Graduate studies committee

D. RESEARCH

Ghassan Antar

1. 
   Plasma Physics:
   
   1. 
      The construction of the Lebanese Linear Plasma Device (LLPD) is under way. It is 95% complete where the magnetic field and vacuum systems tested with success.
      
   2. 
      Turbulence properties as radio frequency waves are applied. This issue is
      

being studied on the Tore Supra and the ASDEX-Upgrade tokamaks in

collaboration with the CEA-Cadarache (France) and the ASDEX upgrade team (Germany).

3. 
   We are performing measurements, using high speed imaging and probes,
   

as well as numerical simulation of the plasma resulting from the pulsed

laser deposition (PLD) system. Four FYP students from the Mechanical

Engineering worked on this topic as well one graduate student.

1. 
   Coating of tungsten on graphite and a copper alloy for fusion applications using the PLD. This is done in collaboration with Dr. A. Said from the Lebanese University, Dr. M. Roumieh from the Lebanese CEA and Dr. C. Madi from AUB.
   
1. 
   Geophysical Flows simulations
   
   1. 
      Rotating liquid shallow flows using electrolytes to simulate the weather dynamics in the north poles of planets. Collaboration with Drs. M. Darwish and C. Habchi on numerical simulation.
      
   2. 
      Investigating inverse vs. direct cascades in two-dimensional turbulence using experimental and numerical experiments in collaboration with Dr. C. Habchi.
      
   3. 
      Effect of the boundaries in affecting the energy cascades in 2D turbulent flows.
      
2. 
   Image analyses of cancer cells interacting with stem cells, a project in collaboration with Dr. N. Alaaddine at USJ.
   
3. 
   Continue working on the effect of noise on the evolution of nonlinear systems with M. Hammoud.
   

Mounib El-Eid

1. 
   Articles in Progress:
   

1. 
   Jordi Jose*, Ghina M. Halabi, Mounib F. El Eid. “Synthesis of Carbon rish Dust in Novae in CO Novae Outburst.”
   

2. 
   PhD Projects in Progress:
   

1. 
   Magnetic Reconnection (MGR): This is a continuing project of Mr. Mostafa Hammoud. MGR is currently a hot field of research and became a strong support by the recently launched mission by the NASA called “Magnetospheric Multiscale”, (MMS). MGR is a universal plasma process that convert magnetic energy into heat and kinetic energy of charged particles. Many astrophysical applications are related to magnetic reconnection, such as heating of the solar corona from which the solar wind originates. This leads to the geomagnetic storm. Any progress on this subject will put us on international scientific level.
   

Collaboration with Dr. Marwan Darwish, (Department of Mechanical Engineering, AUB), who is an expertise in fluid dynamics and Dr. Maher Dayeh (research scientist, Space Science &Engineering Division Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA). Dr. Dayeh is well oriented in the observation of MGR.

2. 
   Theory of Star Formation: This project started by Ms. Cynthia Saad who has completed her MSc degree with me in this field. She has investigated effects of the magnetic field on the collapse of giant molecular cloud. She is extending this work including radiation transport in order to follow the evolution of molecular cloud to the stage of protostar formation. This project is rather promising and uses modern computational tools of fluid-plasma dynamics.
   
3. 
   MSc Projects:
   

9. 
   Ms. Fatima Safieddine: This project is related to the subject of the PhD project of Mr. Mostafa Hammoud. Ms. Safieddine is investigating the physical nature of dissipation processes in the diffusion region where the magnetic reconnection occurs releasing tremendous amount of magnetic energy. This project has high learning effect in applying physical principles to study an exciting phenomenon.
   

2. 
   Mr. Hassan Hammoud: This project deals with the late stage of relatively low mass stars evolving to the so called asymptotic giant branch (AGB).during which the stars suffers thermal pulsations. These pulsations lead to the formation of heavy elements beyond iron and to the production of carbon and fluorine. The focus in this project is an improved treatment of nuclear fusion processes together with convective mixing.
   

