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NYU Abu Dhabi Students Win at World’s Most Comprehensive Student Cybersecurity Games

Posted on November 23, 2019, modified on November 20, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

Two NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) students have won first place in the Hack3D competition as part of CSAW, the world’s most comprehensive student-led cybersecurity competition.

Organized by the NYU Center for Cybersecurity, the competition pushed the boundaries of the world’s most accomplished security students with contests that reflect the world’s rapidly changing threat landscape. The cyber challenge was held in six international CSAW hubs and employed contests to advance research in the areas of cybersecurity that are yet to be explored.

NYUAD Computer Science undergraduate students, Cole Beasley and Pedro Velasquez, won the Hack3D event that focused on anti-counterfeiting methods in 3D printing. Competitors were first tested in reverse engineering a 3D CAD model, and during the final round, teams were given a plastic female connector object to an unknown piece and an STL file which contained information for a 3D printer.

Beasley and Velasquez were able to identify critical geometrical points and create a piece which would match and connect with the initial object. Beasley commented, “This competition was a great experience. Through the extent of the challenge, we had to think and approach the presented problem with differing skill sets to complete one single task. Between the actual challenge presented to us as well as the interactions with the sponsors through the business fair and technical talks, Hack3d and CSAW as a whole was a valuable learning tool for anyone interested in the cybersecurity field.”

Velasquez added, “CSAW 19 was full of rewarding moments after every problem solved. We still have a lot to learn about cybersecurity and we are very excited for next year.”

To earn spots in the coveted final rounds, this year’s contestants bested 1,225 teams from 90 countries. At the finals for the United States and Canada, students won cash prizes, and NYU Tandon offered more than $1 million in scholarships to high school competitors. Additional prizes were awarded to contestants at the other academic hubs.

NYU Tandon Professor, leader of CSAW 2019 and NYU Center for Cybersecurity Ramesh Karri, said, “The finalists’ creativity, dedication, and mettle put them on a trajectory to become leaders in a field whose importance to our institutions and economies cannot be overstated. Our congratulations go out to them and to the faculty and mentors who encouraged and helped educate them.”

CSAW started as a contest for NYU Tandon School of Engineering students nearly two decades ago. It has since grown to include simultaneous final competitions at schools in France, India, UAE, Mexico and beyond.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. The original can be found here.

NYU Abu Dhabi Researchers Release New Date Palm Genome Sequence

Posted on October 22, 2019, modified on October 25, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the UAEU Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, working with other institutions, have developed an improved assembly of the genome for the date palm using long-read sequencing technology. This improvement over the current versions of the genome will help advance further research, and also inform the propagation practices of this essential MENA region food source.

In addition, the researchers have identified the genes and mutations that lead to color change and the levels of major sugars in date palm fruit, including the genes for the enzyme invertase that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose. The mapping of these fruit color and sugar genes was conducted using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). GWAS has been used for mapping important disease genes in humans, and this is the first time it has been applied to date palms.

While date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are one of the earliest domesticated tree crops in the world and remain a major fruit crop in North Africa and the Middle East, few genomic resources exist. This, combined with long generation times, has limited evolutionary genomic studies of this perennial species.

Researchers report they have produced an improved genome assembly for date palms that is 18 percent larger and more contiguous than existing genome assemblies. This long-read genome sequence assembly, coupled with access to two large, mature date palm orchards in the United Arab Emirates, allowed them to conduct genome-wide association mapping in this species.

As a result, they successfully mapped the previously-identified sex determination locus and genes for both fruit color and sugar level polymorphisms. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

“As we face challenges in food security for the future, we will need to continue to study the genome of food crops like date palm to help us in our struggle to provide food security in the world,” said Silver Professor of Biology at New York University and lead scientist on the paper Michael Purugganan. “Our progress in expanding the genome of the date palm is finally unlocking some of the secrets that explain how this tree species has continued to thrive in varied, challenging ecosystems.”

Global Collaboration

The sequencing of the date palm genome and the first GWAS mapping in this fruit tree was an international effort led by NYUAD and KCGEB, and also included researchers in the US, Switzerland, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.

This story comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. For more details and a video about this research, see here.

