First Dubai member wins grant

Funding enables travel to US aviation conference

A student from Heriot Watt University in Dubai has become the first member in the region to be awarded a grant from the institution.

Mechanical Engineering student Rowayne Edward Murzello used the funding during June to travel to one of the most prestigious aviation related conferences in the world, AIAA Aviation 2016, in Washington, D.C. USA

As well as attending the conference, the funds enabled Murzello to present the main outcomes of the final year project for his mechanical engineering degree: “Design of a cooling duct for solar cells on a solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle”.

Murzello said: "Solar cells performance decrease with heat. My idea is to devise a cooling mechanism to increase the power efficiency of the cells. After calculations, software simulations and a physical experiment, the duct design achieved a 1.6% increase.

Murzello submitted his paper for the conference last November and was "quite surprised" when it was approved. Lacking the funds, his Professor advised him to apply for the IMechE travel grant.

"The trip would not have been possible without the grant," Murzello said. "The conference was really interesting. It was great to get the feedback on my project from experts and hear their ideas to further develop the design.

"I'd recommend the applying for such grants to any student, the benefits are very good." 
Each year, the institution supports the educational and development needs of students, graduates and members with grants totalling some £400,000. For more information please visit here. 

For more information please visit the Heriot-Watt University Dubai student chapter page of the United Arab Emirates NearYou site. You can also read about the range of Scholarships and Awards available to Institution members, including Conference Grants. 

The Dubai branch of Heriot Watt University opened in 2005 and has grown to have a capacity of 4,500 students across its seven schools. The institution’s student chapter on the Engineering and Physical Sciences campus was launched earlier this year.