Qatari and NASA partnerships over the years include the 2020 joint research project that was aimed at addressing global concern on water security and climate change.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University and renowned U.S. space agency NASA are set to enhance HBKU’s academic programmes at the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) through a new memorandum of understanding.

The MoU will provide students from CSE’s new Qatar Centre for Quantum Computing (QC2) the opportunity to immerse themselves in a holistic experience in technology development.

“This MoU underscores our commitment to advancing the frontiers of knowledge by collaborating with world-renowned partners, which, in turn, facilitate high-impact research addressing the societal and economic needs of Qatar and the world,” Dr Saif Al Kuwari, Director of QC2, said.

The Qatari institution will employ advanced technology to model and test systems, enhancing students’ research capabilities in their respective fields. This partnership aims to offer training, education, and workforce development in these technologies to benefit both entities.

“The scope of our collaboration with NASA is extensive and ambitious, not to mention in line with the work and objectives of our quantum centre,” Al Kuwari explained. “We are eager to work with NASA and push the boundaries of quantum technologies, driving innovation and progress in this cutting-edge field.”

This is not the first time that Qatari institutions and NASA have collaborated together over the years.

In 2020, Qatar Foundation (QF) and NASA initiated a joint research project to address global concerns about water security and climate change by detecting underground water in deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Known as the ‘Orbiting Arid Subsurfaces and Ice Sheet Sounder (OASIS)’, this project was launched under a reimbursable Space Act Agreement between NASA and QF, represented by HBKU and its Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI).

The collaboration aimed to design a satellite mission dedicated to identifying and monitoring aquifers in the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

The OASIS project’s researchers are also studying the makeup of land under ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica to understand the different pathways by which ice flows to the ocean, paving the way for future responses to climate change challenges.

“The OASIS study project will explore a promising complementary observing approach that can contribute to our understanding about these two areas of Earth science research,” Gerald Bawden, NASA programme scientist for the OASIS project, previously said.

In 2021, QEERI also hosted a high-level delegation from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where both parties ​​ reviewed the water study’s progress.