NYU Abu Dhabi Researchers Unlock the Secrets of Liver Regeneration

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

Fast facts:

The liver is the only solid organ that can regenerate itself in mammals, but what confers this special property to the liver has not been uncovered, despite decades of research.
NYU Abu Dhabi researchers suggest that a novel mechanism driven by the epigenome promotes liver regeneration.
The epigenome refers to the code that packages the DNA so that some parts can be activated (i.e. genes) and some parts remain in dormant domains – these dormant parts largely contain remnants of old viruses or transposable elements.
Epigenetic compensation is when parts of the epigenome that usually have one role – i.e. to suppress genes, are co-opted to do a different job – when another part of the epigenome is missing modifications in the packaging material of the DNA influence how much a genetic program is active or repressed. These modifications do not change the DNA sequence, but instead, affect how cells read genes.
This study reports that the primary role of the epigenome is to protect the genome against the activation of genomic parasites (transposable elements).
The new findings have been published in the journal Developmental Cell.

In a recent study published in the journal Developmental Cell, NYU Abu Dhabi researchers have reported a new way in which the liver is primed to regenerate itself. They found that by stripping parts of the epigenome, which play a primary role in repressing “jumping genes” (i.e. transposable elements), other epigenetic marks were redistributed.

This newly discovered form of epigenetic compensation protects the genome against transposable elements activation, but takes these compensating epigenetic marks away from their normal job in regulating gene expression. The result is that when these marks are taken away from their normal role, the genes they usually repress are activated early and are sustained during the regenerative response to the surgical removal of part of the liver.

This type of surgery is relevant to humans, as it is used in resection of liver tumors and the regenerative response is essential for the liver to respond to damage. The findings are a significant advance in the understanding of the liver regeneration process, which is unique among the organs of humans, mice, and other mammals.

The researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Sadler Lab, led by Associate Professor of Biology Kirsten Sadler Edepli, removed a key epigenetic regulator, UHRF1 in the mouse liver. They found when they removed part of the liver, the remaining lobes responded more readily by activating pro-regenerative genes activated earlier, and this regeneration program stayed active longer, resulting in enhanced liver regeneration.

The epigenome refers to the code that packages the genome so that some parts can be activated (i.e. genes) and some parts remain in dormant domains – these dormant parts largely contain remnants of old viruses or transposable elements, which were made famous by the 1983 Nobel Prize discovery by Barbara McClintok.

Surprisingly, instead of causing massive activation of transposable elements or an immune response to mitigate the unleashing of transposable elements, as found in previous experiments, they discovered that there is an extra layer of protection by another repressive epigenetic mark (H3K27me3). This mark was redistributed from gene promoters to suppress transposable elements when DNA methylation was missing, thereby compensating for the loss of DNA methylation. When this mark is redistributed, it is removed from its role in repressing genes that promote liver regeneration. Thus, livers lacking UHRF1 are able to regenerate faster.

Shuang Wang, a post-doctoral fellow in the Sadler Edepli laboratory who worked in her group at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, led the study in collaboration with members of the lab at NYUAD as well as Emily Bernstein and Amaia Lujambio in NY.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi and you can find the original here.

Mariet Westermann Named Vice Chancellor of NYU Abu Dhabi

Posted on May 20, 2019, modified on May 10, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

NYU President Andrew Hamilton today announced the appointment of Mariet Westermann — Executive Vice President of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, former provost of NYU Abu Dhabi, former director of NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, and art historian — as the Vice Chancellor of NYU Abu Dhabi, effective August 1, 2019.

Her selection follows a 10-month long, international search that considered many outstanding candidates from around the world. According to President Hamilton, “We are thrilled by the appointment of Mariet Westermann. The creation of NYU Abu Dhabi was an innovative move, one that has helped make NYU pre-eminent in global education. And thanks to our shared vision with our partners, NYU Abu Dhabi has been a tremendous success: with distinguished faculty, top students from around the world from all backgrounds, and excellent leadership, it has become a regional leader in research, and its graduates have gone on to prestigious international honors, top graduate and professional programs, and leading employers and positions. Therefore, in choosing a new Vice Chancellor, we sought someone who would not only be a leader capable of taking NYU Abu Dhabi into its next stage, but who would also contribute to NYU’s leadership globally and be a real presence in the cultural and intellectual life of Abu Dhabi.”

“With her proven leadership qualities, her experience and involvement in the founding of NYUAD, her superb academic qualifications, her skill as an institution-builder, in Mariet Westermann we found just such a person,” said President Hamilton.

