Guests at LAU’s New York Headquarters and Academic Center were treated to a very special performance of the 1776 Syrian classical musical composition, Isqi Al-'Itash (Quench the Thirsty), with New York-based Arab ensemble Takht Al-Nagham.

The event, which took place on November 29, was part of the ongoing series of cultural events called Thursdays at LAU NY.

Takht Al-Nagham performs takht (Arab chamber music) and is committed to playing a classical Syrian repertoire with traditional acoustic instruments.

“In tracing a chronology of Aleppan music, we aim to share a rich tradition with a US audience who know Syria only as a site of a violent and destructive conflict,” said Takht Al-Nagham founder Samer Ali. “We want our music, as it so often does, to soothe and brighten; to help heal and reconcile."

Isqi Al-'Itash (Quench the Thirsty) is a composition that was written during a drought in Aleppo that had nearly been lost to history. The composer, Mohammad Al-Manbiji and lyricist Abdel Al-Salam Al-Nabulsi wrote the work in 1776 as an eloquent adjuration to the Almighty, begging their maker's forgiveness to release their people from their suffering. The work then nearly disappeared from the annals of music until Syrian violinist Tawfiq Al-Sabbagh (1892-1964) brought it back into recognition by recording it at Aleppo Radio with Mohammad Khayri (1935-1981). In the late 1960s, Sabah Fakhri's legendary recording secured its position as one of the Arab world's most memorable and beloved masterpieces.

In order to familiarize audiences in the US with the original structure of Arab musical traditions, Takht al-Nagham presented the sets (called wasla in Arabic) in the same manner that they were originally performed over a century ago: without reading from sheet music and relying heavily on improvisation. Nagham means melody or tune in Arabic and is also used as a synonym for the Arab maqam system. The members of the ensemble are thus required to be intimately familiar with an extensive repertoire, allowing them to perform complex phrasing without the aid of musical notation.

The event welcomed a surprise guest performance by ustaz Hamid al-Saadi, one of the last Iraqi maqam singers, who has mastered the entire repertoire by heart. Al-Saadi did a few pieces organized as a suite (wasla) in maqam hijaz huwayzawi (part of the Iraqi maqam tradition). It starts with an instrumental prelude, a qasida (classical Arabic poem), then a song, Foug al-Nakhal (Above the Palm Trees).

Johnny Farraj, the Takht al-Nagham percussionist, said he loved the energy of the packed room, seeing the faces in the crowd enjoying the songs made performing for him even more exciting. He commented that the feedback from the audience is “so essential in Arabic music because it is very improvisational and personalized; in other words, each musician is constantly creating and ornamenting. Nothing excites musicians more than having a responsive crowd.”

A surprise guest performance was given by ustaz Hamid al-Saadi (C), one of the last Iraqi maqam singers, who has mastered the entire repertoire by heart.

Faithful to Arab musical traditions, Takht al-Nagham presented the sets as they were originally performed over a century ago.

Earthquakes are feared for their virtually undetectable, unpredictable, and destructive nature, and in Lebanon, the damage they can cause is often compounded by the country’s natural terrain and weak infrastructure. Consequently, Lebanon’s Order of Engineers and Architects (OEA) hosted their second-annual conference, called Earthquakes in Lebanon and the World in the Past Decade: Between History and Fact.

Lebanon is situated on the Dead Sea Transform fault system, which is an active seismic zone that extends from southeastern Turkey to the northern part of the Red Sea. Though it has experienced a number of earthquakes in the last 200 years, very little has been done to ensure that infrastructure, buildings and society at large are ready to cope in the event of another.

Dr. Gebran Karam, associate professor at LAU’s School of Engineering (SOE), noted that provisions for seismic conditions must be made. In 2012, the Lebanese government instituted the Public Safety Decree 7964, which mandated (among other requirements) that a seismic analysis be completed for any new construction project above a specified size.

“These first steps taken by the government, in conjunction with their partnership with the OEA, are positive measures for protecting our society from the risks of damage caused by earthquakes,” says Dr. Karam.

The OEA recognizes that earthquakes represent a new area of research in Lebanon – one that is slowly evolving but is critical to the safety and wellbeing of the country’s residents. For this reason, they have called on universities and industry professionals to partner in conducting research and implementing new codes that reflect the possibility of a seismic event recurring in Lebanon.

“With a building stock that dates back to the end of World War II, readiness is the key to minimizing the scale of potential damages,” says Dr. Karam. “The positive takeaway is that earthquake-related research is active in Lebanon, and new buildings are compliant with the seismic reviews that are being conducted.”

Representing LAU at the conference, SOE Associate Professor Dr. Grace Abou Jaoude outlined her work on Landslide Hazard and Risk Assessment in Lebanon. There is a probability of landslides occurring as a result of earthquakes or major rain events in Lebanon, and Dr. Abou Jaoude’s research is devoted to quantifying those risks. As data of this nature has never been collected, her work is of particular interest to engineers, architects and city planners.

By using geotechnical modeling, as opposed to the statistical studies similar to what has been done in the past, Dr. Abou Jaoude has been able to identify and assess slip rates of the areas in Lebanon that are at the greatest risk of damage from landslides.

“Although high magnitude earthquakes are relatively rare occurrences in Lebanon, collecting data allows us to quantify the risks of landslides to the local population, and take any action necessary to mitigate those risks,” she says.

Earthquakes are not the only event that can cause landslides – significant rainfall can be even more detrimental. However, since records of destruction and costs from major precipitations are easily quantifiable, Dr. Abou Jaoude has focused her research on what the current data lacks: the impact of earthquakes on the local community.

The results of Dr. Abou Jaoude’s research shed light on the urban communities that are at the highest risk of landslides – both seismic and precipitation-induced. The future challenge lies in making sure Lebanon’s infrastructure and built environment are adequately prepared to withstand those hazards.

(a) A populated area in Arsal at risk from debris flow in all return-period precipitation events (50-year shown). (b) Precipitation induced rockfall and debris flow from the high cliffs of the Litani River valley near Yohmor. Coseismic rockfall (not shown) covers similar extent. (c) Rockfall hazard to urban populations in Chebaa. Base images from Google EarthTM.

LAU’s biggest fundraising event of the year – the Annual Fundraising Gala Dinner – was held on December 6, 2018 to raise money for the university’s scholarship and financial aid program. Drawing in more than 700 attendees, the special event was themed LAU is Here for You, a reference to the institution’s commitment to providing opportunities for the most deserving students, regardless of their background.

“All of Lebanon is represented here tonight and we thank you for your support, and extend to each and every one of you, our gratitude for your generosity and presence at this important event,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra, during his opening speech. “Most importantly, we thank you for believing in LAU and our students,” added Jabbra.

The décor at the Beirut New Waterfront’s Seaside Pavilion evoked Lebanon’s unique charms: lights glowed warmly, inspiring images of the country floated across wall-to-wall LED screens, and table centerpieces portrayed rustic Lebanese homes. The evening’s entertainment – provided by chanteuse Carole Samaha – also added to the atmosphere, as the singer performed some of Lebanon’s most widely known songs.

Guests were treated to a short film showcasing eight students from across the country – Baakline, Batroun, Beirut, Kfarchouba, Nabatieh, West Bekaa, Zahle, and Zgharta – all of whom benefit from financial support. The journey of these young scholars from their hometowns to LAU paints an inspirational picture of how critical financial support is to students, many of whom consider it a lifeline for their studies.

