{"70001":{"#nid":"70001","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Chip White\u2019s Reflections of a Year in Abu Dhabi","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChelsea \u201cChip\u201d\nWhite, the Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics and former\nH. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart School Chair of Georgia Tech\u2019s Stewart School\nof ISyE, recently returned after spending a year in Abu Dhabi assisting in the\nlaunch of an industrial and systems engineering department and Logistics Institute\nat Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research. \u0026nbsp;In his role, White recruited faculty members\nfor the department\u2019s first year and helped attain initial departmental\naccreditation. \u0026nbsp;Additionally, he assisted\nthe faculty in identifying research projects and potential sponsors which provided\nthe basis for the Logistics Institute.\u0026nbsp;\nNow back at Georgia Tech, White looks forward to supporting the\ndevelopment of the academic unit and center at Khalifa University whenever possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAbu Dhabi, the\nlargest of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), approached\nGeorgia Tech to help build the educational base Abu Dhabi needs to transition\nfrom an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. \u0026nbsp;White was not the only Georgia Tech professor\nat Khalifa University; professors in Tech\u2019s biomedical engineering and\naerospace engineering schools also spent last year helping Khalifa University build\nacademic programs and recruit faculty.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELearn more about White\u2019s\nresidence in Abu Dhabi in the interview that follows.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Describe\nthe student body and campus at Khalifa University.\u0026nbsp; How does it compare to Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECW:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As this is only their third year, Khalifa\nUniversity has a small student body population, and most are undergraduates.\u0026nbsp; Compared to Georgia Tech, the student body\nand campus itself is much smaller, comprised of only six buildings.\u0026nbsp; Unlike other academic institutions in the\nregion, Khalifa University is research intensive and multi-cultural, and the\nfirst public co-educational university in the UAE.\u0026nbsp; Seventy percent of the\nstudents are Emirati,\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Ecitizens\u003Cstrong\u003E\n\u003C\/strong\u003Eof the UAE.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are some of the challenges involved in building a university from\nscratch?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EComing from Georgia\nTech where regulations, policies, administrative procedures, and faculty\ngovernance have been established for decades, it was challenging to develop and\nimplement such practices in a new university.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESome things that\nare very common in the university system here are issues there because of their\nculture and laws.\u0026nbsp; For example, in the\nUAE, non-Emirati can have work visas for a maximum of three years, which brings\ninto question whether or not tenure, in some form, is a viable concept.\u0026nbsp; It will be interesting to see how they\ngrapple with this and other challenges. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; What\nwould you consider your most significant accomplishments while in Abu Dhabi?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMy most significant\naccomplishment was hiring the new faculty and achieving initial accreditation.\u0026nbsp; Also, we were able to begin the process of\ngetting the new faculty started on research projects. \u0026nbsp;I made contacts with several government\nagencies and private firms to solicit what research would help them better\nperform their missions. \u0026nbsp;We are off to a\ngood start for what we have set out to do.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Now\nthat you\u2019ve spent a year in an oil rich country, what is your opinion on fuel\nconservation?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI think we would be\nvery wise to be a more energy independent country.\u0026nbsp; Interestingly, the UAE is more invested in\nsolar energy than we are per capita, and they realize the limitations of fossil\nfuels. \u0026nbsp;Also, they are very interested in\nconservation and have tremendous respect for the environment, providing a good example\nfor the rest of the world to emulate. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; What\nare some of the challenges you faced working in a different time zone and a\ndifferent work week structure? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe weekend in Abu\nDhabi is Friday and Saturday, with the work week being Sunday through\nThursday.\u0026nbsp; That means there were only\nthree overlapping days between here and there, which made my work week stretch out\nto almost seven days a week as I was very actively engaged in research with\nEastern Time Zone colleagues.\u0026nbsp; In\naddition to the work week difference, I was eight hours ahead of my research\ncolleagues and graduate students in the United States, making it challenging to\ncommunicate.\u0026nbsp; In a way, my day started\ntwice.\u0026nbsp; I would get up and be at Khalifa\nUniversity at 8:00 a.m. UAE time.\u0026nbsp; When I\nleft work at 5:00 p.m., it was 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. in the U.S.\u0026nbsp; As my day was ending in Abu Dhabi, the day\nfor my colleagues and graduate students back in the States was just\nbeginning.\u0026nbsp; This is when emails would\nstart coming in and I would have Skype meetings with those in the Eastern Time\nZone. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Did\nyou stay in the expat bubble or immerse yourself in the nation\u2019s culture?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOnly 10% of people\nin Abu Dhabi are Emirati, the rest are expats. \u0026nbsp;We lived in the Shangri-la Hotel which would\nbe considered an expat bubble.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThree blocks away\nfrom the Shangri-la was a co-op where one could buy food or clothing. When we\nshopped there, we were often the only non-Emirati there. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDubai was less than\ntwo hours north of Abu Dhabi.