ABU DHABI // Weather towers could automatically credit farmers' mobile phones as a cheap and quick form of insurance in times of drought. And small villages in isolated rural areas could one day be connected to a solar-panelled microgrid.
These are a snapshot of the ideas researchers discussed at a conference yesterday at the New York University Abu Dhabi's (NYUAD) new centre for technology and economic development.
The centre is among the first projects to benefit from a US$20 million (Dh73m) NYUAD research grant to fund science and humanities research, and is unique because it is based in Abu Dhabi, and is not an extension of a New York-based project.
"The point is to make an impact here and to help establish Abu Dhabi as a leader in the top research," said Dr Yaw Nyarko, the director of the centre.
"The focus is on poorer countries, but we are hoping that the research will even have an impact on richer countries and that the lessons learnt will be transferred here in the UAE in some way."
As the number of mobile phone users climbs in underdeveloped parts of the world, researchers at the new centre are considering the ways texting and phone credits could be used for commerce in rural markets.
The conference panel included experts from the Masdar Institute and the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore, who discussed projects currently being pilot-tested in Africa and Asia.
Dr Nyarko and others are examining the practice of transferring credits, or mobile minutes, as a method of payment.
Mobile phones could also be useful for "telemedicine" to consult with doctors or detect fake drugs.
"In cases where fake drugs to treat malaria contain chalk, that could be ingested and kill someone," Dr Nyarko said.
"By taking a picture of a bar code or the pill itself, we may be able to detect fakes and save lives."
econroy@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed | Dh180,000 | 1,600m
6.30pm Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 | 2,400m
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