Dr. Westermann, the Vice Chancellor-designate of NYU Abu Dhabi, said, “It is a great honor and calling to serve as NYU Abu Dhabi’s Vice Chancellor. In a brief nine years, NYU Abu Dhabi has become a unique, flourishing institution of higher education: in and of New York University, in and of Abu Dhabi, in and of the world, with a truly diverse and engaged student community, an outstanding and dedicated faculty, an innovative undergraduate curriculum, and an ambitious research agenda. At a time when international engagement is vital to the future of our planet, NYU Abu Dhabi is a beacon situated in a dynamic city and a historic crossroads.”

In addition to being named to the Vice Chancellorship, she will be appointed a Professor of Arts and Humanities at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Westermann has been at the Mellon Foundation since 2010, and has been the executive vice president for programs and research since 2016. In that role, she has launched initiatives that study and promote the value of the humanities and the liberal arts, strengthen community colleges, encourage graduate education reform, renew preservation of cultural heritage around the world, and support scholars and artists at risk. At Mellon, she has also led pathbreaking work on diversity and inclusion in American museums, and written extensively about the liberal arts, the humanities, and higher education. Prior to the foundation, she was on the faculty at NYU, first as director of the Institute of Fine Arts and then as the first provost of NYU Abu Dhabi, where she hired the startup team and initial faculty, helped shape the curriculum and launch the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, and developed warm relationships with the Abu Dhabi community, among other important undertakings. Before coming to NYU in 2002, she was associate director of the Clark Art Institute. From 1995 to 2001, she was an assistant and associate professor of art history at Rutgers.

She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Williams College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Masters and her PhD from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts.

Westermann’s principal area of scholarly interest is the art of the Netherlands, her native country. She is widely published in the field, including A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic 1585–1718 (1996); The Amusements of Jan Steen: Comic Painting in the 17th Century (1997); Rembrandt – Art and Ideas (2000); and numerous articles. She has edited five books, including Anthropologies of Art (2005). Her extensive work with museums includes her Rijksmuseum Dossier: Johannes Vermeer (2004); the curatorship of Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt (Denver Art Museum and Newark Museum, 2001); and numerous exhibition catalog essays. She is currently preparing an exhibition and book on the resonance of the Garden of Eden in the history, theology, and art of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with significant implications for garden practice in these cultures. She has been the recipient of fellowships, honors, and grants from a wide range of organizations, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Philosophical Society, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, Clark Art Institute, College Art Association, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

President Hamilton said, “Along with the announcement of this good news about Mariet, two expressions of gratitude in order. First, I am grateful to Dick Foley and Una Chaudhuri, the co-chairs of the Search Committee, and all the other members of the Committee. Their thoughtfulness, discernment, and perseverance have resulted in a wonderful person to lead NYU Abu Dhabi during the next stage of its development. The Committee members took on this important task in addition to their existing responsibilities, and I thank them.

“I would also like to take this occasion to extend NYU’s profound gratitude to Al Bloom, NYU Abu Dhabi’s inaugural vice chancellor. Turning a groundbreaking idea into a reality is one of the most exciting things one can do in one’s career, and one of the most difficult, perhaps particularly so in the field of higher education, where reputation matters so greatly and usually requires such a long time to build. Al made sure that NYU Abu Dhabi succeeded on every measure. Over time, the establishment of NYU Abu Dhabi will, without doubt, turn out to be one of the great success stories of higher education. Al should be very proud of what he’s accomplished; we are surely proud of him.”

NYU Abu Dhabi represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. Admissions selectivity and yield among students from over 120 countries equals or exceeds that of the most rigorous global institutions. And in under ten years, NYU Abu Dhabi has produced 12 Rhodes Scholars — the highest number of Rhodes Scholars per student of any university in the world – in addition to five Schwarzman Scholars and numerous other prestigious academic awards, including Truman and Luce Scholarships and Fulbright Awards.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. You can find the original here.

Fifth Edition of TEDx NYU Abu Dhabi Sheds Light on Ideas Hidden In Plain Sight

Posted on April 29, 2019, modified on April 15, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

As part of the TEDx series, a program that brings the spirit of TED’s mission of ideas worth spreading to local communities around the globe, NYU Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) student organized TEDxNYUAD returned for its fifth edition on Saturday, April 13 under the theme In Plain Sight.

Taking place in The Red Theater at the Arts Center at NYUAD this year’s event featured a diverse line-up of ten speakers who lead a series of talks about concepts hidden in plain sight.

