Muscat: Two Omanis made their nation proud by bagging global prizes in scientific innovation. While Dr Faris al Farsi won the award for the best innovative research project at the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting in Germany, Razan al Kalbani won the Grand Prize at the Korea International Women's Innovations Exhibition and Competition (KIWIE) in Seoul.
Dr Al Farsi won the award for his smart biochips, which can identify and eliminate bacteria that causes infections in chronic wounds.
Al Kalbani bagged the prize for developing an eco-friendly paint made of Lycopene that absorbs X-rays. Lycopene is a red pigment found in tomato, watermelon and other vegetables. The concept claimed top prize after competing with 353 innovations from over 18 countries around the world.
Dr Al Farsi's achievement came in a Science Marathon in which more than 270 young scientists from around the world took part.
The event is supported by the Max Planck Foundation of Germany and research projects were evaluated by a scientific committee consisting of a number of Nobel laureates and international investors in scientific research.
He attended the event with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. He said that the scientific marathon aimed to find solutions to medical problems by bringing together experts in medicine, physiology, physics, chemistry, biology, pharmacology, immunology, biomedical and IT engineering, and astrophysics.
Al Kalbani took part in the Korea event with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. Earlier, she won first place in the Falling Walls Lab competition, silver medal at the Challenge and Innovation Forum in Qatar, gold medal at the Second Beirut International Innovation Exhibition, and silver medal in the Mabaret Fayda Al Saad competition in Kuwait.
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