Sharjah 24: In implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to conduct scientific research in areas closely related to the societies of the UAE and the region; and as part of the continuous endeavour towards integrating academic research with practical and field applications, the Sharjah Research Academy, the University of Sharjah (UoS) and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, adopted a research entitled "Developing asphalt blends for United Arab Emirates highways" to enhance the performance of the road network in the United Arab Emirates.

The project aims to develop a new generation of asphalt blends specifications according to the method Superpave mixture design to enhance the UAE road network performance and compatibility with the requirements of the climate and local traffic. 

Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Amr Abdel Hamid, Director General of the Sharjah Research Academy, and according to the project outputs, the project yielded many achievements in the academic and applied fields, and researches were published in prestigious scientific journals and conferences at the global level.  Members of the research team, represented by engineers Ali Juma Al Naqbi and Muhammad Wajih Al-Ani, won the Sharjah Sustainability Award in in 2021.

Sharjah Research Academy hosted the work team to value achievements and lay a foundation towards more excellence, hard work and future plans. The meeting was held in the presence of the work team from the academy and the university, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Mufid Al-Samarrai, principal researcher on the project and senior advisor at the Sharjah Research Academy, Prof. Dr. Ghazi Al-Khatib, Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr. Walid Ziada, principal researcher and project supervisor at the University of Sharjah and the researchers Dr. Hanshi Lee and Eng. Omar Al Nuaimi from Sharjah Research Academy.

Prof. Mufid Al-Samarrai praised the efforts of the work team and the achievements of the project, and then congratulated the team for their contribution to winning the Sharjah Sustainability Award. He also discussed in the meeting the future of asphalt blends and specifications and the next steps towards completing the project.