Centered on the idea of advancing social thought and bringing about positive social impact, the fifth edition of TEDxNYUAD offered a range of topics pertaining to social science, psychology, art, engineering, and culture, among others.

The event featured a diverse line-up of ten speakers including NYU Abu Dhabi students, staff, and faculty. Some of the featured talks include:

Rock and Roll is Dead: Who Committed the Crime and Will There Be Justice?

NYUAD Graduate Academic and Engagement Manager Karl Kalinkewicz will explore how music consumption has changed throughout the last few decades, and how it affects society through the lens of his own personal journey as a 34-year-old living right in the middle of its evolution.

The Sports Majilis: Why it’s Essential to our Collective Future

Exploring the diversity in today’s locker rooms, NYUAD Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Athletics Peter Dicce will shed light on sport activism, and the sport locker room’s potential to be a powerful platform for social change.

Where Are the Female Arab Athletes?

Continuing the conversation on sport is NYUAD Class of 2021 Maitha AlSuwaidi, a student of Political Science who will address issues that impact women from the Gulf seeking to pursue sport at a professional level.

How Buildings Perform – The Invisible Actor

NYUAD Class of 2019 student Jagan Subramanian will draw on the related fields of neuroscience, phenomenology, and semiotics to see how buildings have historically contributed to the formation of social codes and how, if used correctly, it could serve as a way to undo social hierarchies and create more inclusive communities in the 21st century.

The Slippery Slope of Everyday Horror

NYUAD Director of Spiritual Life and InterCultural Education Alta Mauro will question what would happen if more individuals were willing to see, hear, and acknowledge the inhumane ways that some of us are disregarded, misrepresented, or manipulated, and whether it will ease the thought of neglect, abuse, and death.

What Climate Activists are Doing Wrong

With a strong passion for the environment, NYUAD Class of 2019 student Rastraraj Bhandari will highlight the unseen impact of accelerated glacial melting in the Himalayas and the importance of taking immediate action.

Conscious Guide to Gentrification

NYUAD Class of 2019 student Abraham Hdru will focus on the need to equip people with a better understanding of the nuances of gentrification, how it is caused by individuals embedded in a larger socio-economic condition, and ways to mitigate these effects in the future.

We Need to Start Telling Americans They are Ignorant

NYUAD Class of 2019 student Emma Tocci will reflect on her own experience navigating her feelings of ignorance when she began her undergraduate studies in Abu Dhabi and why it should matter to non-Americans.

When Being Strong is the Easy Way Out

NYUAD Community Outreach Coordinator Tala Hammash will discuss the misconception around strength and how and why it is courage, and not strength, that is the main ingredient of growth.

I Am A Child Hijabi – My Decision or My Parents?

High school student Imen Masmoudi will draw on her personal experiences to highlight the importance and effect of deciding to be veiled at a young age.

NYU Abu Dhabi Considers the City of the Future

Posted on February 18, 2019, modified on February 10, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

On February 11, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute hosted an event, Abu Dhabi and the City of the Future. Photographer Andrew Moore presented his images of Abu Dhabi in the context of other cities around the world that he has shot and done projects on. In particular, Moore’s talk focused on how the principles of intelligent urban design apply to these different cities and the lessons learned from both good and bad examples of architecture and city planning.

NYU Abu Dhabi Exhibits In-House Visual Design Work by Students and Faculty

Posted on January 18, 2019, modified on January 21, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

Design Works offers an overview of the body of in-house visual design work by students and faculty at NYU Abu Dhabi from 2012 to present.

Visual design practice entered the curriculum of the university in January 2012 with the offering of an elective course named Designing Abu Dhabi.

The course resulted in a cohort of students who embraced the beauty and complexity of visual communication theories and practices. Following the conclusion of the course, they formed the Design Collective, an autonomous group with the objective of implementing good design practice within NYUAD. Their efforts played a major role in setting our visual identity in the city.

In-house design supported the institution’s needs in outstanding ways to help the University to define its mission and vision. The creation of an English/Arabic logotype designed by one of the students stands out as a prime example.

“Some of their work is gone for good but many of their best designs are here. And they are here to stay: every time we welcome new students at Marhaba Week, every time we cheer for our Athletics teams, every time our seniors get to hold the silver Torch on Commencement day, the relevance of in-house visual design is apparent. Important conversations on branding, wayfinding and accessibility stemmed out of the discourse around design, and as we continue to grow, these topics will become more and more impactful. It is our hope that this show will inspire new students to continue the work of their predecessors for many years to come.”