“Coming from the West Bekaa, I had to work very hard to get good grades in order to get the scholarship I needed, and eventually, the job I want, which will give me security when I grow up,” said Nour Al Nahas, a third-year civil engineering student featured in the short film. The daughter of a bus driver and a tailor, she received a full scholarship to attend LAU and hopes to land a job that will give her and her family greater financial stability.

Al Nahas is not alone. There are thousands of LAU students in similar situations, as Assistant Vice President for Development Nassib N. Nasr explained.

“With our donors’ incredible support and generosity, LAU has helped 4,100 students this year alone by dispersing $32 million in scholarships and financial aid,” said Nasr, who is also chair of the Gala Dinner Steering Committee. “These students come from all over the country and region – and thanks to our supporters – they are currently making their dreams a reality by attending our university,” he added.  

President Jabbra echoed Nasr’s sentiment, and extended it to the entire country needing support, saying, “Lebanon is here for all of us. We all do our best – institutions, people, and supporters of LAU – to keep this country together. And with your help, we will!”

LAU first began holding its annual Fundraising Gala Dinner in Beirut in 2012. The inaugural event raised an impressive $7.5 million, and successive ones have had similarly grand results, all in support of the Gala Dinner Endowed Scholarship Fund, which supports academically qualified yet economically disadvantaged students so they can benefit from an LAU education.   

To learn more about the Gala Dinner initiative and this year’s event, please click here.

Dr. Jabbra thanked LAU’s supporters for their generosity and steadfast belief in the university and its students.

It was the perfect Saturday morning. The space outside the Safadi Fine Arts Building was decorated for Christmas, and campus buzzed with the low intensity of a Saturday morning. But things were about to get lively with the beginning of a special concert, put on as part of the Imagine Workshop and Concert Series (IWCS) outreach initiative.

The concert was the second such event held on LAU’s Beirut campus for individuals on the autism spectrum under the artistic direction of Dr. Seba Ali, assistant professor of Music at the Department of Communication Arts and IWCS director. Guests included members of the Autism Awareness Association and the Lebanese Autism Society, LAU community members, students and interested passersby.

Dr. Ali chose the theme, Christmas Carols, as the carols would be familiar among the audience, which would offer a motivating way to explore more spontaneous communication between the audience and the performers, she said.

Welcoming the guests, Dr. Ali introduced the nature of the sensory-friendly event and the drive behind it. She then explained that the audience members were free to express their feelings and engagements in any way they liked by swaying, moving, singing along, and interacting with the percussion instruments, reassuring them that nothing was off limits.

The reason why the performance setting was outdoors was to give “ample opportunity and freedom to the audience members to explore their surroundings and communicate with it while communicating with us, the performers, as it is very important to achieve the three-way communication,” said Dr. Ali.

Children played hide and seek and catch, while some caressed the campus cats and others sat alongside their parents who were enjoying the music.

“This is the first time we come to LAU to attend a Christmas concert,” said Mohamad Kaissi, a parent at the event. “The kids enjoyed the songs performed by the children’s choir.” He also commented on the comfortable outdoor setting, adding that both he and his wife were able to enjoy the performance while their sons played.

The concert included performances by two choirs conducted by IWCS’s artist-in-residence, American-Lebanese Soprano Christine Moore, and part-time Lecturer of Music Reem Deeb, who also gave a solo performance with Dr. Ali accompanying on the piano.

The adult choir consisted of 16 singers from LAU and around Beirut. The children’s choir, meanwhile, was made up of students from Keys’n Cords Music Academy. The audience was treated to traditional songs, including Jingle Bells, Talj Talj (Snow, Snow) and O, Holy Night, among others.

“My son loves music. And I wanted to bring him here to watch the concert,” said Sonia Ashou, whose son is on the autism spectrum. “He enjoyed it and was even humming along with the singers.” She said she makes it a point to take him to autism-friendly events like this one.

“This is something that comforts. I was very much at ease. He just went with his brother to take a photo at the Christmas booth,” she said.

Sensory-friendly events are important for individuals on the autism spectrum because some “are either hyper-responsive or hypo-responsive to particular stimuli in their environment,” said Associate Professor of Education Ahmed Oueini, who has studied the condition.

Dr. Oueini offered parents tips to help put autistic children at ease, such as having them use noise-canceling headphones in cafeterias, auditoriums or on the street. “But let them decide when and how long to use them, as long as they don’t use them all the time. We don’t want them to isolate themselves.”

Dr. Ali said the philosophy behind having outreach activities as part of IWSC is to “include more diverse communities and to have more connections with audience members who are not able to come to our concerts because of the stringent concert etiquette.”

The event, she added, is also an opportunity to raise awareness about autism and to encourage diversity and inclusiveness, both on and off campus.

The children’s choir was made up of students from Keys’n Cords Music Academy.

A choir of singers from LAU and around Beirut treated the audience to traditional Christmas songs.

How can organizations best market to a digital audience? What strategies increase a company’s profile in a crowded market? And what on earth is growth hacking?

All these questions – and more – were addressed at a  seminar hosted by the Hospitality Management and Marketing Department with special guest speaker Wissam Sammouri, data mining specialist, consultant, university lecturer and co-founder of the company Pixis.

Sammouri spoke about data-driven digital marketing and how to leverage information gleaned from data mining to make strategic choices. “Classical digital marketing in the era of social media, lack of time, and instant decision making is quickly turning data-driven,” he said.

He used case studies to “demystify the role of data in driving business and marketing decisions” and taught techniques in growth hacking, which is, incidentally, a process of experimentation across segments to pinpoint the most efficient ways to grow a business.

“Growth hacking does not describe a specific method,” he said. “It is rather a philosophy and a lean approach that combines marketing tactics and product development, inspired by data and analytics as well as constant testing and refining.”

The lecture also shed light on the importance of forward-thinking in order to grow a business amid stiff competition. “With fierce competition in all fields, businesses have to look for out-of-the-box methods to accelerate their growth process and, in turn,  secure a profitable and scalable position in the market,” said Sammouri.

“Growth hacking has been the buzzword for any successful business in this past decade,” said Associate Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Hospitality Management and Marketing Department Maya Farah.

“A growth hacker knows how to translate audience data to improve marketing strategies, ultimately driving traffic and boosting business profits,” she added.

Using real-world applications and case studies, the talk equipped students with an eye-opening futuristic vision on how data is transforming businesses worldwide. It also sparked their awareness on this topic and encouraged them to acquire data-related skills and seek more knowledge, especially if they are planning on an entrepreneurial career.

“Such lectures add a new perspective of education by exposing students to real-world experiences from professionals,” commented Dr. Omar Itani, assistant professor of marketing. “They introduce students to new trends in the workplace and give them the opportunity to create community relations with speakers.”

In conclusion, Sammouri stressed that data-related skills are becoming a must-have for marketing students. “As a student, you should learn how to analyze data using built-in software or tools for valuable correlations and insights,” he said. “This information can then be visualized and used to define, tweak or enhance targeted marketing strategies, with the aim of increasing client acquisition, activation or revenue.”

Sammouri spoke about data-driven digital marketing and how to leverage information gleaned from data mining to make strategic choices.

