This study''s objective is to explore the potential advantages of introducing
flexible manufacturing to Lebanon and the Middle East. The ultimate objective
is the establishment of a new company that will have the capability of producing
custom-made parts and molds for the plastic and metal industry. The first
part of the study will cover the various branches of the automated manufacturing
industry: the CAD softwares, laser scanners, CNC and rapid prototyping equipment
available. The second part will cite the possible applications for Lebanon
and the Middle East. The third and final part will cover the options that
were found to be suitable and the first model for the establishment of an
automated workshop in Lebanon.
Note: This talk is based on a research study made by a group of four engineers
in order to start a new company in Lebanon that will be operational by the
end of 1995.
The software industry is one of the fastest growing industries in North America.
Increasingly, it is also the fastest growing industry in a number of developing
countries, such as India. The reason that this is a unique industry that
has the potential of growing in any part of the world is that it is basically
an industry that does not require the huge capital and infrastructure required
for manufacturing industries, for example. Software is basically an industry
that requires little capital, but is a function of education level, technology
awareness, and good organization and planning.
We believe that Lebanon has these resources, and as such we encourage the
establishment of two types of activities: (i) local development of software
tools, pioneered by local start-up companies, and (ii) software development
for, or in co-operation with, outside software companies that would find
the cost of software development in Lebanon attractive.
This is a brief description of the AUB/MIT collaborative research
program on the reconstruction of the Lebanese Electrical Power System (LEPS).
The main objectives of this project were: First, to better understand the
operation of the existing system. With this aim, data on system parameters
and various system components have been gathered and updated according to
rehabilitation plans. Second, to analyze the current system problems, classify
them and suggest different alternative methods to solve them or ameliorate
the system. Third, to carry out a long-term study on the generation and
transmission expansion of the LEPS. In order to achieve this objective,
it was necessary to update and develop several software packages used as
decision support tools. The fourth objective was to elaborate upon a set
of technical and economic recommendations to achieve a more efficient operation
and an optimal expansion of the LEPS, including the design of an efficient
tariff structure. Finally, the last objective was to transfer the experience
gained during this project to technical personnel in Lebanon.
Lebanon, a small Middle-Eastern country, is known for having more
than 20 universities and hundreds of high schools. The educational system
in Lebanon is based on a strong curriculum combined from French, Arabic,
and American standards. After the war, a need arose to look for new ways
to enhance the educational system and put it on track again.
In 1991, the American University of Beirut started a new collaborative research
program with MIT to study, research and develop new, computer-based multi-media
technologies that will enhance education in Lebanon, and benefit educational
computing research at MIT. This talk will describe the efforts achieved
until now. We will talk about the projects accomplished at MIT and AUB,
and their results. We will be showing the first release of the new software
product that was developed jointly by the two universities and to which AUB
made major contributions. AthenaMuse 2 is the new cross-platform authoring
environment and is believed to have an important impact on the development
of international networked multimedia courseware.
In 1973, the Arab oil embargo caused the West to seriously examine
their energy consumption trends. Since then, governments and citizens have
developed policies and technologies to increase energy efficiency and to
conserve natural resources. After more than 22 years, many of these policies
and technologies have either failed or simply withered. However, energy
conservation is still in the forefront of the West's concerns, but is driven
by environmental concerns and public health rather than by oil and other
energy shortages. Lebanon, and the Arab World in general, were removed from
any such efforts during the initial crisis but seem ready to join in this
"second coming" of energy conservation.
This presentation provides an overview of the historical background in the
West and in Lebanon. In addition, energy conservation opportunities, such
as alternative fuels and energy efficient construction, in Lebanon will be
examined.
The environment in Lebanon has been exploited for centuries by people's
ignorant rush for quick profits and in their basic disrespect of wildlife.
If Lebanon continues to destroy its natural environment by deforesting,
polluting and over-hunting, development and economic reconstruction will
be almost meaningless since the very foundation for our lives would have
crumbled. We cannot destroy the earth and then demand it to provide us
with sustenance.
Eighteen birds, fifteen mammals, and three river fish have gone extinct
in Lebanon in the last century. Numerous other animals are presently endangered,
primarily due to pollution and hunting. Native plants are being lost due
to road construction, housing, and the use of chemicals; in their place,
weeds and thorn bushes are growing. Sea turtles are dying from the pollution
and waste that is thrown into the Mediterranean Sea. Consequently, jelly
fish are increasing dramatically. The balance of nature has been severely
affected throughout Lebanon.
In response to the environmental problems and the relative stability in
the country, three areas have been chosen to be protected as nature reserves
by the United Nations. This presentation will briefly highlight some major
environmental problems in Lebanon, discuss the UN proposal, and present several
recommendations to assist in the rebuilding of our foundation, the protection
of our environment.
The reconstruction of postwar Lebanon is being currently measured
in economic and political terms. While these are necessary ingredients for
Lebanon's reemergence as a country, they will prove short-lived if "Human"
and "Community" reconstruction are not addressed. Indeed, this presentation
will argue, that unlike the other two, these are the main ingredients for
a "true" and long-lasting reconstruction and may well prove to be the only
guarantees for its survival.
Lebanon and the Middle East stand at a threshold of dramatic changes.
To become competitive economically, Lebanon needs to develop a comprehensive
research ultrastructure that would fuel its uncertain entry into the 21st
century. Among the fields that stand out as cutting edge, and, at the same
time, almost a necessity, is biotechnology; the use of the molecular
understanding of the basics of life to solve practical agricultural and health
problems.
Biotechnology combines basic and applied research, and transcends the
"traditional" boundaries of focused science. It is necessarily
interdisciplinary, and requires expertise with an extremely wide range.
In this presentation, it is my aim to discuss the potential of the development
of biotechnology in Lebanon, as well as the existing and foreseeable obstacles
to such an endeavor.
This presentation will examine the opportunities for providing Internet
in Lebanon. In the first part of the talk, the current state of affairs,
specifically Sodetel, AUB and Cavalcom, will be discussed. Then, the future
of the Internet will be presented, exploring the avenues available through
Inteltec, its competitors and the efforts of AUB/ALPA.
Speech recognition and text-to-speech systems, currently developed
in many languages, are beginning to take their places with other scientific
advances in improving lifestyle in general. For instance, text-to-speech
systems are helping handicapped people, namely the blind and the deaf, in
facing some of the challenges that stand in their way of leading normal life.
Also, text-to-speech system is a part of a very complex human-machine interface
technology that is based on the speech recognition science. This interface
technology is providing a wide range of hand-free applications, such as dictation
systems, that are quite common in the medical and business communities and
are recently being introduced to the public. Voice activation process, or
voice commands, is another speech recognition based application, which is
commonly used in providing telephone services and is being tested in the
implementation of an automated airline reservation system.
These few applications provide the motivation for introducing these latest
advances in speech technologies to the Lebanese scientific and business
communities. The key elements of a successful implementation of these
technologies in Arabic include a solid understanding of the Phonetics and
the natural process of the Arabic language. Phonetics, the study and systematic
classification of the sounds made in spoken utterance, will be used in the
construction of a large data base for initiating the speech analysis. Finally,
we believe that the benefits of these applications to the Lebanese communities
certainly overweighs the difficulties of their initiation in the Arabic
language.
I will be talking about how the net (Internet-type services) was
initially designed for people to access resources and to share information.
However, over time it has become clear that individuals are using the net
more and more as a social technology to find and communicate with people,
connect and interact with others with similar interests, and to build community.
I will provide results of a study of several groups on the net, including
SCL. Final comments will address the importance of this technology as a
factor of development for Lebanon and neighboring countries.