific Encouragement (2000).
• Postdoctoral Scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service,DAAD (2006).
• ISESCO Science Award 2006 (The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in recognition of meritous achievements in the field of GEOLOGY.
• Academy of Science Prize for the invention and innovation in Environmental Studies 2002.
• Distinct Certificate for keynote speakers in the regional workshop on Impact of Ecotourism on Biosphere Reserves, 2005.
• Certificate for successful participation in the workshop on Economics of Biosphere Reserves in Arab Countries, 2005
• Distinct Certificate for efforts in community service Rotary San Stefano club, 2006.
• Distinct Certificate from the Arab Ministers of Environmental Committee, Arab League as an appreciation for her presented studies, supervision on international, Arab and regional projects and for the effective contribution in international conferences, 2006. 
• Prize of El Shorouk Academy for Water Engineering on “ Non-Traditional Water Resources”, July 2008
• UNESCO Micheal Batisse International Prize for Biosphere Reserve Management June 2009.
• Alexandria University Prize for Scientific Encouragement, 2004.
• Postdoctoral Scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service,DAAD (July-August 2007).
• Poster award as an outstanding poster presentation of “ASSESSMENT OF  HEAVY METALS ACCUMULATION CAPABILITY OF FOUR AQUATIC PLANTS IN LAKE MARIUT, EGYPT.” From International Conference on Environmental  Sciences  and Technology Houston, USA., 2006
• Fellowship granted and funded by the Netherlands Government in 2007 to study for "Environmental Impact Assessment" at Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences, Deventer, the Netherlands.
• Saudi Arabia Prize for Best Published Article in Environmental Management among 150 articles from the Arab Administrative Development Organization, affiliated with the League of Arab States 2006
• Faculty of Science Award for wining the Saudi Arabia Prize for the best article in Environmental Management 2006
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Earth Observing and Space Research George Mason University 2004–2005
• Medal in the Honor Society of International Scholars Phi Beta Delta) 2002
• Governmental Scholarship for Doctoral Degree in Environmental physics and Remote Sensing from George Mason University, USA 2000
•  DAAD scholarship for the summer school in Freiburg University, Germany titled "Management and transformation of degraded and secondary forest". July 2002.
•  PhD Studentship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the Agricultural economics and related sciences programme in the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. From April 2003 till September 2006.
• DAAD PhD scholarship Award (2006-2008)in TU Braunschweig, Institute of Ecological Chemistry and Waste analysis, Germany
• Fulbright Postdoc Scholarship (2011)
• DAAD PhD scholarship Award (2007-2009) in the institute of Historical geology/palaeontology Bremen University, Germany.

• EUROPROX PhD scholarship Award (2009-2010) in the institute of Historical geology/palaeontology Bremen University, Germany.
• MARUM Incentive Funds fellowship (10/2010 - 12/2010) in MARUM (Center for Marine Environmental Sciences), Bremen University, Germany.

Workshops and conferences

The staff members have arranged, participated in and attended several workshops and conferences such as:

• First International Conference in Biotechnology. Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, Riyadh (16-18 Feb 2009), Saudi Arabia.
• 4^th International Saudi Conference in Science. Taibah University, Madinah (21-24 March 2010), Saudi Arabia.

§  International conference on Environmental, Industrial and Applied Microbiology. BioMicroWorld-2005, Badajoz (spain), March 15-18^th2005

§  US-Egypt workshop on Genetic Engineering and Genomics. 3-5/12/2003 in Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technology applications, Bourg Al Arab, Alexandria, Egypt.

§  10^th International Symposium on the Genetics of Industrial Microorganisms (GIM), held in Prague Czech Republic, June 42-28, 2006.

§  2nd International Workshop on Applications of Palynology with special emphasis on Oil and Gas Exploration, Alexandria University, 18-20 March 2012.

• International conference on Environmental, Industrial and Applied Microbiology. BioMicroWorld-2005, Badajoz (spain), March 15-18^th2005.

§  US-Egypt workshop on Genetic Engineering and Genomics. 3-5/12/2003 in Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technology applications, Bourg Al Arab, Alexandria, Egypt

§  Education and sustainable development work shop in the Environmental Sciencesdepartment.2013

Training Courses

The staff members have participated in several Training Courses  such as:

• training courses
• training course on"Design of e-courses and application of WebCT learning Management System"2008, 2009. College of Education, Dammam University, Saudi Arabia.
• Applications of Nano-Sciences in Energy & Water (18-20/1/2011)
• Dynamic systems A stems and modeling (12-14/9/2012)

§  Regional Training course on NUMERICAL GROUNDWATER FLOW MODELING USING MODFLOW held at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environmental and Water Resources, Muscat, Oman – during the period 24-30 September, 2001.

•  (2000-2002) practical research training in the Department of Environmental Science, Lancaster University (UK) in air pollution and monitoring of air quality for both gas-phase pollutants and aerosol particles, measuring meteorological parameters, laboratory analysis techniques for trace gases and aerosols and data analysis.
• (2002-2004) training in the field of occupational hygiene (determining personal exposure of workers to airborne contaminants in the workplace), Bradford University, UK.

Visits

• Environmental Sciences Dept. students study visit to Germany, under the DAAD (DeutscherAkademischerAustauschDienst) student support schemes for German Institutions of Higher Education and the supervision of the Faculty of Forest Science and Resource Management – Technical University of Munich. (14-23 July 2003).
• Visit of the German Prof. Dr. Burkhard scharf to the Environmental Sciences Department (16-26/11/2012)

 

Prof. Dr. Burkhard scharf visit 

• School visits (5-11visits per year)

Field Trips

• From 3 to 5 student’s field trips per year

 

 

 

Lake Mariout field trip