Through a series of Soft Skills Workshops, LAU’s Outreach & Civic Engagement (OCE) Unit has sought to complement students’ hard or academic skills with the qualities that would give them an added edge in the workplace. A recent talk by Anghami co-founder and LAU alumnus Elie Habib (BS ’94) went to illustrate the importance of such skills in getting an idea off the ground and making it work.

Habib was honored as a Creative Person from My Homeland during OCE’s 24th Soft Skills workshop titled Anghami, a Tale of Passion, Persistence and Lots of Sweat.

In a string of successes, Habib has been named Lebanon Top Innovator in 2018 by Forbes, Endeavor High-Impact Entrepreneur in 2013, and Lebanon Top Entrepreneur in 2012 and 2013.

Present at the workshop were OCE Assistant Vice President Elie Samia, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Abdallah Al Khal, and School of Arts and Sciences Assistant Dean for Planning and Research Haidar Harmanani – one of Habib’s professors.

“We want to hear from our famous entrepreneur about what it takes to come up with an idea, and maintain the persistence, resourcefulness and resilience to make this idea flourish amid harsh competition,” Samia said, presenting Habib.

Anghami is the largest music streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa, boasting a catalog of 30 million Arabic and international tracks, for more than 70 million users.

“I am happy to be at my alma mater,” Habib said. “This is a place that means a lot to me, and I wanted to give back.”

Habib, who graduated with a BS in Computer Science in 1994, spoke about the importance of iteration when starting a new company, saying that Anghami did not reach its current status overnight.

The idea for the venture was born in 2010 when co-founder Eddy Maroun was relaying to Habib his frustration during a ski trip in Faraya over the lack of platforms to downloading new music on his iPod.

“iTunes was not yet available in the region,” Habib recalled.

It so happened that, at the time, he was also eager to create something new and the discussion got him “thinking that it would be great if we could actually store all the music somewhere, and people could actually get to listen to it.” He and Maroun started the long process of testing the validity of their idea, finally seizing the untapped opportunity.

While perfection is important, Habib told the students, the pursuit of perfection is significant in itself. “It is more important that you start low and you grow. We launch, we validate and then if it works, we iterate and we do better, and become perfect eventually with time,” he explained.  

Habib underlined the importance of Machine Learning (ML) to validate new ideas. ML allows software applications to become more accurate in predicting outcomes without being explicitly programmed.

“If some of you are around that field, focus on it, spend time on it, learn from it,” he said.

Anghami, he added, was willing to “extend anything to the Engineering Department on Machine Learning. We can extend also a billion data set that can help build models on Machine Learning,”

Addressing a particular concern for new graduates and students, Habib said that Anghami is always looking to invest in young men and women with a “fresh mindset” and perspective.  “What we end up doing is getting fresh smart people, because we prefer to hire for mindset and teach skills. It’s that simple.”

At the end of the event, Samia, Al Khal and Dr. Harmanani presented Habib with a shield in recognition of his innovative ideas.

From left: Elie Habib, Elie Samia, Dr. Haidar Harmanani, and Abdallah Al Khal.

Well into the evening of Tuesday, December 4, students from the Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB) presented their business plans to a jury of top executives from local and multinational corporations.

For the event, which was organized by the Department of Management Studies, student teams were shortlisted across seven sections of the course Developing a Business Plan, offered on both Beirut and Byblos campuses.

According to Amal Rouhana, course coordinator, the competition aims to motivate students and potentially match winners with business accelerators and incubators to help bring their ideas to life. “The experience offers a unique opportunity for them to cultivate innovative ideas, expose their skills and apply what they have learnt,” said Rouhana.

Course instructors Dr. Maya Shayya, Tarek Shebaya and Kim Issa worked with their students over the semester to help them understand, identify, and simulate both business plans and market challenges that typically face startups. “The corporate world is increasingly competitive, so it’s crucial for our students to go through this simulation and hear the feedback firsthand from leading corporate executives,” said Dr. Josiane Sreih, department chair and associate professor, in her welcome address.

Indeed, the jury did not hold back. They took time to give feedback, probe students and offer constructive advice following each group’s presentation. Among the jury members were Promedic Chair Rony Abdel-Hay, Tamayyaz Chair Elie Aoun, Marketing and Communication Consultant Naji Boulos, Nestle HR Manager Sarah Fathallah, and Senior Brand Manager at BLC Bank Carine Fersan.

“Students’ ideas were brilliant,” declared Fersan, who is also the head of WE Initiative, a BLC Bank project that offers full-fledged support to startups, beyond financing. “They were solution-oriented, structured, and demonstrated an entrepreneurial-level of competing – which is impressive, considering their age and level of experience,” she added.

At the end of the event, jury members huddled to share notes and offer their final scores. Instead of the anticipated three, one extra team was announced a winner, as two groups tied for third place.

The team behind Beirut Farm, an innovative plan to grow food using hydroponic technology that is both sustainable and eco-friendly, won first place, while House Doc – an app that facilitates locating and reviewing house maintenance providers in Beirut – came in second. 

“We are thrilled to have won – we worked very hard on this project,” said Karen Geha, one of five students who made up the winning team.

During her speech, Dr. Sreih had underlined LAU’s integrated program of pedagogical innovation, in line with the Third Strategic Plan (SPIII). “LAU is at the forefront of innovation, especially with the establishment of the Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center,” she said, revealing that the school had recently added the Innovation and Entrepreneurship course to its Business Management curriculum, and will be pushing students to present forward-looking business models every semester. 

Students present their business plan, ValeTrust, to jury members. They came in third.

Jury members (L to R) Naji Boulos, Sarah Fathallah, Rony Abdel-Hay, Carine Fersan, and Elie Aoun.

Dr. Maya Shayya (C) with her students, who came in first and second place.

School of Engineering graduate student Rayana Jaafar and her advisor, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Dr. Samer Saab, won an award for best paper at an international conference in New York.

“I would have never imagined that I would be a recipient of the Best Paper Award,” said Jaafar, who is pursuing an MS in computer and communication engineering at LAU. “The feeling of joy and pride was overwhelming.”

The annual Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Ubiquitous Computing, Electronics and Mobile Communication Conference (IEEE UEMCON) brings together engineers from across the globe to discuss topics including computing, electronics, mobile communication, informatics, and engineering applications in medicine and biology.

The conference took place from November 8 to 10 at Columbia University in New York, where Jaafar and Saab presented their paper titled, “A Neural Network Approach for Indoor Fingerprinting-Based Localization.”

The paper proposed the creation of a fingerprinting-based Indoor Positioning System that uses heterogeneous wireless networks, mainly WLAN and 4G. “We designed a neural network with the intention of exposing the synergy of the two wireless networks,” explained Jaafar.

“Our experimental results showed sub-meter accuracy and substantial improvement in localization performance when compared to other positioning systems, without resorting to additional hardware and sensory equipment,” she added.

For the past two years, Jaafar has worked closely with Dr. Saab, whom she says has been her source of inspiration. “I learned the importance of sharing scientific findings with different people to advance knowledge,” she said.

Dr. Saab praised Jaafar’s research ability and penchant for tackling challenging problems. Indeed, this is not the first time she has won an award for her work. “Regardless the topic or type of research problem I give her, Rayana takes it on with full confidence, joy and passion,” he said, noting that she presented their paper alongside doctoral students, professors and those whose work was funded by major organizations.

He also highlighted the importance of providing students with research opportunities and supporting their academic endeavors. “Rayana is proof of the potential of our students, and I am sure many competent students at LAU can be as successful when offered adequate support,” he said.

