Dr. Irene Samy

Dr. Irene Samy

Director of Smart Engineering Systems Research Center (SESC)

Faculty Office Ext.

1728

Faculty Building

UB2

Office Number

G40

Biography

Irene S. Fahim (Senior Member, IEEE- EDS chair) an associate Professor, Industrial and Service Engineering and Management department, Nile University Cairo, Egypt and the Director for Smart Engineering systems research center, Nile University. She is a Fulbright alumna. She earned in 2018 a Diploma of development practice, Regis University, Denver, USA. She finished my PhD in Mechanical Engineering, The American University in Cairo (AUC). Egypt in 2015. Before that, she earned her master’s and BSC in Mechanical Engineering, AUC. She won the state encouragement award for women 2020, and Hazem Ezzat Research excellence award, 2021 and Loreal UNESCO for Women in Science 2021 Egypt young talents program. She received a grant for Egypt Higher Education Climate change partnerships Grants in collaboration with Nottingham University and the British council. She received a grant for capacity building for “Women in Science and Engineering" from IEEE Circuits and Systems Society. She also received several grants for gender equality and capacity building in Education from the British council. She was selected in 2019 to be among the members of the first scientific council of the Egyptian Young Academy of Sciences (EYAS) as a part of the Academy of Scientific Research & Technology (ASRT) to empower and encourage young Egyptian scientists in science and technology. She participated in Fulbright Junior Faculty program for renewable energy in 2016. I was also a part of an Entrepreneurship and leadership Program, 1000Women, Goldman Sachs,2016 which was executed at AUC for 6 Months. She won Newton Mosharfa institutional link award for two years in collaboration with Nottingham University, UK. for manufacturing plastic bags from natural materials where She got acknowledged by Mr. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for my work at the 3rd National Youth Conference in Ismailia, April 2017. She is a member in the Power Africa steering committee, volunteer in IEEE Smart Village committee and treasurer of IEEE CIS Chapter, Egypt. Moreover, she was one of the members in the Events Committee of the IEEE Humanitarian Activities, 2018.She was also the technical chair for the first IEEE SIGHT Egypt ideation camp 2018. She is currently a member of the impartial committee of the body for granting certificates of conformity for products, the General Organization for the Control of Exports, and Imports. She is also one of topical advisory panel, in Polymers Journal, MDPI, She is also a member of the Coronavirus Global R&I Collaboration Portal and a member in the Leaders in Innovation alumni society, Royal academy of Engineering and a member in the Egyptian National Network Nanotechnology.

Achievements

1) Irene Samy received the Encourgamnet state award for Financial from ASRT

2) Irene Samy received the Research Excellence award from Nile University

3) Irene Samy received the Excellent Speaker Award from International Conference on Multidisciplinary Sciences and Advanced Technologies (ICMSAT2020), Malaysia.

4) Irene Samy received the 3rd Place Shark Zone Startup Competition from Vested Summit, Egypt.

5) Irene Samy received the Most Active Member in SESC center, Nile University from Smart Engineering Systems Research center, Nile University, Egypt.

6) Irene Samy received the Best Paper Award for Financial from the International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT2019)

7) Irene Samy received the Zero Plastic-waste Challenge from Next society

8) Irene Samy received the Leadership in Innovation Award (2nd place) for Financial from the Royal Academy of Engineering

9) Irene Samy received the Appreciation Certificate for Efforts in Research from Mr. President Abdelfattah ElSisi, Egypt.

10) Irene Samy received the African Women Intra-trade Capacity Building Program from the School of Business Executive Education, AUC

11) Irene Samy received the Fulbright Junior Faculty Scholarship for Financial from Fulbright

12) Irene Samy received the Entrepreneurship and Leadership Program from Goldman Sachs Women's Program

13) Irene Samy received the “Teaching Women, a Business Education” from the Rotary Club 10th of Ramadan, Egypt.

14) Irene Samy received the Appreciation Award, Employee week, from German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Recent Publications

Valorisation of shrimp and rice straw waste into food packaging applications

The potential use of chitosan films as a replacement to synthetic polymers in food packaging applications is receiving remarkable attention due to their biodegradability and antimicrobial properties. This study presents the preparation of composite films from chitosan as polymeric matrices, and rice straw and nano rice straw fibres as reinforcements. The films were produced via wet mixing and

Energy and Water

Ergonomic analysis of a working posture in steel industry in Egypt using digital human modeling

This study presents solutions for improving a bending awkward posture in steel industry in Egypt using digital Human Modeling (DHM). The information is gathered by interviewing the workers, working postures are recorded via a video camera while the worker is performing his usual work. The postures are analyzed using DHM software. Porter comfort analysis and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment are applied