\u0026nbsp; There, we\nwould shop at one of their large souks, which is a traditional Arabic market.\u0026nbsp; We attended the Al Dhafra Camel Festival, an\nannual celebration where locals participate in activities such as camel races,\ntrading, and camel beauty pageants. \u0026nbsp;It\nwas one of many very interesting opportunities for us to engage in the Emirati\nculture. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring Ramadan, the\nCrown Prince of UAE, hosts Iftar lectures, which occur right before Iftar, the\nevening meal when Muslims break their fast. \u0026nbsp;I attended two lectures in Abu Dhabi.\u0026nbsp; One lecture was on the \u003Cem\u003EFuture of\nSustainable Transportation\u003C\/em\u003E, and another lecture I attended was entitled \u003Cem\u003EFundamentalist\nIslam versus Modernist Islam\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp; There\nwere approximately 400 people there, mostly Emirati.\u0026nbsp; The lectures and the related social\ninteractions were fascinating.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWe also enjoyed\nexpat activities in Abu Dhabi.\u0026nbsp; During\nour stay, we were able to experience events such as a Formula 1 race, a tennis\nmatch between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the world\u0027s top two tennis\nplayers, and attend a concert guided by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.\u0026nbsp; We were within\nseven minutes of walking distance to 14 restaurants. Several of them were noted\nas being the finest in the region. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe expat culture\nis quite different than living here in the U.S.\u0026nbsp;\nIn the expat community, there are only other expats. So, it promotes a\nsocial cohesion that we do not experience here.\u0026nbsp;\nWhile we are delighted to be back, we miss the friends we made while\nthere.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; What\ndid you enjoy most about the culture of Abu Dhabi?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIt is a very\nexciting time to be in the Middle East and Abu Dhabi and experience its healthy\nand vibrant culture.\u0026nbsp; The people of the UAE\nare very family oriented and have strong family traditions.\u0026nbsp; I respect them tremendously for that.\u0026nbsp; I enjoyed getting to know them and look\nforward to going back.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Was\nthe trip a success?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ENo matter how you\ndefine success, the answer is yes. Professionally and personally, it was a\nsuccess. We are still basking in the glow of an idyllic year in Abu Dhabi and\nthe sense of accomplishment as well. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EISyE:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; How\nwill you apply what you learned in Abu Dhabi to your work at Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne thing I became\naware of while working at Khalifa University, is that if you are building a\nuniversity to be an agent of social and economic change, the focus on research\nshould include, perhaps emphasize, innovation.\u0026nbsp;\nAfter my experience in Abu Dhabi, I am more inclined to believe the\nfocus of our work should be to continue past the idea stage, and work towards creating\na product, service, or process that will make a societal impact.\u0026nbsp; Rather than stopping after our research has\nbeen published, our goal should be to put our research into practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESpending a year in\nAbu Dhabi, I have come back with a refreshed cultural and geopolitical point of\nview.\u0026nbsp; The more we appreciate and respect\nother cultures, the more we realize that there are more similarities than\ndifferences between us.\u0026nbsp; The people of\nthat region are doing remarkable things and there is much to be learned from\ntheir culture.\u0026nbsp; I wish Khalifa University\nall the success in the world.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChelsea \u201cChip\u201d\nWhite recently returned after spending a year in Abu Dhabi assisting in the\nlaunch of an industrial and systems engineering department and Logistics Institute\nat Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2011-09-14 15:02:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:09","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"70002":{"id":"70002","type":"image","title":"Khalifa University","body":null,"created":"1449177288","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:48","changed":"1475894614","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:34","alt":"Khalifa University","file":{"fid":"192883","name":"kustar.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kustar_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kustar_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":41153,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kustar_0.jpg?itok=clZaf3NH"}},"70003":{"id":"70003","type":"image","title":"Map of the UAE","body":null,"created":"1449177288","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:48","changed":"1475894614","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:34","alt":"Map of the UAE","file":{"fid":"192884","name":"uae-map.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/uae-map_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/uae-map_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":55014,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/uae-map_0.jpg?itok=A1S6dQn2"}},"70004":{"id":"70004","type":"image","title":"Camels racing during the Al Dhafri Camel Festival","body":null,"created":"1449177288","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:48","changed":"1475894614","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:34","alt":"Camels racing during the Al Dhafri Camel Festival","file":{"fid":"192885","name":"al_dhafri_camel_festival.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/al_dhafri_camel_festival_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/al_dhafri_camel_festival_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":39936,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/al_dhafri_camel_festival_0.jpg?itok=6rZ5vpMl"}}},"media_ids":["70002","70003","70004"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10278","name":"Abu Dhabi"},{"id":"8381","name":"Chelsea"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"13907","name":"Khalifa University"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}