For her part, Jaafar says she owes her strong academic background and research skills to her time at LAU. “LAU’s supportive environment, both academically and socially, is one of the many factors that make it special,” she said.

Jaafar is currently working on her MS thesis with Dr. Saab and will be graduating in Spring 2019. She plans on pursuing a career in academia and producing research in automatic control, robotics, machine learning, and biomedical applications. 

“The success achieved at IEEE UEMCON 2018 does not belong to one person,” Jaafar said. “It is a success for LAU, specifically our beloved faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, from whom I’ve learned everything I needed to excel.” 

The paper proposed the creation of a fingerprinting-based Indoor Positioning System that uses heterogeneous wireless networks, mainly WLAN and 4G.

The Department of Economics at LAU hosted the Third Annual Workshop for the Lebanese Econometric Study Group (LESG), a forum that facilitates the exchange and dissemination of research among econometricians. The event took place at the Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB) on Beirut campus.

LESG was co-founded by Professor Elie Tamer from Harvard University and Assistant Professor Rami Tabri of the University of Sydney. It was created to bring together econometricians of Lebanese background to support those working in Lebanon and the region, as Dr. Tabri explained during the opening remarks. “It was only a few years back that Dr. Tamer reached out with the idea of starting a network for Lebanese economists and econometricians,” he said.

In his welcome address, Associate Professor Walid Marrouch gave an overview of the Economics Department, highlighting the graduate degree in Applied Economics and the school’s heavy involvement in research endeavors that are specific to the Middle East. “Our own dean at AKSOB, Dr. Wassim Shahin, has recently been elected president of the Middle East Economic Association (MEEA),” he pointed out, adding that LAU will be hosting one of MEEA’s biannual conferences in October 2019.

Dr. Tamer thanked LAU and the department for sponsoring this year’s forum for the first time, as it had been held at the American University of Beirut for the past two years. “I expect it to continue to alternate between the two universities, as it’s quite important that it always takes place in Beirut,” he added, explaining that there is a sizable group of high-profile Lebanese econometricians living abroad.

But the forum is no longer limited to Lebanese econometricians and has grown to include diverse scholars from around the world who convene to peer review each other's work. Twenty of them presented at the two-day forum, in addition to local scholars.

“In the future, they are looking into gearing their work toward policy-related questions – specifically those of relevance to the Middle East,” said Chair of the Economics Department Ghassan Dibeh, who is also the editor of a peer-reviewed academic journal, Review of Middle East Economics and Finance. Referring to both the journal and the forum, Dr. Dibeh highlighted how economists from Lebanon and the region not only convene, but “synergize their efforts to input on problems of the Lebanese and regional economies.”

One such example of applied econometrics research is by LAU’s own Assistant Professor of Economics Nagham Sayour. She presented on the effects of providing and subsidizing after-school care on child development and maternal labor market outcomes. Her research raises the question of whether governmental programs for after-school care would encourage mothers to work, and whether they have any effect on children’s development. Based on children of primary-school age in Quebec, Canada, Dr. Sayour’s research is a rare look into that age group, which she hopes to replicate for Lebanese children and their mothers, where much less data is available.

“For one, grandparents seem to be the typical after-school childcare providers in Lebanon – which I suspect will lead to very different findings, especially regarding the children’s emotional development,” she pointed out.

Dr. Dibeh plans to steer work at the department from purely academic toward having more policy relevance. “Whatever structure that form entails, we are aiming to bring in a public policy lab, as well as briefs, through which we will engage students, faculty, non-governmental organizations and the public sector,” he said, adding that the department will be expanding in the near future to mentor students on informing public policy.

Co-founder of LESG, Dr. Tabri, gave an overview of the study group and its mission.

Dr. Marrouch stressed the school’s heavy involvement in research endeavors that are specific to the Middle East.

Lebanese and international econometricians take part in the forum that facilitates the exchange and dissemination of research.

Dr. Sayour spoke about the effects of providing and subsidizing after-school care on child development and maternal labor market outcomes.

Discarded food makes up a large portion of the waste that ends up in Lebanon’s overflowing landfills each year. The frustrating part about that for scientists, policy figures and residents of the country is the fact that the problem is almost totally preventable.

A new study by Department of Natural Sciences faculty aims to shine a light on the causes of the problem so that experts can find a way to combat it.

The paper, “Attitudes and Behaviors Shaping Household Food Waste Generation: Lessons from Lebanon,” is the result of a collaboration between Assistant Professor of Nutrition Lama Mattar, Associate Professor of Food Science and Technology Hussein Hassan, and faculty from the American University of Beirut. It was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

The main objective of the study was to assess household attitudes and behaviors that shape food waste in Lebanon in order to tailor community-based interventions, said Dr. Mattar, who specializes in community nutrition at LAU.

The study, launched in 2016, collected samples from 1,264 households across Lebanon’s five governorates. Undergraduate nutrition students were involved in data collection.

The results of the team’s research showed that variables such as employment status, educational attainment, the number of people in a household, and income level impacted the amount of food wasted per family.

“Our study showed a positive relation between the number of householders and the food waste volume,” Dr. Hassan said. “It may be that the more house occupants, the more food is prepared and the more likely it is left after cooking,” he explained.

Social behavior also affects the amount of food wasted, Dr. Mattar said, noting that dining out frequently leads to more food waste, as restaurants have to toss out anything uneaten at the end of a meal, and because when people eat out, food they already have in the house is more likely to be left to spoil.

Similarly, the study found a correlation between higher education level and food waste. “Because have a higher income, they go out more, tend to buy more, throw more. They do not perceive wasting food as losing money,” she explained.

One of the more positive findings was that people in Lebanon’s rural areas tend to waste less, which the authors believe is because there is more of a culture of being resourceful and reusing leftovers compared to urban areas.

Among the behavioral impacts on the amount of food individuals waste, the study found that those who feel guilty about throwing away food tend to waste less. “Individuals who report a feeling of guilt when throwing out food are more likely to eat everything prepared, which reflects a reduced wasteful behavior,” Dr. Hassan said.  

Aside from assessing the collected data, the study offers a set of recommendations that households can follow in order to limit food waste, for example, launching community-based interventions. “At the beginning, such an intervention can take place at the level of restaurants and big supermarkets,” Dr. Mattar said. In addition, the government needs to implement a system to empower food banks and non-governmental organizations to collect clean, uneaten food for the needy.

The government also has a crucial role to play at the household level, Dr. Mattar said, and suggested launching nation-wide awareness campaigns, which have proven effective in countries such as Egypt. These can include classes to teach people simple recipes for leftovers and how to portion their meals using measuring instruments.

The researchers are now in the process of disseminating the results of the study, so that policymakers can start building on the findings.

Culturally, Dr. Hassan called for strategies that would raise awareness about food waste “coupled with motivating individuals to decrease it” through education related to household routines.

Dr. Mattar added, “We need to instill a sense of responsibility in the population, including making it culturally acceptable to ask for a doggy bag in restaurants.”

In the end, saving food is up to us.

Tips to reduce food waste at home:

•  Don’t buy food just because it’s on sale
•  Don’t make a new meal each day
•  Always prepare a list before going grocery shopping
•  Cook with leftovers
•  Use the older products first
•  Store fruit and vegetables in a cool place, especially in the summer
•  Put freshly made food that will not be eaten into the freezer
•  Ask for your leftovers to be packaged to go at restaurants – and then make sure to actually eat them! 

