doha • The Chemistry programme at Texas A&M Univsersity at Qatar (Tamuq) held its first annual chemistry conference, sponsored by Qatar Fertilizer Company (Qafco). This conference celebrated the inauguration of the chemistry facilities of Tamuq in Education City. The meeting focused mostly on faculty research.

Organisers invited 11 speakers from Texas A&M University, Qatar University, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and Texas A&M University at Qatar to present their most recent results in the various disciplines of Chemistry. The subjects covered varied from polymer chemistry to physical, analytical, and biological chemistry. One of the invited speakers, Dr Donald J Darensbourg, spoke about the synthesis of polycarbonates, polymers with various industrial applications, using carbon dioxide.

The conference started by an introduction by Dr Hassan S. Bazzi, Tamuq Science Programme Coordinator and Chair of the Organising Committee. Dr James C.Holste, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of Tamuq, gave a presentation about Tamuq to the audience of over 60 chemists. Khalifa Al Sowaidi, General Manager of Qafco, spoke about the line of products of Qafco and the importance of collaboration with Tanuq and other academic institutions in Qatar.

Dr Holste and Dr Bazzi presented gifts to Al Sowaidi for his support of such events, and to Dr Siham Al Qaradawi, Dean of of the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University, and Dr El-Metwally Nour, Head of the Chemistry Department at QU, for their support of Tamuq.

Dr Bazzi said: “This event reflects Texas A&M University’s commitment to provide the best resources available to faculty and researchers in Education City and in the State of Qatar as they undertake the processes of innovation and the creation of knowledge. We are looking forward to next year’s conference.”