Optimizing Resource allocation for Post-Disaster Recovery in Resilient Distribution Networks

A Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Saif Rashid AlMansoori entitled, “Optimizing Resource allocation for Post-Disaster Recovery in Resilient Distribution Networks”, submitted in April 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Ahmed Osman-Ahmed and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Mostafa Shaaban. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).College of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical EngineeringMaster of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE

The Impact of Openness to Experience on L2 Oral Fluency

A Master of Arts thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Yara Kamal Rabea entitled, “The Impact of Openness to Experience on L2 Oral Fluency”, submitted in November 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Ozgur Parlak. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of EnglishMaster of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL

Do Auditor Attibutes Affect the Value of Global Diversification?

A Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) by Amina Liya entitled, “Do Auditor Attibutes Affect the Value of Global Diversification?”, submitted in May 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Feras M. Salama. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Approval Signatures, Completion Certificate, and AUS Archives Consent Form).School of Business AdministrationDepartment of AccountingMaster of Science in Accounting (MSA

H-Adaptive and Gaussian Processes Techniques for High-Accuracy State Estimation of Ground Vehicles

A Master of Science thesis in Mechatronics Engineering by Karim Diab entitled, “H-Adaptive and Gaussian Processes Techniques for High-Accuracy State Estimation of Ground Vehicles”, submitted in April 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Mamoun Abdel-Hafez. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary ProgramsMaster of Science in Mechatronics Engineering (MSMTR

Acetone Sensor Readout Circuit for Noninvasive Diabetes Diagnosis and Monitoring

A Master of Science thesis in Biomedical Engineering by Joel Nabil Georgeous entitled, “Acetone Sensor Readout Circuit for Noninvasive Diabetes Diagnosis and Monitoring”, submitted in May 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Lutfi Albasha and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Ghaleb Husseini. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).This thesis explores the development of a breath acetone sensor readout method for the non-invasive monitoring and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM). DM is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by insufficient insulin production or its impaired use in the cells, leading to a high blood glucose level. This disease requires constant monitoring of blood glucose levels. Traditional blood glucose monitoring techniques are invasive and inconvenient, highlighting the need for non-invasive alternatives. Breath acetone, a byproduct of fat metabolism in diabetic patients, has been identified and used as a biomarker for diabetes as it is directly related to blood glucose levels. Its concentration is significantly higher in the breath of diabetic patients, making it an effective indicator of the disease’s progression. This research aims to develop a real-time, precise readout method for a highly selective and sensitive acetone sensor developed previously in the literature. The sensor utilizes a capacitive measurement technique where its dielectric constant varies with acetone concentrations. A capacitive readout circuit processes the sensor’s output, which converts capacitance to a DC output voltage. The capacitance is measured through a series of inverters that output a pure square wave. The phase shift in the square wave is correlated with a change in the sensor’s capacitance. A subtractor op-amp finds the difference between the original square wave and the one with a phase shift. A passive low-pass filter finds the average of the difference output signal, generating a DC signal with a value corresponding to the difference extent. Next, the signal is processed in a microprocessor that displays health information on a graphic user interface (GUI).College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary ProgramsMaster of Science in Biomedical Engineering (MSBME

Impact of Electrical Stimulation on Mental Stress, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review

Individuals experiencing high levels of stress face significant impacts on their overall well-being and quality of life. Electrical stimulation techniques have emerged as promising interventions to address mental stress, depression, and anxiety. This systematic review investigates the impact of different electrical stimulation approaches on these types of disorders. The review synthesizes data from 30 studies, revealing promising findings and identifying several research gaps and challenges. The results indicate that electrical stimulation has the potential to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and tension, although the degree of efficacy varies among different patient populations and modalities. Nevertheless, the findings also underscore the necessity of standardized protocols and additional research to ascertain the most effective treatment parameters. There is also a need for integrated methodologies that combine hybrid EEG-fNIRS techniques with stress induction paradigms, the exploration of alternative stimulation modalities beyond tDCS, and the investigation of the combined effects of stimulation on stress. Despite these challenges, the growing body of evidence underscores the potential of electrical stimulation as a valuable tool to manage mental stress, depression, and anxiety, paving the way for future advancements in this field.American University of SharjahCollege of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical Engineerin

A Comprehensive Framework for Optimizing and Integrating Electric Bus Service with Smart Grids for Sustainable Public Transportation

A Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Aisha Abdalla AlAli entitled, “A Comprehensive Framework for Optimizing and Integrating Electric Bus Service with Smart Grids for Sustainable Public Transportationl”, submitted in May 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Mostafa Shaaban and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Abdelfatah Mohamed. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).The electrification of public transportation plays a pivotal role in the global transition toward cleaner energy and carbon neutrality, aligning with the Net Zero 2050 strategy. However, large-scale deployment of electric bus (EB) fleets introduces complex challenges in infrastructure and resource planning. This research supports the roadmap for public transit electrification by presenting a comprehensive optimization framework for EB operations and associated infrastructure. It focuses on the strategic deployment of EB fleets, the implementation of advanced charging technologies, and the optimization of service assignments and charging schedules. Furthermore, the research integrates electric bus chargers into smart grid, addressing the optimal allocation of distributed generation (DG) units and assessing the need for line upgrades. This work combines genetic algorithms (GA) for resource optimization with mathematical optimization techniques for scheduling (e.g., GAMS). This hybrid framework leverages the strengths of GA in solving large, nonlinear problems and the reliability of mathematical optimization in enforcing system constraints, ensuring applicability to real-world, large-scale systems. The proposed approach has been studied with different types of EB charging technologies and is evaluated under various scenarios, considering variations in operational strategy and energy demand. An electric 38‐bus network and a representative multi-route bus service are used to simulate and validate the framework. Results showed that the Genetic Algorithm reliably produced cost-efficient solutions by effectively positioning distributed generation units, selectively upgrading the transmission lines, and optimizing the charger types for multi-routes. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework in minimizing costs while successfully meeting the operational requirements of the bus service and the technical limitations of the electric grid, contributing to the development of efficient and resilient electric transit systems.College of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical EngineeringMaster of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE

Towards a Corpus-based Collocations Dictionary of Modern Standard Arabic

This paper discusses the need to compile a collocational dictionary of modern standard Arabic. It reports a project under way of producing a corpus-based dictionary of Arabic collocations. It outlines the corpus composition, the electronic tools used, and the guidelines followed in the carrying out the project. The paper describes the evolution and progress of the project. It will also discuss other linguistic features of words and their collocations such as number, gender, and syntactic configuration

Searching for coherence: A study on education and identity construction in the United Arab Emirates

A Master of Arts in International Studies by Reem Al Mheiri entitled, “Searching for coherence: A study on education and identity construction in the United Arab Emirates”, submitted in July 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Neha Vora. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).As a federation of seven constituent monarchies, the United Arab Emirates recognized early on the need for a unifying force to transcend tribal allegiances and genealogical affiliations, particularly against the backdrop of a vibrant cosmopolitan past and a growing migrant population. A clear manifestation of this state effort was the construction and promotion of a homogenized national identity through educational systems. Curricular reforms thus reflected evolving articulations of the Emirati national identity, closely aligned with shifting state priorities. Nonetheless, citizens were not passive recipients of these state-sanctioned articulations. They actively negotiated and reinterpreted them to reflect their own social realities, paving the way for alternative articulations of identity. While extant literature has examined recent curricular reforms in the UAE’s educational system, the topic of how national identity is constructed for citizens through the subject of social studies remains unexplored. The study investigated how the Emirati national identity is constructed through social studies textbooks and the implications of imposing a homogenous national identity onto a heterogeneous populace. Data collection involved a qualitative content analysis of thirty-nine social studies textbooks targeting primary and secondary students across three terms for the academic year 2023/2024, alongside a series of semi-structured interviews to discern on how identity is constructed, negotiated, and expressed in the United Arab Emirates. The findings of this study suggest that the intricate interplay between tribalism, state narratives and ethnic heterogeneity generates varied levels of belonging and an incoherent understanding of national identity among the UAE’s citizens, due to the lack of synergy between the state-constructed national identity and it’s articulation by the populace.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of International StudiesMaster of Arts in International Studies (MAIS

Whispers of the Divine: Dreams and their Contested Place in Sunni Islamic Legal Tradition

Islamic law is renowned for its meticulous rules, reliance on material evidence, and detailed procedural standards. Yet, throughout Islamic history, there have been notable cases where dreams and visions, often seen as divinely inspired, have influenced legal decisions. This paper delves into the complex issue of whether and under what circumstances dreams or inspirations can be accepted as legal evidence in Islamic jurisprudence. Through the exploration of classical and contemporary scholarly views, legal texts, and historical precedents, this research aims to provide a nuance understanding of the Sunni Islamic legal perspective on the use of dreams and visions as a basis for legal rulings. The prevailing view in Sunni Islamic jurisprudence largely dismisses dreams as valid legal evidence, interpreting them as symbolic gestures or historical anomalies. However, a minority of scholars advocate for their legal relevance in specific contexts. This study proposes a more refined, intermediate position, suggesting that such experiences may serve as supplementary legal evidence under particular conditions. This study also seeks to analyze the broader theological implications of relying on non-material evidence in a legal system that traditionally values certainty and material proof. While spiritual experiences such as dreams hold great importance in Islamic thought, their place in legal matters remains a topic of debate