There are more ways than one to avoid food waste, a problem that is easily preventable.

Celebrity musician, playwright, actor and producer Ziad Rahbani visited LAU’s Beirut campus on December 5 to address a packed house of LAUers.

The renowned artist was invited by the International Affairs Club to speak about the influence of art on major social, political and economic issues.

Rahbani touched on political and economic insecurity (“live every day one day at a time”), the economy (“we should all support Lebanese industry and buy Lebanese products”), and whether a new play is in the making (“I am working on a script”).

The host for the evening was Lokman Hakim, a final-year political science and international affairs major. His club invited Rahbani to campus to add an “artistic dynamic” to their regular lectures by political figures. “We chose Ziad because most of his art productions include political, social and economic topics that are relevant to us,” Hakim said. A mutual connection between Rahbani and a member of the club’s PR team clinched the deal.

Rahbani noted that the university has always been part of his life. “I used to do lots of stuff at LAU, even back when it was BUC [Beirut University College],” he said, thanking the crowd for the invitation.

The conversation turned right to society and politics, with the host and guest covering events in Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the US. Rahbani bantered with the audience, who cheered at his quips. Attendees asked Rahbani about his previous work, future plans and opinions on a variety of topics.

Toward the end of the evening, one student asked, “Do you think we should have hope for Lebanon?”

In typical Rahbani style, he answered, “Sure, if you can, do it.”

A member of Lebanon’s artistic elite, Rahbani is also the son of two of the country’s greatest musical legends, singer Fairuz and composer Assi Rahbani.

He came to prominence in the 1970s when he began composing music and theater pieces. Since then he has been a prolific artist who has greatly shaped Lebanese culture. His work, though varied in media and topic, is satirical and often political, highlighting issues important to regular Lebanese people with humor and verve. He has also collaborated with top names in the region, including the late LAU Assistant Professor of Drama and Communication Arts Ziad Abou Absi.

Audience members could barely contain their laughter at Rahbani’s repartee.

Final-year political science and international affairs major, Lokman Hakim, moderated the talk with Rahbani.

Rahbani was presented with a commemorative shield in appreciation of his visit to LAU.

Following a successful battle with breast cancer, LAU alumna Hiba Yazbeck Wehbe (BS ’97) reached out to her alma matter in 2016 to help establish the Courage to Fight Breast Cancer (C2) workshop, which aims to educate rural women in Lebanon about the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

Assistant Dean at the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing (ARCSON) Dr. Myrna Doumit has been actively collaborating with Yazbeck and giving these workshops. She credits their success to the fact that they reach out to women in rural areas, where knowledge on self-care is less available. “Many organizations have thus far only focused their operations in Beirut,” Dr. Doumit pointed out, explaining that “we are speaking their language and asking them to pass on the information they receive within their circles” to optimize the efficiency of these workshops.

From Halba in the North to Markaba in the South, the C2 workshops have so far reached over 700 women across 17 communities to date including a “train the trainer” workshop for midwives.

On the C2 crowdfunding page, Yazbeck explains that in addition to the general centralization of efforts in Beirut, cultural taboos have also played a part in making it difficult to spread the word about the dangers of breast cancer in Lebanon, especially in rural and small areas. “But C2 is helping women break through fear and denial to get the information that they need,” Yazbeck wrote, urging people to donate to the cause.

So far, the campaign has raised more than half its goal of $10,000 to continue to hold the C2 educational workshops and to purchase and distribute prosthetic breast sets for use in training at healthcare centers throughout Lebanon to help women properly practice self-examination in their local centers.

When asked what C2 organizers plan to do next if the workshops continue to be successful, Yazbeck assured: “I don’t like the ‘if’ – it will continue.”

The crowdfunding campaign ends on 31 December, 2018 at 11:59 EST. For more information on and to support the C2 workshops, go to: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/LebaneseAmericanUniversity/courage-to-fight-breast-cancer-2018.

Donations to the campaign will go toward sustaining the C2 workshops and purchasing prosthetic breast sets for use during training.

Dr. Doumit during one of the many workshops that have been held in rural areas across Lebanon.

On Saturday, December 1, while most university students were preparing for final exams, five of LAU’s best from the School of Engineering (SOE) were presenting original projects at the Lebanese Industrial Research Achievements (LIRA) 14 Forum and Expo – projects that earned them three of the highest awards.

LIRA’s mission is to link Lebanon’s academic sphere to its industrial sector, which is poised to benefit from the research and knowledge base present in universities.

Each year, LIRA tasks universities with developing a project that provides academic solutions to industrial-sector problems in various categories such as Information and Technology, Packing and Packaging, and Mechanical and Mechatronics. The projects must not only showcase innovative engineering in design and functionality, but they must also demonstrate financial feasibility and social significance.

SOE undergrads Kevin Boutros, Kristina Farah and Serge Khoury, under the supervision of their advisor, Dr. Ali Ammouri, won first place in the Information and Technology category for their Optical Apple Sorting Machine.

“Using state-of-the-art technology in computer vision and machine learning, our students developed a sorting machine that is affordable and reliable, and will guarantee high-quality exportable apples,” said Dr. Ammouri, a practice lecturer in the Department of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering. “With their solution, Lebanese farmers will be capable of having high-quality, exportable apples that will have an impact on the apple industry in Lebanon.”

In preparation for the event, students were challenged to look for ways to apply the theoretical and technical aspects of their education to an area of industry that can benefit. After a year of research and development, prototype modeling and feasibility studies, the students took their idea to the Expo, unsure of how their project would be received.

Over the three-day event, projects were judged based on a number of criteria, such as research and design quality, market research and analysis, and added value to Lebanese industry. Additionally, students had the opportunity to network with industry professionals and pitch their ideas to an audience of potential investors.

Kristina Farah said, “The main highlight of this event was that we had never exposed our project to an engineering jury before. The feedback [from the agricultural sector] was motivating, and the event acted as a validation for our start-up.”

Dr. Ammouri was also honored with the Most Distinguished Supervisor Award. “These awards show that universities can provide solutions to industry with the skillsets that we have, and it is rewarding for the students to receive recognition for their hard work,” he said.

LAU’s success at the event stretched further, with second place in the Mechanical and Mechatronics category for the project Passive System to Support the Locomotion of Paralyzed Persons over Snow – developed by LAU students Rami Karkafi and Michael Maalouly under the supervision of Associate Professor and Assistant Provost Barbar Akle.

For Rami Karkafi, the experience was a “win-win” from every angle.

“We got to know other people's opinions regarding our project, whether they were positive or constructive, and this was a confidence-booster as well as an eye-opener to work on minute adjustments to our prototype,” said Karkafi.

Winning at the Expo also means that students can take their projects further with the aid of prize funding and increased exposure within the industrial sector.

“[It’s exciting] to find out what level of innovation is out there in Lebanon, added Karkafi, “and as a student, you feel proud when exhibiting a well-working and tested prototype and get positive feedback from the public.”  

Two teams of SOE students received awards for projects in their respective category.

Dr. Ammouri and winning team in the Information and Technology category Serge Khoury, Kristina Farah and Kevin Boutros.

