Sustainable Energy-Water-Environment Nexus in Deserts

lt;p>Essam Heggy is an Egyptian space scientist. Heggy obtained his Ph.D. in astronomy and planetary science in 2002 with distinguished honors from the Paris-Sorbonne University in Paris. His main science interests in space and planetary geophysics cover Mars, the Moon, icy satellites, and near-Earth objects. His research involves probing structural, hydrological, and volcanic elements in terrestrial and planetary environments using different types of radar imaging and sounding techniques as well as measuring the electromagnetic properties of rocks in the radar frequency range. His research expertise spans from laboratory electromagnetic characterization of planetary analog materials, radar sounding of aquifers in hyper-arid environments, GPR surveys in volcanic and ice-rich environments, FDTD numerical simulations of wave propagation, and terrestrial and planetary radars data analysis. Heggy is a member of the science teams of several planetary exploration missions, and he is a contributing scientist to several proposed planetary and terrestrial radar imaging and sounding experiments. Heggy taught academic classes and mentored several postdocs and graduated students in UCLA, Caltech, Cambridge University, Paris VI & Paris VII universities, Institut de Physique du Globe, Ecole Normale Superieure, University of Houston, Trento University, and Columbia University. 

Verónica Bermudez Benito is a senior research director at QEERI (Qatar Environment Research Institute) where she is the director of the Energy Center and leads the efforts in research, technology development, and innovation in energy. Under her leadership, QEERI works in energy management (smart grids, EV, demand-response, power management, ...), energy storage (high capacity concepts and outdoor test and reliability), energy conversion (mainly downstream PV and adaptability and durability to harsh climates), energy efficiency and sustainable development, catalysis and process technologies for added value products, and disruptive technologies (mainly solar rectennas and sensors). Prior to joining the organization in 2018, she was an acting general manager of the Technology Division of the Atsugi Research Center at Solar Frontier KK in Japan. She has also held a position of a principal scientist at EDF R&D, a senior scientist at NEXCIS (start-up, where she took part of the founding team), and the head of the Optoelectronic Characterization Laboratory at IRDEP (EDF) in France, between others. And it is in the Advisory Board of a number of entities. Verónica has a Ph.D. in Physics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) and holds a number of international awards for her research activity. She is an associate editor in Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy and acts as an independent expert for a number of international funding agencies such as the European Commission and European National funding bodies. She is also the author or co-author of more than 120 scientific papers in renown journals, including Nature, Nature Energy and Science, has delivered a large number of invited and keynote talks in several international conferences, as well as has a relevant patent portfolio. She has extensive experience in laboratory to industry research and technology transfer in the¬ field of renewable energy, in almost the whole value chain, from materials development to grid integration for generation, storage, and energy management solutions. She is an IEEE senior fellow and is actively engaged in promoting science among the youth, with a focus on STEM for women. Her research interests are on sustainable energy solutions including PV alternative applications and its integration in residential and added value markets, supported by battery deployment and energy management systems in smart grids opening the door to future clean transportation.

Modelling the effect of the pumping variations' on the groundwater quality in the semi-arid Aquifers.- Assessment of Groundwater Aquifer Impact from Artificial Lagoons and the Re-use of Wastewater in Qatar.- Temporal groundwater level prediction using multivariate geostatistics: a case study from Sfax superficial aquifer (Tunisia).- Integration of electromagnetic method and resistivity depth sounding in the evaluation of groundwater potentials of Araromi phases 1 and 2, Akungba-Akoko, southwestern Nigeria.- Contribution to the Study of Fluoride Ion Concentrations in Groundwater and its Impact on the Desert Areas of South-eastern Algeria.- Groundwater stability assessment with geospatial modeling using GIS:  a case study of ILLIZI town, Algeria.- Efficiency assessment of AHP and fuzzy AHP in suitability mapping for artificial recharging (Case study: south of Kashan basin, Isfahan, Iran).- Statistical methods for the evaluation of water quality.- Research on innovative materials andtechnologies for water treatment and water desalination: A conceptual analysis from 1969 to 2019.- The Microbial and Physicochemical Analysis and Treatment of Groundwater of South Punjab, Pakistan.- Removal of cyanotoxins in drinking water using advanced oxidation processes.- Microplastic detection and analysis in water samples.- Column Adsorption Studies of phenolic compounds on nanoparticles synthesized from Moroccan phosphate rock.- Summary of Field Trial Results of the Treatment of Contaminated Water using Non-fouling Super Hydrophilic Functionalized Ceramic Membranes.- Preliminary study for phosphate recovery from starch factory wastewater using porous aluminum.- Removal of organic compounds from olive mill wastewater by flotation-anaerobic-aerobic processes and lime treatment.- Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Technologies for Appropriate Agricultural use in Jordan.