Dr. Aquib Moin joined the UAE University (UAEU) in 2016 as the first Astronomy and Space Science faculty member at the Department of Physics, College of Science. Since the beginning, he has been engaged in developing Astronomy and Space Science education programs, research projects and infrastructure to boost this domain as a one of the key strategic domains at the UAEU. In addition to being an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physic, he also serves as an affiliated Senior Scientist at the National Space Science & Technology Centre (NSSTC), where he is carrying forward high-profile space research & development projects. These projects are jointly supported by the College of Science and NSSTC.

His primary domain of interest is Observational Radio Astronomy but he is leading projects in other related areas of Space Science as well. He is a member of the Emirates Space Innovation Group (ESIG) and works regularly with the UAE Space Agency and Muhammad Bin Rashid Space Centre - UAE on various space-related projects. He is actively involved in strategic initiatives related to UAE s National Space Strategy 2030. The scope of his work involves scientific observations and measurements, Astronomy & Space Science instrumentation, project design and operations, data analysis and interpretation.

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Moin has been part of a number of esteemed research groups and projects around the world. He has previously been affiliated with New York University (AD)/NASA's CDSCC-JPL/Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (USA), University of Johannesburg (South Africa), Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (China), Australia Telescope National Facility, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research/Curtin University (Australia), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (Netherlands), Onsala Space Observatory (Sweden). He is utilizing all of that experience to help build and establish the Astronomy & Space Science domain at the UAEU.

Highlights of Dr. Aquib Moin s work at UAEU:

Space Science Infrastructure Development:

In order to boost and facilitate high-impact and world-class space science research at the UAE University (UAEU), Dr. Moin is currently leading a project to deploy, commission and operate a first-of-kind array-type radio and space science observation infrastructure (Hardware + Software) called the UAEU Ground-based Radio Array Facility (GRAF) at the UAE University (UAEU). This project is jointly supported by College of Science and NSSTC and it was awarded one of the largest R&D grants at the UAEU. The primary objective of GRAF, as a large-scale, UAE-based flagship radio and space science facility is to enable and sustain high-impact research and development primarily in the areas of: 1) Space Situational Awareness, which involves tracking and monitoring spacecraft and space debris to study and predict their orbital trajectories (Astrodynamics), acquire useful data for conjunction assessment, collision avoidance, space traffic management and spacecraft cataloguing; and 2) Radio Astronomy, which involves radio observational studies of celestial objects. In addition, the facility would also be capable of augmenting research in solar & heliospheric physics, planetary science and atmospheric science with radio data. This project is being carried forward in collaboration and with active support of Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, Curtin University Australia and Computational Astronautics Group at University of Texas at Austin - USA. This facility will become a part of international network of observatories to achieve the outcomes of this project through collaborative joint operations and R&D work. This project will ensure data and resource sharing, technology transfer, capacity building and skill development in alignment with the strategic objectives of the space sector in the UAE.

Astronomy & Space Science Research:

In addition to the large-scale radio array project, Dr. Moin is also carrying forward various Astronomy research projects such as: Observational studies of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and their possible association with Binary Black Hole mergers; Observational studies of Radio Transients and a study for a Space-borne Cosmic-Ray detector. The general scope of these objects to conduct observations of various objects and events in the Universe and to analyze and interpret the data to get clues on the nature, behavior and properties of the cosmic phenomena.

All of Dr. Moin s projects have a significant involvement of students at BSc, MSc and PhD level.

Within the framework of his projects, he is involved in collaborative work with colleagues at Curtin University | MWA, CSIRO, (Australia), University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre (USA), Max Planck Institute (Germany), Goonhilly Earth Station (UK), Interagency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG), and Square Kilometre Array (SKA). He makes use of data from world class instruments such as NASA's Fermi (gamma-ray) and Swift (X-ray) satellites, VLA, ATCA (radio), GROND (optical) and others.

Space Science Education:

Dr. Moin designed and created BSc and MSc Space Science programs which are now being offered at the UAEU for the first time. He led the development and implementation of altogether 18 brand new courses for these programs and he is currently responsible to run these programs in addition to teaching a number of courses. The purpose of these programs is to strengthen Space Science from an academic standpoint and to train youngster specifically for Space Science & Technology R&D.

Expo 2020 Involvement:

Dr. Moin also serves as a core member of the UAEU Expo 2020 team, which is responsible for the UAEU s Pavilion at the Expo2020 to be held in Dubai. He is the project management lead and a contributor to the development of innovative concepts such as the University of the Future and the Pathfinders Program, to be showcased at the Expo 2020.