George Salloum, who is pursuing an MS in Computer Engineering at LAU, has developed an innovative software called Personalized Intelligent Nutrition (PIN), which is capable of using human-like logic to generate health and nutrition recommendations and suggest meal plans that account for food diversity and taste preferences. In addition, the platform includes a feature for monitoring progress and making adjustments. The application has shown through testing to be highly compatible with a human expert’s nutritional assessments.

Salloum, 24, has been working on this project since he was an undergraduate at LAU. He first formulated the idea – which combines his skills in computer engineering and interest in health and fitness – in his capstone project on which he collaborated with fellow student, Elie Semaan (BE ‘17).  When Salloum enrolled in the master’s program, he decided to make PIN the topic of his thesis and was encouraged to pursue his interest by Assistant Professor and Interim Assistant Dean at the School of Engineering Joe Tekli, who had supervised Salloum’s capstone project.

Before deciding on the features of the PIN software, Salloum extensively researched the existing mobile solutions that monitor food consumption and offer meal plans. What he found was that the available tools have three major drawbacks. First, they only take into consideration a person’s height to recommend an ideal body weight, relying on the widely used Body Mass Index (BMI) as a scale. According to Salloum, this approach overlooks the user’s body composition in terms of fat and muscle content, which can only be assessed through the Body Fat Percentage (BFP). Second, the other applications have limitations when it comes to assessing food preferences and generating meal suggestions. Third, no tool has the ability to monitor progress and amend meal offerings midway through the plan to help users reach their target.

“We looked at what is out there, highlighted what was missing, and found that there is room for improvement,” said Salloum. “The solution is not always reducing caloric intake. Exercise is a must for people who are mainly sedentary. This is not just a mathematical calculation; we need to apply some logic to it.”

The PIN approach, which addresses the above shortcomings and more, consists of four simple steps. First, users input details about their gender, age, height, weight and BFP. Using the “fuzzy logic paradigm” which mimics human decision-making, the program processes the information to make recommendations about weight and BFP. Second, users provide information about their activity level and exercise preferences to receive recommendations about their target caloric intake and exercise options. The third step involves selecting foods and rating them according to preference, which PIN processes to generate meal plans. The last step is the software’s built-in ability to monitor the users’ progress and amend the caloric intake or exercise plan to ensure that targets are met.

The software’s meal planning process is based on a sophisticated paradigm that takes several factors into consideration and is one of PIN’s most distinguishing features. The tool ensures meal-food compatibility whereby each food item is matched with the suitable meal. For instance, if a person indicates that they desire fruit in their meal plan, PIN will slot it as a breakfast or snack option. The application also accounts for inter-food compatibility so that foods served within the same meal are complementary, such as rice and meat or cheese and bread. In addition, users’ ratings of their food preferences on a scale that ranges from “love” to “hate” will determine how often these ingredients appear in their plan. Another unique characteristic is that PIN keeps track of the daily food offerings to ensure diversity and variety.

The tool’s ability to simulate the human decision-making process was tested in an experiment using 25 male and 25 female subjects as well as 11 nutrition experts. After collecting personal data on each individual, PIN generated recommendations about weight, BFP, caloric intake, and exercise level. These results were then compared with the assessment of the human evaluators, and the similarity was close to 90 percent, a high correlation.

“There will never be a 100 percent match between results, even among human experts, as this process is not based on a single mathematical formula. There is some degree of common sense and experiential logic involved,” explained Salloum. “The similarity between our results and those of the experts was within the same range and sometimes surpassed the agreement between the experts themselves.”

In order to evaluate the meal plans, the researchers relied on expert as well as non-expert opinions. Nutritionists were asked to rate the meals on a scale from one to five to assess whether they met the compatibility and diversity criteria. The experiment also attempted to predict feedback from the general public by seeking the opinion of five non-experts who were also asked to rate meals based on their indicated preferences.

“The results were satisfactory, but some areas were better than others,” said Salloum.

Future development may provide an option to calculate BFP at the outset, as the present tool relies on the user to provide this information. Further refinement of the meal plan could take into account regional tastes, seasonal food items, and expiration dates.

Salloum credits LAU and its faculty, as well as external consultants, for their contributions to his research. He stresses Dr. Tekli’s role as an instructor and mentor who goes above and beyond duty to support his students and expose their work. Dr. Maya Bassil, associate professor of nutrition at the Department of Natural Sciences, too, was a major contributor to the research as her advice was critical during the experimental design stage. Another specialist, Eva-Maria Kahwaji who holds an MSC in Sports and Exercise Nutrition, also provided valuable advice to the research.

“Dr. Tekli never missed an opportunity to highlight the work at conferences and in publications. He is fair and rewarding, which is motivating to me,” said Salloum, adding, “The collaboration with Dr. Bassil also added a big validation to the work.”

Salloum’s research has been presented at several conferences and received with interest. A short version of the paper was published by the prestigious IEEE World Congress on Services at a conference in San Francisco last July. The work was also discussed at the IEEE Lebanon Communication Research Day held at the Order of Engineers in Tripoli in 2017, and at the Lebanon Diaspora Energy Conference in Beirut that same year.

Asked whether PIN could eventually make jobs in the field of diet and nutrition redundant, Salloum said that he did not see this development as a zero-sum game.

“I don’t think the tool will replace dietitians, but it will assist them in their jobs. They will use it to help them assess and speed up the meal-planning process. Many dietitians who have seen the software are excited about using it.”

Salloum credits LAU and its faculty, as well as external consultants, for their contributions to his research.

LAU’s Interim Dean of the Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB) Wassim Shahin was recently elected to become the 12th President of the Middle East Economic Association (MEEA) – the first Lebanese to hold this position in MEEA’s history, which dates back to its establishment in 1978.

In an interview, Dr. Shahin provided some background on MEEA and upcoming plans for his three-year term.

 “MEEA has been the cornerstone of scholarship on the region since its inception,” he said, adding that it has long provided a haven for economic scholars looking to work together and conduct research on the region, regardless of their religious, ethnic or political background.

The association works toward promoting “high standard scholarship,” facilitating communication among scholars through meetings and publications, and fostering cooperation among people and organizations committed to MEEA’s objectives.

In his new role, Dr. Shahin is looking to further expand the work, reach and visibility of MEEA. His plan is three-fold and involves structural changes, pushing for more empirical, policy-oriented analyses, and improving publication outlets.

With regard to the first, he hopes to establish new chapters at universities where Middle East economics is taught – “across the region, Europe and the US – ultimately having at least one chapter in every country,” he said.

Another plan is to have each of MEEA’s sessions act as an opportunity to discuss comparative policy analysis on topics that are underserved. “Policies that are specific to labor, the environment, taxation, natural resources, health, trade, industry, and defense are all hot topics across the Middle East and North Africa,” he explained.

As for publications, Dr. Shahin would like to launch a “working paper series” for various studies. “There is an abundant wealth of analysis presented in all conferences that ought to be highlighted, before making its way to highly ranked journals.”

Every year, MEEA typically holds one general meeting in the US and a conference in a different country. For 2019, LAU was voted the host university for its conference, which will take place in the fall of 2019.  

Dr. Shahin is looking to further expand the work, reach and visibility of the Middle East Economic Association.

Discarded food makes up a large portion of the waste that ends up in Lebanon’s overflowing landfills each year. The frustrating part about that for scientists, policy figures and residents of the country is the fact that the problem is almost totally preventable.

A new study by Department of Natural Sciences faculty aims to shine a light on the causes of the problem so that experts can find a way to combat it.