Engineers for Social Impact at NYU Abu Dhabi

Posted on November 16, 2018, modified on November 6, 2018 by Martha J Bekink

“Being there with the people who will live in the house gave us a sense that our work is really important.”

NYU Abu Dhabi is preparing students to thrive in our ever-changing world and give back to local communities through Global Education and the Engineers for Social Impact program.

Students travel to countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India to help design and build infrastructure that improves quality of life for local populations.

In a recent video, students help build a sustainable home for a family in Jordan, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. You can view the complete video via the NYU Abu Dhabi website here.

Engineers for Social Impact (EfSI) supports and complements the mission of the Engineering Division and the broad goals of NYU Abu Dhabi through courses that emphasize experiential learning and projects that focus on developing globally-relevant, locally-sustainable designs that meet challenges and deliver on opportunities that enable individuals across global communities to more effectively realize their aspirations and ambitions.

By engaging with ethics in the classroom and ethnographic fieldwork off-campus, engineering students expand their comfort zones to work from vantage points of broader mindfulness of social, cultural, and economic aspects that are inextricably connected to technology-driven solutions in today’s hyper-connected world. Students may optionally enroll in a second, project-driven course focusing on the process of co-designing meaningful innovations, projects, and products with members of a selected community. Throughout all fieldwork, the goal is to connect with the processes, people, sights, sounds, experiences, and stories that are only accessible outside the classroom and bring new understanding to bear on the ways to address a wide range of issues and challenges in the courses and beyond.

The EfSI program is a collaboration between the Engineering Division and the Office of Global Education to deliver unparalleled international engagement with communities through partnerships with the Solar Energy Foundation in Ethiopia, URBZ/Urbanology in Dharavi, Mumbai, and Habitat for Humanity in Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

NYU Abu Dhabi Hosts the Story Behind the UAE’s First Multi-Organ Transplant Program

Posted on October 25, 2018, modified on October 24, 2018 by Martha J Bekink

Today, families in the UAE wait in hope that a life-saving organ may be donated to a critically ill loved on. In 2018, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi created history in the UAE by developing a comprehensive multi-organ transplant program which is already transforming patients’ lives. This talk explores how the transplants for four major organs – kidney, heart, liver and lung – are giving hope to families in the UAE and around the region by delivering a world-class level of care here in the nation’s capital, meeting the needs of the community while contributing to the sustainability of the country’s healthcare sector. On 24 October, 2018, NYU Abu Dhabi hosted an event on this topic.

Speakers
Rakesh Suri, MD; Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Bashir Sankari, MD; Chief of the Surgical Subspecialties Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Hosted by
NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

NYU Abu Dhabi Launches Fikret Science Club to Initiate Conversations on Science in Abu Dhabi

Posted on September 25, 2018, modified on September 21, 2018 by Martha J Bekink

NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology (CGSB) is organizing an ongoing series of informal public gatherings through its newly launched Fikret Science Club. Driven towards promoting an understanding of the scientific world to the Abu Dhabi community, the Club will explore various topics under certain themes such as: conservation of cultural heritage through science, biological rhythms and mood, climate change and environmental adaptation, and science in society, among others.

Launching on September 25, 2018, at 7pm, these two-hour long discussions will take place every month at LARTE Restaurant in Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi. Members of the CGSB will lead the monthly gatherings, including the Associate Director of CGSB Operations at NYU Abu Dhabi Enas Qudeimat, and Manager of Administration for the Provost at NYU Abu Dhabi Tiffany Kilfeather. The first talk is entitled A hydrogen atom’s view of ancient mummies and art forgers, and will be led by Assistant Professor of Chemistry at NYU Abu Dhabi Maria Baias.

“The purpose of this Club is to generate interest in science among our students and the wider Abu Dhabi public, as well as introduce participants with an appetite for science to a variety of scientific disciplines to further enhance their knowledge. We’re looking forward to launching this Club, and we hope that the wider Abu Dhabi public will benefit from these interactive sessions and realize the significant role science plays in our everyday lives.”

Associate Director of CGSB Operations at NYU Abu Dhabi Enas Qudeimat

Fikret Science Club is open to both established science enthusiasts and those curious to learn more.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. The original can be found here.