Collaboration: A collaboration is going on with Dr. Bradley Meyer, physics department at Clemson University, SC), in particular on the formation of nuclei by fusion reactions in the AGB stars.
Samih Isber

1. 
   “Synthesis and Physical Property Characterization for (Co_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄)_x/ Cu_0.5Tl_0.5 -1223 Composites”. In collaboration with R. Awad*.
   
2. 
   “High frequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy”.
   

I will be working on setting up a new EPR Spectrometer operating at

V-Band (75 GHz). Such system will provide an increase in the resolution of EPR spectra; an increase in sensitivity as well as the detection of fine structure for magnetic centers with large-zero field splitting. In collaboration with T. Christidis.

Leonid Klushin

1. 
   “Molecular sensors and switches based on polymer brushes”. Supported by German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG) Grant SCHM 985/13-1.
   
2. 
   Collective behavior of swarms.
   

3. Entropic forces in confined macromolecules
Malek Tabbal
1. “Growth and characterization of functional oxide thin films by plasma and laser based processes.” On-going research.

2.   “Optical characterization of wide band-gap semiconductors synthesized by pulsed laser deposition.” On-going research.

3. “Modification of the physical properties of materials by surface nano-structuring” on-going research funded by the LCNRS and Masri Institute in collaboration with Prof. M. Kazan and the Univ. de Technologie de Troyes.
Jihad Touma

1. 
   “Dynamical evolution of circumbinary gaseous discs.”
   
2. 
   “The statistical mechanics of stellar clusters around super-massive black holes.”
   
3. 
   “Self-organization of systems of coupled self-propelled particles.”
   

E. OTHER STAFF ACTIVITIES
Ghassan Antar

1. 
   Chairperson of the Physics Department.
   
2. 
   Member of the FAS Undergraduate Student Academic Affairs Committee
   
3. 
   Reviewer for the journals IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Experiments in Fluids and Physics of Plasmas.
   
4. 
   Member of the URE committee for undergraduate research
   
5. 
   Member of the Kamal Shair CRSL committee
   
6. 
   Conference: “Controlling Turbulence by RF Waves” 2015 Joint US/EU Transport Task Force Workshop in Salem, MA (USA).
   
7. 
   Invited talks:
   
   1. 
      “The interaction of RF waves with edge turbulence in tokamaks,” University of California, San Diego (USA).
      
   2. 
      “Controlling Turbulence by RF Waves,” UCLA (USA).
      
   3. 
      “Controlling Turbulence by RF Waves in tokamaks” to the DIII-D group in General Atomics, San Diego (USA).
      

Mounib El-Eid

1. 
   Adviser of sophomore and graduate students
   
2. 
   Member of the task force for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the CNRSL
   
3. 
   Member of the graduate committee of FAS and the board of Graduate Study.
   
4. 
   Invited Lecturer: 8^th European Summer School on Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics, Santa Tecla, Sicily, Italy. Sept. 13-20, 2015.
   

Samih Isber

1. 
   Chair, FAS, Kamal Shair CRSL Review Panel.
   
2. 
   Member, FAS Advisory Committee.
   
3. 
   Poster presentation, “Magnetic property and X-ray crystallography of bis[(²-chloro)chloro(1,10-phenanthroline)copperII)] Complex.” Euromar on magnetic resonance, July 05- 10, Prague, Czech Republic (2015).
   

Malek Tabbal

1. 
   Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
   
2. 
   Director of the USAID University Scholarship Programs II, IV V and VI.
   
3. 
   Provost designee and program monitor USAID University Scholarship
   

Programs VII.

4. 
   Invited Professor at the Univ. de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), France
   

(Recipient of an “Ardennes-Champagne Region” Fellowship).

5. 
   Chair of the UPP advisory committee.
   
6. 
   Member of the AUB D-Rasati II Team.
   
7. 
   Coordinator, Leader for Democracy Fellowship Program (MEPI) at AUB.
   
8. 
   Assessment Coordinator of FAS Program Learning Outcomes.
   
9. 
   Member of the CEDRE II Committee (LCNRS & MEHE).
   
10. 
    Reviewer for Physics of Plasmas and Thin Solid Films.
    
11. 
    Chair, FAS Undergraduate Research Experience Initiative Committee.
    
12. 
    Member of the jury of the 6th Annual AUB Biomedical Research Day,
    

February 2016.

