Water Resources in Arid Areas: The Way Forward

University in China (2000). Dr. Chen got his PhD degree in Environmental Sciences/Hydrogeology at the University of California, Santa Barbara in USA in 2005. During his postdoc research from 2005-2008 at Los Alamos National Laboratory in USA, Dr. Chen developed an innovative intrusive method to quantify uncertainty of multiphase flow and reactive transport in heterogeneous subsurface area. In late 2008, Dr. Chen accepted a research assistant professor position at Tufts University in USA, leading a numerical modeling team in collaboration with a laboratory experimental team to study bio-enhanced PCE-DNAPL dissolution by anaerobic mixed cultures. In the end of 2010, Dr. Chen joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in USA as an earth scientist. He is a PI or co-investigator of numerous projects funded by Department of Energy (DOE of USA) on underground fossil energy and radioactive waste. Owing to his excellent performance, Dr. Chen was rewarded Directorate Award by Physical andLife Science Directorate of LLNL in 2013. Since 2014, Dr. Chen has been a senior hydrogeologist (associate professor rank) in Water Research Center at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, while he still remained an associate role of hydrogeology in LLNL of USA. Dr. Chen is mainly responsible for developing research programs in groundwater resources and geothermal energy using high performance computing. Dr. Chen commits duties of organizing committees of water-related international workshops and conferences, proposal-review panel, and international journal editors.

Dr. Ali Al-Maktoumi holds a BSc in Soils and Water (1998) and an MSc in Soils and Water Management  from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman (2001). He received a scholarship from Oman government in 2003 to continue with his PhD studies in Environmental Engineering (Water Resources) at the University of Queensland in Australia. After his PhD in 2007, Al-Maktoumi joined the Department of Soils, Water and Agricultura