Middle East Initiatives. The Center has worked to develop increasingly close ties with a range of international partners over the past several years. This includes work in Europe, Australia, South America, Japan and other areas. We have developed particularly close ties with a number of entities in the Middle East as a result of Fulbright College's focus on this region and the efforts of the Middle Eastern Studies Program. During this past year, we hosted students and staff from the Royal Jordanian Geographic Center for four weeks of intensive, customized professional development class work in GIS and GPS technology. In addition, in response to interest expressed by educators and government officials in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, a series of lectures and presentations was given by the Center's Technical Director during a three-week period in the fall. Finally, the Center was fortunate to host His Excellency Al-Ankary, the Saudi Minister of Education, and his delegation during their recent visit. During this time plans for the implementation of a new cooperative agreement with King Faisal University were put into place. CAST will undertake this initiative in conjunction with the Arkansas Water Resources Center. A trip to specify the scope for this collaborative work and to continue discussions initiated last fall is planned for early October. See also CAST's Middle East webpage.
Above is the am sample of CAST's Middle East web pages.
CAST works with Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, VIPs. Mohan Jashanmal, head of Jashanmal National Company of Abu Dhabi, a leading retail chain in the Gulf region, toured CAST and received a GIS/GPS demonstration in July of 1998. This visit was a part of interest by Abu Dhabi dignitaries, working with UAF's Dwain Cromwell, in the possibility of naming a Chair in Water and the Environment for President Zayed, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates. In November, CAST's Technical Director Jim Farley attended meetings and made formal presentations to educators, scientists, senior administrators, and representatives from both public and private sectors during a three-day period. Presentations were made at the Higher College of Technology, the Center for Research and applied Technology, and before the President of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Business Association. These presentations were part of an outreach initiative for UAF towards developing new relationships and collaborative projects between UAF and the region.
Mexico City Global Disaster Information Summit. In May, Jim Farley attended the Global Summit of Disaster Information Experts as part of the American Delegation of the State Department. Attendees included representatives from 13 countries, the United Nations, the World Bank, and a large number of public sector and NGO relief agencies. Mr. Farley presented a paper entitled Open Computing Technologies as Infrastructure for Disaster Management. As a follow-up, he is scheduled to serve as a member of the working groups for Information Technologies and Public Policy and Harmonization and Standards for a Global Disaster Information Network.
Jordanian Cooperative Efforts. In 1996, Dr. Dick Smith, Professor of Geography, visited the Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre in Amman, Jordan, as part of a Fulbright College Middle East Studies Program sponsored trip. In conversations with Centre Director Brig. General Eng. Saliem Khalifa and Vice-Director Eng. Mubarak Mubarak, it was clear that there was great mutual opportunity between the Jordanian Centre and CAST. Both the Director and the Vice-Director visited CAST last year as guests of the King Fahd Middle East Studies Program and Fulbright College. UAF funded CAST (through the King Fahd endowment) to develop two two-week long classes and three workshops on GIS, GPS, digital photogrammetry, digital cartography, and spatial data management. The two two-week long classes were taught at CAST last summer. The material for the workshops was completed and were taught by CAST staff in Jordan. This spring, CAST’s Technical Director, Jim Farley, spent two weeks at the Jordanian Centre. Cooperative efforts, including joint research and faculty/staff exchange continue. UAF as a whole will benefit from the enrollment of undergraduate students from the Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre’s college program.
American University Beirut. Jim Farley, CAST's Technical Director, attended meetings at American University Beirut as part of an outreach initiative for UAF Middle Eastern Studies Program, CAST, and the ENDY Program. Formal presentations to groups of numerous educators and students were held.
Visits to Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. This year, Jim Farley attended meetings and made formal presentations ot educators, scientists, and senior administrators at three of the four major universityes in the Kingdom (Saud, Fahd, Abdulaziz) and at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh. These presentations were part of an outreach initiative for UAF directed towards developing new relationships and collaborative projects between UAF and the region.
American Lebanese University Cooperative Efforts. Jim Farley, CAST's Technical Director, recently attended meetings at American Lebanese University as part of an outreach initiative for UAF Middle Eastern Studies program, CAST, and the ENDY program. Formal presentations to groups of 40-70 educators and both private and public sector groups were made. In March, officials from American Lebanese University visited CAST.
Officials from the Lebanese American University visit CAST March 8-10, 1999. From left to right:
Nabeel Haidar (Vice President of Academic Affairs, Lebanese American University), a visiting faculty dignitary,
Abdallah Sefir (Dean of Engineering, Lebanese American University), CAST's Technical Director Jim Farley,
and CAST's Director Fred Limp (right).
Middle East Region Centers for Excellence. In November, Technical Director James Farley spent two weeks traveling to various locations in the Middle East and made numerous presentations. These meetings focused on building a network of Centers for Excellence in Geoscience and Spatial Information Technologies in the Middle East region. Highlights of the trip included: a presentation of a highly integrated representation of the King Fahd Middle East Studies Program, the Environmental Dynamics Ph.D. Program, and CAST; request for proposals from Lebanese American University, request for collaboration with Saudi Arabia in Moroccan Water studies. Interest was expressed throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Education Tours CAST. On May 28, Chancellor White arranged a private tour of CAST for His Excellency Dr. Khalid M. Al-Ankary, Minister of Higher Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His Excellency is a geographer and is familiar with remote sensing. The objective of this meeting was to inform the Minister of the capabilities available at CAST and to discuss the model that has been used to establish and integrate CAST in the university community. Both the Minister and the Chancellor were highly complimentary of CAST and its work. Demonstrations of photogrammetry featuring images from Petra in southern Jordan were followed by demonstrations of the NRCS soils atlas and the on-line mapper. A brief presentation and a tour of CAST's Middle East web site were also included.
On May 28, His Excellency Dr. Khalid M. Al-Ankary, Minister of Higher Education, Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, and Chancellor White received a formal demonstration and tour from CAST's
Technical Director Jim Farley.
Saudi Arabian Delegation Tours CAST. A large group of 15-20 senior members of the Saudi Arabian delegation from the Ministry of Higher Education participated in a tour of CAST and its facilities. CAST was honored as a tour stop for the entire delegation. Participants included Deans and Program Directors from the four major Saudi Universities (Faisal, Fahd, Saud and Abdul-Aziz). A brief tour of CAST labs and a number of projects were provided to our guests. A short powerpoint presentation featured new CAST initiatives, including Aurora and CADIS, was followed by a user-driven tour of CAST's Middle East web page.
On May 29, a large delegation of senior members of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education toured CAST.
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