The paper, “Attitudes and Behaviors Shaping Household Food Waste Generation: Lessons from Lebanon,” is the result of a collaboration between Assistant Professor of Nutrition Lama Mattar, Associate Professor of Food Science and Technology Hussein Hassan, and faculty from the American University of Beirut. It was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

The main objective of the study was to assess household attitudes and behaviors that shape food waste in Lebanon in order to tailor community-based interventions, said Dr. Mattar, who specializes in community nutrition at LAU.

The study, launched in 2016, collected samples from 1,264 households across Lebanon’s five governorates. Undergraduate nutrition students were involved in data collection.

The results of the team’s research showed that variables such as employment status, educational attainment, the number of people in a household, and income level impacted the amount of food wasted per family.

“Our study showed a positive relation between the number of householders and the food waste volume,” Dr. Hassan said. “It may be that the more house occupants, the more food is prepared and the more likely to be left after cooking,” he explained.

Social behavior also affects the amount of food wasted, Dr. Mattar said, noting that dining out frequently leads to more food waste, as restaurants have to toss out anything uneaten at the end of a meal, and because when people eat out, food they already have at home is more likely left to spoil.

Similarly, the study found a correlation between higher education levels and food waste. “Because those with more education have a higher income, they go out more, tend to buy more, throw away more. They do not perceive wasting food as losing money,” she explained.

One of the more positive findings was that, compared to people in Lebanon’s urban areas, those in the rural areas tend to waste less, which the authors attribute to a resourceful culture of reusing leftovers.

Among the behavioral impacts on the amount of food individuals waste, the study found that those “who report a feeling of guilt when throwing away food are more likely to eat everything prepared, which reflects a reduced wasteful behavior,” Dr. Hassan said.  

Aside from assessing the collected data, the study offers a set of recommendations that households can follow in order to limit food waste, such as launching community-based interventions. “At the beginning, such an intervention can take place at the level of restaurants and big supermarkets,” Dr. Mattar said. In addition, the government needs to implement a system to empower food banks and non-governmental organizations to collect clean, uneaten food for those in need.

The government also has a crucial role to play at the household level, Dr. Mattar said, and suggested launching nation-wide awareness campaigns, which have proven effective in countries such as Egypt. These can include classes to teach people simple recipes for leftovers and how to portion their meals using measuring instruments.

The researchers are now in the process of disseminating the results of the study, so that policymakers can start building on the findings.

Culturally, Dr. Hassan called for strategies that would raise awareness about food waste “coupled with motivating individuals to decrease it” through education related to household routines.

Dr. Mattar added, “We need to instill a sense of responsibility in the population, including making it culturally acceptable to ask for a doggy bag at restaurants.”

In the end, saving food is up to us.

Tips to reduce food waste at home:

•  Don’t buy food just because it’s on sale
•  Don’t make a new meal each day
•  Always prepare a list before going grocery shopping
•  Cook with leftovers
•  Use the older products first
•  Store fruit and vegetables in a cool place, especially in the summer
•  Put freshly made food that will not be eaten in the freezer
•  Ask for your leftovers to be packaged to go at restaurants – and then make sure to actually eat them! 

There are more ways than one to avoid food waste, a problem that is easily preventable.

A song about a young girl who dreams of starting a family but falls victim to domestic violence won the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World’s (IWSAW) annual art competition, organized in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

The winning song, Haqqik (Your Right), is the brainchild of activist Ali Awada, who works for the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training in Baalbeck. “I have wanted to write about women’s rights for a while, but I never got the chance to do so until now,” Awada said.

Every year, as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence global initiative, the joint IWSAW and ESCWA event calls on young people from the whole Arab region to submit pieces in any medium denouncing violence against women.

“Our aim is to raise awareness and increase momentum toward preventing violence against women and girls,” said Mehrinaz Elawady, director of the ESCWA Centre for Women.

This year, the competition attracted around 200 entries from both children and adults consisting of paintings, photos, videos and poems on the theme #HearMeToo: Speak up against violence against women and girls.  

“The competition is a way of bringing creativity into activism,” said IWSAW Director Lina Abirafeh, who has spent more than 20 years working on gender-based violence prevention and response in countries around the world. “Art as activism has a farther reach and lasts beyond 16 days,” she added.

A roundtable discussion featuring socially engaged artists went to support Abirafeh’s statement, driving home the power of the arts in initiating change. Panelists on Fighting Gender-Based Discrimination with Arts featured actress and artist Natasha Choufani, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Fashion Design Program at LAU Jason Steel, and artists and activists Michelle and Noel Keserwany. The talk was  moderated by Managing Director of NGO Sharq Reem Maghribi.

Musicians Michelle and Noel Keserwany, for instance, employ their advertising, animation, illustration, and songwriting skills to voice their opinions on sociopolitical issues.

“We team up with experts to spread certain messages because we believe in the importance of expression and activism,” said Noel, who with Michelle has collaborated with IWSAW to produce a song on gender equality called In My Hand.

Advocating for gender equality has a greater impact when done through actions, added Michelle. “Instead of saying women can do this and that, women should go out and do it,” she said.

However, effective action must involve both women and men. “We need men with us. It’s their fight as much as it is ours,” said Choufani, who spoke about the cycle of abuse that underlies the dangerous effects of the patriarchal system on women’s lives. The actress has performed in several shows on domestic violence, including a play by LAU Associate Professor of Communication Arts Lina Abyad called Hayda Mesh Film Masri (This Is Not an Egyptian Movie).

Theater at LAU is only one of the art mediums that serve to break stereotypes and discrimination. Another is fashion, through which, according to Steel, societal issues can be challenged. To that end, Steel encourages his students to design clothing that defy inequity and gender-based violence, as reflected in LAU’s annual Fashion Show. “I want to make sure the students have the opportunity to speak for those who don’t have a voice,” Steel said.

Reinforcing this, fashion students present at the event wore some of their original creations, while the rest of their outfits were displayed on the walls along with the shortlisted submissions.

As the event came to an end, Awada performed his song to an awestruck audience. “Winning this competition is the first step that will allow me to speak up more on issues related to women,” he said.

The panelists from left: Michelle Keserwany, Jason Steel, Noel Keserwany, Natasha Choufani, and moderator Reem Maghribi.

Fashion design students’ T-shirts display clear messages against discrimination and gender-based violence.

Members of the audience were provided with printed copies of the lyrics, just before Ali Awada’s rap performance.

In order to cut its carbon emissions in line with its 2030 commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Lebanon needs to move away from vehicles that burn fossil fuels and embrace cleaner energy.

LAU’s School of Engineering (SOE) has been ahead of the curve in that regard, driving research and partnerships with various organizations to tackle the problem head-on. In concert with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Energy and Water, and the Ministry of Environment, the SOE is organizing the E-Mobility Summit, due to take place in Lebanon, at LAU, in March 2019.

The summit aims at tackling the profound transformation that mobility is undergoing and its implications on emerging economies such as Lebanon. It will also prepare for a comprehensive roadmap – adapted for the local context – that outlines a holistic approach in the development of a mitigation portfolio for the different means of transport (mass transit, electrified mobility, shared cars, non-motorized transport). Furthermore, the roadmap will account for the need to enable measures with the appropriate policy framework that ensures a successful outcome.

“LAU has been very active through research and is committed to educating the public and spreading awareness on this issue,” said Assistant Professor Charbel Mansour, who has been conducting research on transportation and mobility with Assistant Professor Marc Haddad since 2011.

