CAIRO: Egypt launched its first Nanotechnology Research Center in a bid to foster technological education and research in the country. The center will conduct research in the production of solar energy and water desalination in addition to simulation and modeling of software programs. Nanotechnology involves the building of machines at an atomic scale. Scientists are currently researching hundreds of potential applications for the technology. Uses include increasing the efficiency of energy production in solar panels as well as desalinization. The project is a collaboration between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF) and the IBM Corp. It is being run as a joint project between ITIDA, located in Smart Village, and IBM Global. Researchers and academics from Cairo University and Nile University will contribute to the center. Planning for the center began with a Memorandum of Understanding signed on Sept. 18, 2008 between ITIDA, on behalf of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT); STDF, representing the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and IBM. At the time, MCIT Minister Tarek Kamel praised the agreement as a sign of Egypt's engagement with emerging technologies. Nanotechnology is a new and exciting field for innovation, impacting every industry and has been identified as the way to position Egypt to become part of the next generation of the technological revolution, Kamel said. At the opening reception, Kamel and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Helal emphasized the potential of the center to further technological advances and research in Egypt, according to a ministry statement. They also expressed hope that scientists working abroad will return to Egypt. Hazem Abdel-Azim, CEO of ITIDA, praised ITIDA's relationship with IBM, and said that "we want to begin where others ended through our partnership with IBM Global, the statement read. Ali Al-Shafie, director of the STDF, noted that the project will utilize state of the art technology, and will serve as a model for similar centers.