Healthcare
Mechanical Design

Experimental investigation of chitosan film reinforced by chitin fibers and chitin whiskers extracted from shrimp shell waste

An investigation has been made to predict the effects of fore body and after body chitin and chitosan are natural polymers that have many advantages, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, healing acceleration, non-toxicity, and anti-infection properties. However, the use of pure chitosan films in many applications is limited due to their poor tensile strength and elasticity. Nevertheless

Energy and Water

The synthesis, production & economic feasibility of manufacturing PLA from agricultural waste

Synthetic plastics are extensively used in several applications including packaging, containers, bottles, trays, and boxes. However, these plastics are based on synthetic components which are not biodegradable, thus they rigorously effect the environment causing water, air pollution and high health risks. Moreover, Individuals are exposed to chemicals during manufacturing or usage of synthetic

Energy and Water

The economic potential of using cotton stalks to produce alternative wooden materials

The wooden industry depends heavily on logging activities which have negative impacts on the environment and a shortage of supply. The industry is starting to depend on composite boards from agricultural waste materials. Composite boards have been shown in the literature. However, some wooden applications still depend on hardwoods. Besides, most of these composite boards use synthetic formaldehyde

Energy and Water

A study on the feasibility of producing polylactic acid from cotton and coffee waste in Egypt

The amount of solid waste is growing In Egypt. It is estimated to be 20 million tons annually according to the Ministry of environment forecasts. The typical competence of collection in urban areas signifies 40 – 80%, although the middling proficiency of assortment processes and transport in rustic areas signifies 40 % which is considered hazardous for communal health and environment deprived of

Energy and Water

Mechanical behavior optimization of chitosan extracted from shrimp shells as a sustainable material for shopping bags

The use of biodegradable materials for shopping bag production, and other products made from plastics, has recently been an object of intense research-with the aim of reducing the environmental burdens given by conventional materials. Chitosan is a potential material because of its biocompatibility, degradability, and non-toxicity. It is a semi-natural biopolymeric material produced by the

Mechanical Design
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness

Extraction of degradable bio polymer materials from shrimp shell wastes by two different methods

Chitosan is one of the most widespread biopolymer materials available in nature which is extracted from chitin. The main source of chitosan is the chitin that is extracted from exoskeletons of crustacean, such as shrimp and crabs, which are found in a huge amount of shells waste that produced from seafood companies around the world. The chitosan has several applications such as pharmaceutical

Agriculture and Crops
Research Tracks
  • Smart sustainable homes
  • Digital Agriculture solutions
  • Circular Product Development and Innovation in Egypt

 

Projects
Research Project

Telecom Towers Structure Profiler (TTSP)

Objective/Contributions: The primary objective of this project is to allow the best and most advanced sensing technologies to become an integral part of the tower structure and implement SHM into tower structural design with respect to maintenance cost reduction, increased structural stability and significant weight savings. In addition, the objective includes applying the usage of construction
Research Project

Integrated Artificial Intelligence and Design Expert to Forecast Spread of Corona Virus in Egypt

The main aim of this project is to use artificial intelligence and control modeling to study the COVID-19 spread in Egypt and some African countries. This study will also reveal how long COVID-19 remains infectious and the trajectory of its transmission according to the input data offered to the mathematical models. Objective/Contributions: The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus is associated with
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Research Project

An Optimization Model for Green Supply Chain Management Using Powersim Simulation Software

Objective/Contributions: The term sustainable or green supply chain refers to the idea of integrating sustainable environmental processes into the traditional supply chain. This can include processes such as supplier selection and purchasing material, product design, product manufacturing, and assembling, distribution, and end-of-life management. Instead of mitigating the harmful impact of
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Research Project

Parabolic Trough Collector for Home Applications

One of the challenges results from climate change is the shortage in electricity networks. The crises result from the climate change along with the repercussions of Covid-19 make it important to rely more on clean energy sources such as Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTCs- are parabolic shape reflectors that reflects the sun energy into a central tube in the focal point), Solar (Photovoltaic) cells
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Research Project

High Efficiency Solar Cells Using Wide Bandgap Organic Materials

Objective/Contributions: Egypt faces a major problem in providing adequate amounts of energy from oil and natural gas. These two non-renewable sources of energy contribute to 95% of the total energy resources needed for generating electricity. Although Egypt has a reserve in these primary sources, there is a shortage in demand due to fast utilization and the increased cost of extraction. According
Research Project