Ahead of the summit, the SOE’s Industrial and Mechanical Engineering Department organized the first road tests of hybrid and electric vehicles in Lebanon to assess their performance under local driving and weather conditions, in partnership with the UNDP, the Ministry of Energy and Water, the Ministry of Environment and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) – LAU student section. The launch of the road test was also preceded by an event titled Mobility Next: Lebanon On the Pulse of E-Mobility, held at LAU Beirut campus on October 31.

SOE students, under the supervision of Drs. Mansour and Haddad, tested six vehicles – the Mercedes GLC, Volvo XC90, Renault Zoe, Volkswagen e-Up, Toyota Prius and Hyundai Ioniq – on different routes over eight days in December 2018 and January 2019.

“We collected data on vehicle performance, which will be assessed to determine energy consumption, emissions and mobility cost,” said Dr. Mansour, who, together with the students, will be providing technical advice during the summit.

“We will also derive answers to questions asked by the general public in order to demystify electric vehicles,” he added.

To educate the students on safe driving before they hit the road, a training session was organized on LAU’s Byblos campus in collaboration with Adel Metni Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes innovative and efficient road-safety solutions in Lebanon and the MENA region. The purpose of the session was “to introduce the students to the concept of defensive driving through innovative education to help them become proactive drivers,” said road safety expert and president of the foundation, Mr. Georges A. Metni.

Eighteen LAU mechanical engineering students who participated as drivers or co-drivers in the road test received advice on ways to reduce human error behind the wheel, including eliminating distractions, gripping the steering wheel properly, and wearing the seat belt.

“Defensive driving means driving both smart and safe,” said Metni, asserting that road safety is a public health issue that requires urgent attention, as accidents claim 3,500 lives worldwide every day.

The theoretical session was followed by a technical one, where students practiced emergency braking and other exercises on the 100 percent electric cars Renault Zoe and Renault Twizy, which are environmentally friendly, low-cost and safe. “Training the students prior to the road test will help them anticipate the risks, increase their control, and use the right skills to prevent crashing,” commented Metni.

Fourth-year mechanical engineering student Sara Mezher agreed. “The training allowed us to test the vehicle’s anti-lock braking system (ABS) and learn about the proper response in an emergency situation.”

Although electric and hybrid vehicles are already available on the Lebanese market and are exempt from custom taxes, the Lebanese still lack basic knowledge of them.

“It is our responsibility to educate the public during this transition phase and prove to them that these technologies are sustainable on Lebanese roads,” said LAU alumnus Hussein Basma, who is pursuing a PhD in Automotive Engineering at MINES ParisTech, France.

Through collaborations and awareness events, LAU remains a pioneer in promoting road safety and green transportation in Lebanon. “LAU is known for its innovation and leadership,” said Metni, “and we are proud to collaborate with it to address the youth and develop responsible individuals behind the wheel.” 

Mechanical Engineering students received training in defensive and safe driving from road safety expert and president of the Adel Metni Foundation, Mr. Georges A. Metni.

SOE students, under the supervision of Drs. Mansour and Haddad, tested six vehicles on different routes in Lebanon.

Electric and hybrid vehicles, which use cleaner energy, are the solution to burning fossil fuels.

Dr. Mansour with the SOE students as they get ready to practice safe driving in a Renault Twizy.

Mr. Metni (L) and Dr. Mansour (C) at the start of the Defensive & Safe Driving Training given to the students.

During the last few days of the Fall semester, University Scholarship Program (USP) students received their certificates for attending the Soft Skills Series (SSS) and taking part in Outreach and Corporate Visits (OCV) to nonprofits and prominent local businesses, at a ceremony held at the Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB).

Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management (SDEM) Elise Salem and Assistant Vice President for Outreach and Civic Engagement (OCE) Elie Samia presented speakers and trainers with certificates of appreciation and weighed in on the significance of both programs.

“Whatever we do together as a team at SDEM has changed the university for the better,” declared Dr. Salem in reference to both the SSS and OCV programs. “Over 90 percent of our USP graduates have already found jobs, so we are proud of our employment data despite the economic situation,” she added, thanking the speakers and trainers for having played an important role.  

The USP, generously supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), enables qualified and deserving students from Lebanese public schools to study at LAU, covering their full tuition and board. To date, the program has benefitted 541 scholars who are either alumni or students currently enrolled at LAU.

Samia, in turn, spoke about the objectives of the USP: achieving academic excellence, spreading a culture of civic mindedness and preparing scholars “to hit the job market running,” as he put it. “This program has required constant adjustment and discovery of talents,” he revealed, inviting one such talent to share his experience.

USP graduate and current LAU staff member Jad Saheb, spoke fondly of his ongoing experience at LAU, especially about being able to give back to fellow USP students through his job as the academic and co-curricular activities facilitator at OCE, while he was enrolled in AKSOB’s MBA program.

Referring to the two OCE initiatives being celebrated, he gave a detailed overview of how SSS and OCV have “helped scholars bridge the gap between their studies and the needs of the job market, while encouraging a spirit of civic mindedness.” 

Elie Samia outlined the objectives of the USP as achieving academic excellence, spreading a culture of civic mindedness and preparing scholars “to hit the job market running.”

Assistant Professor of Nutrition Lama Mattar has received a $44,000 grant from UNICEF for a community-based intervention project related to maternal and child nutrition and immunization practices in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) across Lebanon. 

The project is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between LAU, UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), which will together develop and implement interventions on infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF), immunization and oral health in PHCs.

Dr. Mattar specializes in community nutrition, which is related to food security, disease prevention, maternal and child health and mortality. As it stands now, she said, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding is very low in Lebanon, with only 24 percent of infants under six months being exclusively breastfed. As for immunization, she said that there are children who are not being routinely vaccinated, and that preventable diseases are still being detected.

“Accelerating and improving interventions to support IYCF practices and child healthcare, including immunization and oral health at a community level, are a key component of child development programs,” she said.

Outreach activities are at the core of LAU’s mission, and especially so at the School of Arts and Sciences’ Nutrition Program. “Such collaborations allow the Nutrition Program to put evidence-based science into practice for the good of the community,” Dr. Mattar said.

On the pedagogical level, the program will involve nutrition students – both at the undergrad and graduate levels – who will be implementing it alongside UNICEF and MOPH, providing a unique hands-on learning opportunity. And in line with LAU’s focus on interdisciplinary learning, the project could require the involvement of students from the Social Work Program and the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing. 

“It will help them build solid community partnerships and develop their human capabilities to impact the health of populations,” she said.

The partners will be promoting and reinforcing the necessity of routine immunizations, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding and oral health among at least 4,000 women of childbearing age and their children. They will also develop educational materials.

“We expect to start with five PHCs in Lebanon, serving 10,198 beneficiaries, including 5,308 women and 1,320 children under five,” Dr. Mattar said. 

“The process to receive the grant took three months,” she added, “with the help of our grant director, Mr. Mario Rebeiz, who made things happen and guided me throughout the process.” 

In addition to the funding, Dr. Mattar concluded, it is important for LAU to maintain a solid collaboration with UNICEF to pave the way for future projects, and to “build trust between these two major institutions to create a bigger impact on the community.”

Dr. Mattar specializes in community nutrition, which is related to food security, disease prevention, maternal and child health and mortality.