13. 
    Member of the advisory committee of the Lebanese Association of the
    

Advancement of Science (LAAS).

14. 
    Poster presentation, 6th Annual AUB Biomedical Research Day, Beirut, Feb. 2016, with P. Zakka, M. Hotait, K. Al Feghali, I. Abu Gheida, P. Tadei, C. Saade, M., Hourani, F. Geara, P. Sfeir, W. Jalbout, W. AlJaroudi, A. Jurjus, B. Youssef, M. Refaat, “Swine Atrioventricular node ablation using radiation therapy: methods and an in vivo feasibility investigation for catheter-free ablation of cardiac arrhythmias.”
    
15. 
    Member of PhD thesis committee of Rana Nicolas (Physics-Universite Technologique de Troyes, France).
    
16. 
    Invited talks :
    

1. 
   “Phase control and selectivity in the synthesis of materials by pulsed laser deposition” LNIO, Univ. Tech. Troyes, Troyes, France, October 2015.
   
2. 
   “Analysis of the vibrational, structural, and optical properties of semiconductor heterostructures by means of infrared techniques.” GREMI, Universite d’Orleans, Orleans, France, November 2015.
   

Jihad Touma

1. 
   Invited talk. Workshop on “Vlasov-Poisson: Towards numerical methods
   

without particles.” Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto

University, June 1-12, 2015.

2. 
   Visiting Professorship, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India,
   

2015-18.


F. PUBLICATIONS
Ghassan Antar

1. 
   C. Habchi and G. Antar, “The dynamics of two-dimensional turbulence excited at two scales using electromagnetic forces”. Physics of Fluids 28, 055102 (2016);
   
2. 
   Habchi, Charbel, and Ghassan Antar. “Direct numerical simulation of electromagnetically forced flows using OpenFOAM.” Computers & Fluids116 (2015): 1-9.
   
3. 
   A. Ekedahl, G. Antar, M. Goniche and A. Asghar, “The role of the plasma current in the turbulence decrease during lower hybrid current drive” submitted as a Letter to Nuclear Fusion.
   

Mounib El-Eid

1. 
   M.F. El Eid. “Introduction of AGB Stars.” Journal of Physics Conference Series, Vol. 703, 012005 (2016).
   
2. 
   M.F. El Eid (among 43 leading researchers in Nuclear Astrophysics). “White Paper on Nuclear Astrophysics.” Cornell University Library, Xiv_1603.02213.
   
3. 
   G. Halabi & M.F. El Eid. “Exploring Masses and CNO Abundances of Red Giant Stars.” MNRAS. 45, 2957 (2015).
   

Samih Isber

1. 
   H. H. Hammud*, M. Mroueh*, C. Daher*, E Hariri*, S. Demirdjian*, S. Isber, E. S. Choi* and B. Mirtamizdoust*. “Magnetic property, DFT calculation, and biological activity of bis[(m²-chloro)chloro(1,10-phenanthroline)copper(II)] complex.” Chemico-Biological Interactions, 231, pp. 53, (2015).
   

Leonid Klushin

1. 
   Qi, S.*, Klushin, L., Skvortsov, A.M.*, Polotsky, A.A.*, Schmid, F*. “Responsive brushes with active minority components: Monte Carlo study and analytical theory.” Macromolecules 48, pp.3775-3787 (2015).
   
2. 
   Al Sayegh, A., Touma, J., and Klushin, L. “Steady and transient states in low-energy swarms: Stability and first-passage times.” Phys. Rev., E Vol. 93, 032602, (2016).
   

Jihad Touma

1. 
   J. Touma and S. Shridhar*. “The disruption of multiplanet systems through resonance with a binary orbit.” Nature, Vol. 524, 439-441, (2015).
   
2. 
   A. Al Sayegh, J. Touma and L. Klushin. “Steady and transient states in low-energy swarms: Stability and first-passage times.” Phys. Rev., E Vol. 93, 032602, (2016) – Submitted Oct. 2015.
   

__________________

* Not Associated with A.U.B.


G. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The Physics Department ought to continue promoting the graduate program inside Lebanon in order to attract better and more students.

We are looking forward to finishing the Computational Lab and to have the equipment installed and operational allowing students and faculty in the field of computational physics to have a space to work and to collaborate.
We shall continue reviewing our graduate courses with the goal to make the program more coherent in terms of learning outcomes. The Department will be collecting more data on the PLOs and the analysis will be discussed with all Faculty members in departmental meetings.
The major challenge to the Physics Department remains to re-establish the PhD in Physics and thus to include the experimental component into the program. We have started this process and looked into modifying the requirements for the PhD program. By doing so, we came to the conclusion that a new course of Mathematics should be given to our graduate students. Consequently, three steps are needed to achieve our goal, (1) design of a new required course, (2), modify the requirements for the PhD by removing the required courses and making them all electives and (3) prepare and file for a change in the title from ‘PhD in Theoretical Physics’ to ‘PhD in Physics’.
One new faculty line will be advertised in order to strengthen the experimental program and enlarge our offerings in elective courses.


Ghassan Antar

Chairperson
DEPARTMENT OF

POLITICAL STUDIES AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

1. 
   SUMMARY OF PROGRAMS
   

The PSPA Department continued to grow during the 2015-2016 academic year. The most significant development has been the integration of Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) in the PSPA Department. This has broadened the department’s scope of activities and enhanced its international recognition. PSPA faculty continued to produce quality research in international publishing houses and academic journals. The PSPA faculty members are very much sought after by the media, consulting firms and international conference organizers. The PSPA Department has more than 70 graduate students and 400 undergraduate students. Last year, more than 2000 AUB students enrolled in PSPA courses. The department has every reason to be proud of its achievements as it seeks to extend them to higher peaks.

2. 
   PERSONNEL
   

5. 
   Faculty Members
   
   

   Khashan, Hilal (Chair)	Professor	Ph.D.
   Hazbun, Waleed	Associate Professor	Ph.D.
   Khodr, Hiba Makdisi, Karim Reiche, Danyel Frangie, Samer Haddad, Tania Pison Hindawi, Coralie Porras-Gomez, Antonio Tell, Tariq Geukjian, Ohannes Hanf, Theodor Geha, Carmen Part-Time El-Khazen, Farid Achkar, Roger Gebara, Khalil Goodfield, Eric Jurdi, Nidal Krayem, Hassan Kreidie, Lina Masri, Shafic Nakib, Khalil Yazigi, Kamal Bitar-Ghanem, George Fadlallah, Ali Ghaddar, Sima Haddad, Simon Haidar, Mahmud Hankir, Samer Hanna, Elias Yafawi, Amr	Associate Professor Associate Professor Associate Professor Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Lecturer Visiting Professor Visiting Assistant Professor Professor Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Instructor Instructor Instructor Instructor Instructor Instructor Instructor Instructor	Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. M.A. M.A. M.A. M.A. M.A. M.A. M.A. M.A.

6. 
   Graduate Assistants
   
   
   

Fall Semester
Alcantar, Megan		Kayssi, Issam
Banders, Christopher Brown, Alexander Fairbanks, Waylon Issa, Carla		Seghaier, Roua Simpson, Lacia Zalzal, Yara

Spring Semester
Alcantar, Megan		Fairbanks, Waylon
Banders, Christopher		Issa, Carla
Bou Fadel, Mireille Brown, Alexander Clough, Stephanie El-Dheiby, Mohamad		Kaysi, Issam McPherson, Nathaniel Zalzal, Yara

7. 
   Student Assistants
   
   
   

Fall Semester		Spring Semester
Breiche, Jad		Kassar, Sari
Moussa, Wael		Saba, Rai

8. 
   Non-Academic Staff
   

Hitti Bou Fadel, Milia

Administrative Assistant

3. 
   TEACHING
   

1. 
   Number of Graduating Majors
   

BA	Oct. 2015	11
	Feb. 2016	18
	Jun. 2016	36

MA	Oct. 2015	1
	Feb. 2016	1
	Jun. 2016	6

2. Number of Majors

Graduates		055
Seniors		155
Juniors		137
Sophomores		117