ME Department - AWARDS

Abdul Hadi Debs Award is an annual award to a graduating student with outstanding academic record, and who has demonstrated research capabilities through a paper, project or thesis deemed by faculty worthy of publication.

Sakkal Renewable Energy Graduate Thesis Award

Emeritus Professor Fateh Sakkal established an annual Renewable Energy Graduate Research/ Thesis Award to promote research in the field of renewable energy (RE) with special applications to Lebanon. The RE Award grant is valued at $3,000 per year offered as a cash prize to a mechanical engineering graduate student at AUB pursuing or completed a master thesis in the field of renewable energy. The RE Award can not be shared by more than two students.

Eligibility Criteria

The student is a mechanical engineering graduate of AUB.
Academic merit is the primary criterion for eligible applicants. The applicant should normally have an average of 85 and above in graduate studies. The applicant should demonstrate evidence of quality research work in the field of renewable energy with special applications to Lebanon through a paper or thesis deemed by the ME faculty worth of publication.

Procedure for Granting the Award

Nominations for the award should be received by the department chairperson from mechanical engineering faculty or thesis advisors by April 15 each year.
The nomination must include: C.V. or resume of the nominee, a research statement describing the project and its impact with copies of papers published or submitted for publication to journals or conferences, and/or copy of the graduate thesis.
The chairperson appoints a committee from faculty members in the area of energy to study the nominations. The committee presents its recommendation to the department chair.
The chair forwards the committee recommendation with his/her endorsement to the department for approval.
The department submits the recommendation to the Dean of Engineering and Architecture.
The award will be announced by the Dean during the reception preceding or following Commencement Exercises.
The recipient of the award will receive a certificate and the cash award. If two recipients are awarded, then the cash award will be equally shared between them.

Petrofac Graduate Fellowship

The Petrofac Graduate Fellowship Program offers two fellowship awards per year to outstanding students pursuing a graduate study program in mechanical engineering at AUB at the master level. The fellowship award is valued at $12,500/ year/student for up to two years. The award can be used to cover the tuition and stipend. The recipient of the award can get additional support from other sources (research grants of faculty) as long as the total support to the student from all sources covers 100% of tuition and a stipend that does not exceed a payment of $500/month.

Eligibility Criteria

The field of study is in mechanical engineering.
The applicant must be registered and/or admitted full-time, regular (not "on-leave" or "part-time") student and must normally have an average of 85 and above in the last two years of undergraduate or graduate studies (? 3.50 grade point average). In exceptional cases, other evidence of outstanding ability may outweigh this criterion. Academic merit is the primary criterion for ranking eligible applicants; departments will advise all applicants in advance if additional criteria will be used. Academic merit is based on grades, research ability, and progress in the graduate program. To retain the scholarship, the student must maintain an average of 85 and show high quality progress in the research work. All publications resulting from the student work should acknowledge the fellowship program.
Petrofac Graduate Fellowships are intended to provide students with a period of time that they can devote largely to graduate studies and research.

Required Application Information

Application is made on the Application for a Petrofac Graduate Fellowship form. The completed form and all post-secondary transcripts must be received by the Department by November 30 or April 15.
Applications must include: C.V. or resume.
Three (3) letters of recommendation are required to be submitted separately to the Dean’s Office. You may provide email addresses of applicant references in the Fellowship Application the Dean’s office will solicit reference letters separately.
Standardized Test Scores of GRE
Indication of any external support granted to the applicant.
Incomplete applications cannot be considered and notification of incompleteness will not be made. Please make sure applications are complete.

Selection Criteria

Each of the following criteria is weighted equally:
A. Undergraduate Academics

Summary of Academic Program and attachment of transcript(s)
Involvement in Honors and/or Enrichment Programs
Academic Recognition and Awards

C. Graduate Study Prospects

Standardized Test Scores
Graduate Study Plans

D. Personal Statement

Clarification of educational and career goals
Personal factors that have influenced educational achievement

E. Letters of Recommendation

Letters should provide information about the applicant's:
- Scholarship with particular reference to capacity for original work as a graduate student
- Character and personality attributes
- Other observations that can assist in appraising the applicant's probable success in advanced study and future career contributions.
Letters should be limited to approximately 350 words; therefore, they should not focus on:
- Exceptional quality of the teaching of those writing letters of recommendation
- Difficulty of the courses taught by those writing letters of recommendation
The applications will be studied by the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The nominations of the department will be sent to the dean by the department chair for final approval.