Research

1.     Signature of Research Agreement with Nawras Telecom. The Sultan Qaboos University signed with NAWRAS a research agreement to measure and analyzes the levels of EM radiations from Nawras base stations at SQU which will be done by CIRC. The project aims to study and report on EM radiation levels from NAWRAS emitting base stations at SQU campus, examine the results in the light of international approved standards of radiations and see how these are being applied in Oman. As long as the EM radiation levels remain under the most accepted worldwide standards and guidelines of radiation they would not pose a risk to human health. The agreement was signed by H.E the V.C., Dr. Ali Bimani, on behalf of SQU and Ross Cormack, Chief Executive Officer, on behalf of NAWRAS.

Signature ceremony of SQU-Nawras Research agreemen

Main tasks of the project:

·         Selection of base stations at SQU to be surveyed and inspected

·         Carrying out continuous EM radiations for different stations operating at different frequencies.

·         Modeling and validations of results and evaluations of radiations levels.

·         Reporting on results and recommendations

·         Publications of results in conferences, newspapers  and scientific Journals

·         Develop capabilities of SQU to undertake  radiation inspections for TRA or other Organization in the Sultanate

Equipments required for the Project

·         Vector Sense System (Vector Reflection and Transmission Measurement)

·         Handheld Spectrum Analyzer

·         Loop Antenna as HF option

·         Active Directional Antenn

2.     Joint Research with City University London. The university has signed a cooperation research project funded by the British Council with City University London. The project is related to “Design and Optimization of High-Speed Optical Modulators and Systems”. The project was awarded as a research cooperation grant to undertake activities as part of the Strategic Alliances and Partnerships strand of the Prime Minister’s Initiative for International Education 2 (PMI2).The project aims to link the two Universities engaged in work on telecommunications systems, through a focus on the design and optimization of high-speed optical modulators. The work will advance research in telecommunications networks by exploiting more fully through the partnership forged, the complementary expertise available in the partner institutes.

Signature of SQU-City University Research agreement

Attended by a representative of the BC in Oman (Ms. Wafa Al Jabri).

Main Project Outcomes

·         Advancement and the creation of a sustainable research group in Photonics.

·         Publications in international journals and at major Conferences.

·         Organize seminars and workshops.

·         Applications for funding for on-going and future work.

·         Students involvement in the research and the benefit of the faculties-thereby benefitting both the UK and Oman through their future contributions.

3.     Consultancy Project. The CIRC had a consultancy project on “Arabic Speech Data Collection”, for Language Technology & Data, which is an American company; USA.The purpose of the project is to gather spoken and conversational Arabic in a variety of settings to further the development of speech recognition algorithms in support of a larger University of Pennsylvania research project. Data was collected over a four-month period, March to June 2010, in Oman.