Articles
Samia Saad, Postgraduate Researcher
Samia Saad - Water They Up To: CWS in the Spotlight
Next to feature in our 'Water they up to: CWS in the Spotlight' series is Samia Saad, Postgraduate Researcher.
What is your research about?
I am investigating the spatial and temporal impacts of overexploitation, and the effects of climate change on seawater intrusion in aquifers of arid regions - specifically the Nile Delta; a huge Mediterranean coastal aquifer, and the Wadi Ham aquifer in UAE.
What is the most exciting part about your research?
Meeting the increasing demand for groundwater resources creates a conflict between quality preservation and a reduction of costs. It is therefore very exciting for me to find a sustainable solution that improves human access to groundwater, with adequate quality and minimised cost.
When thinking about water, what place comes to mind first and why?
I have memories of the River Nile and the Red Sea in Egypt; my home land. Swimming, snorkelling, and taking a submarine where we saw schools of fish pass by and others hiding in the corals. Coming from deep under the sea to the surface on a Nile cruise and spening a couple of days from Cairo to Luxor have been the best days of my life.
Which movie or book character would you most associate with water?
'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas' by Jules Verne. Every water researcher is on a quest for scientific knowledge that might take him/herself on a journey of "twenty thousand leagues under the seas". We have to believe that innovations, that are considered to be science fiction today, will inspire realisations in the near future.
Date: 7 February 2022