An ambitious and highly skilled Egyptian student, Mostafa Magdy Al-Sawy, 16, has been recognised for his invention, the Arab Smart Dam, at the Talented Young Arabs Championship in London. Al-Sawy was representing Egypt among 30 other competing countries. The championship, an annual event, is organised by the Arab Group and recognises people of Arab origin who have excelled in their field, contributed to their community or achieved something remarkable in their home country. Al-Sawy's invention, developed while he was a researcher at Mansoura University, is a design for an earthquake-proof dam. Its construction would require a kind of concrete often used in anti-earthquake buildings. The plan proposed that the dam be built in Al-Salloum in the Delta. The projected output was some 33.1 megawatts of electricity per hour, more than the Three Gorges Dam in China. Criteria used in evaluating entries to the Talented Young Arab Championship included originality, observation of scientific paradigms, methodology used and the project's ability to undergo testing, Al-Sawy said. He said that though Egypt is not as far up in international rankings for scientific research as it should be, he fully believes in the creativity and qualifications of Egyptian scientists. Most countries around the world use fossil fuels to produce electrical power, contributing to the production of greenhouse gases and thus to climate change. With this in mind, it is essential for Egypt to invest more in renewable energy, including hydroelectric energy generated by dams. According to Al-Sawy, there is no reason why Egypt should not meet more of its energy requirements from renewable energy. Were it able to do so, this would also allow it to reduce its import bills for fossil fuels. In Al-Sawy's award-winning design, wind and solar energy are used to run the turbines, in addition to hydroelectric energy. The dam is topped by solar cells to capture the sun's energy and surrounded by wind turbines. Al-Sawy hopes to design other projects in which wind turbines are located on water, rather than on land, which would be more efficient, he says. In a pilot project based on similar ideas, the village of Hakfat Al-Gelass in Marsa Matrouh is now using solar power to serve some 30 homes and the local school. Asked what other challenges face Egypt that could be solved by the better use of technology, Al-Sawy answered, “Water desalination.” The country's supply of fresh water may decline in the future, and other sources will need to be identified, among them, desalinated seawater. Such water could be used for agricultural purposes, notably in the reclamation of the Western Desert, and would reduce the burden on fresh water supplies. Al-Sawy said that the projected cost to build his Smart Dam is some LE28 billion, and would be recovered within months of its opening. “An executive committee is working on a feasibility study,” the young inventor said. Among the committee members are officials from the Ministry of Education and other government departments. When asked about the challenges he has faced in promoting his ideas, Al-Sawy replied: “My ideas have been widely welcomed.” The writer is a freelance journalist.