Mechanical, Physical Testing and Optimization of Bioplastic Membranes from Agricultural and Food Waste

Objective/Contributions: The effects of plastic pollution on land and marine plastic are magnified by the lack of adequate waste management systems and non-biodegradable plastics pose significant risks to human health and the environment. The proposed project will be based on a comparative study between oxo-degradable, and biodegradable composites. The study will include mechanical testing
Research Project

Application of Bioplastic Composites in Wastewater Treatment

Objective/Contributions: Due to rapid urbanization, a huge amount of industrial waste has been discharged into the Aqua systems without any conventional treatment causing serious contamination problems affecting not only the environment but also human health. Industrial discharges include pharmaceutical waste, heavy metals, dyes, and toxic pollutants waste that are not efficiently removed by
Research Project

Experimental Study on Sustainable Production of Concrete with Treated Alum Sludge

Objectives: A huge amount of unwanted sludge is produced daily from water and wastewater treatment plants and disposed into landfills which causes numerous environmental challenges. This study aims to investigate the effect of replacing cement by alum sludge on the performance of normal concrete. Incorporating alum sludge in concrete production could be useful in protecting the environment by
Research Project

Multi-stage Low-cost Treatment of Dyes and Paints Wastewater by Coagulation, Adsorption, and Filtration for Reuse in Several Application

Objective/Contributions: Designing and constructing a low-cost, efficient, rapid environmentally friendly treatment system for textile and paint industries' recycling and treatment. Conducting a comprehensive literature database of all the reuse and treatment methods, in paints wastewater treatment and all the pilot plants, and treatment plants used success stories that successfully reduce the
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Research Project

Next Generation Manufacturing for Sustainable Biomaterial Design

Objective: The objective of the proposed project is to accelerate the path to the industrialization of the sustainable bioplastics developed in the previous research through capacity building for the youth community. This is an efficient way to reduce the production and consumption of non-sustainable plastics and decrease the negative effects of climate change.
Research Project

Turning Shrimp Shells into Eco-friendly Plastic

Egypt produces 20 million tons of solid waste annually, some of which is recycled or buried in landfills, much of which is piled up on roads, in water drains, or may even lie at the bottom of the sea. This is in short the garbage and plastic waste disaster that requires years to decompose under the sun. The results are usually smaller pieces of microplastic particles eaten by fish and marine
Research Project

Unblocking the Equality Pipeline in Mechanical Engineering

This partnership between a globally connected university in Scotland (North Britain), and a new, rapidly-growing and well-respected university in Egypt (North Africa) will focus entirely on empowering women in the area of mechanical engineering. Objective/Contributions: We wish to establish a paradigm for tackling the barriers to gender equality in the “difficult” area of mechanical engineering
Research Project

UK/Egypt Trans-national Education Partnerships Grants

Objective/Contributions: All three partners are strongly interested in the development of TNE in the field of Environmental Management and Sustainability. This is an area of significant global concern and one where mutual collaboration can lead to opportunities for new curricula in the future. However, formal TNE in the short term faces many institutional challenges; therefore our approach is to
Research Project

Replacing the Virgin Materials in Concrete with Waste Materials (Rubble, Plastics, Sludge, etc.)

Construction wastes have become the largest source of different solid wastes in Egypt as construction and demolition processes generate millions of tons of construction and demolishing wastes every year. The increasing generation of construction and demolishing wastes have caused huge impacts on the environment and agitated growing public concern in the local community. Therefore, the minimization
Research Project

Post Occupancy Evaluation – From Architecture to Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions: The Case Study of Nile University

Sustainability has been one of the major overarching topics across industries over the past few years. Sustainability in the built environment is no exception and given the recent focus on climate change, it cannot be seen as a luxury anymore. However, sustainability should never come at the expense of the convenience of the building users or the architectural aesthetics. Accordingly, this
Research Project

Characterization, Development, and Life Cycle Analysis of EPS Geofoam for Use under Roadways Embankments

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) or geofoam blocks have long been used as a lightweight, durable, geosynthetic alternative for soil backfills in several infrastructure facilities and geotechnical applications. Recently, EPS was utilized for roadway embankments after assuring safety against acting loads in addition to hydrostatic and buoyancy stability. While satisfying these considerations, the design
Research Project

Cost-Effective Desalination by Falling-Film Freeze-Concentration with Minimal Environmental Impact

Water resource management is critical for sustainable social development in Egypt amid growing consumption and limited resource options. Recent national water plans have emphasized the strategic rule of nonconventional water supply through desalination. On the other hand, conventional desalination methods have a severe environmental impact due to increases in the temperature and salinity of the