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The two leading
scientific institutions, The Royal Scientific Society (RSS) and the King
Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), signed on April 26,
2005 an agreement to establish a commercial industrial research centre
to help advance the country's science-based industries.
The two parties agreed to “pool some of the resources in order to
jointly establish the Centre for Applied Industrial Research (CAIR).”
RSS and KADDB will nominate a team of “carefully-selected” scientists
from both organizations who will focus their efforts on industrial
research “that is worthy of international recognition.”
The scientists, the agreement says, will first direct attention to
strategically important fields of research such as material sciences,
energy, water resources, biomechanics, nanotechnology and safety and
security.
At a later stage, the scientists will delve into other fields such as
internal combustion engines, robotics and aeronautical engineering.
According to CAIR's mission statement, the centre will seek “to win
lucrative research contracts from international agencies in order to
become financially independent.”
Those behind the idea of the KADDB-RSS partnership believe that
high-level applied industrial research is key to transforming Jordan
into an advanced country. They assured that the Kingdom has enough
well-trained human resources.
Professor F. S. Bhinder, a consultant at both the RSS and KADDB, said
that Jordan has the potential to be another Taiwan or Singapore provided
it develops a sound environment for industrial scientific research. The
international expert heads a team from the two institutions, which is
working on research related to fuel cell, polymer material and
thermo-fluids, among other fields.
RSS President Prof. Dr. Sa’ad Hijazi, who signed the agreement with
KADDB Director General Major General Khalid Jamoukha, noted that the
organization sought the expertise of Professor Bhinder as part of its
efforts to restructure its work and build an international reputation as
a credible scientific research agency.
It is to be noted that KADDB, an independent government entity within
the Jordan Armed Forces, was established in 1999 “to provide an
indigenous capability for the supply of independent, high-quality,
efficient and cost-effective scientific and technical services to the
army.” It has won several contracts to supply Jordan-made defence and
commercial equipment optimized to the requirements of the Middle East.
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