Exploring the intersection of materials, chemistry, and design.
As the shipyard crew began the final inspection of the circular mainframes, Elias watched the massive helium-filled envelope strain against its moorings. He wasn't just buying an airship; he was buying the sky.
Elias looked up at the titanium dock on the nose cone. For years, he had built wooden 3D puzzles and small radio-controlled models in his basement, dreaming of the day he’d trade balsa wood for a real command car. He knew the history—how Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had pioneered these giants after his 60th birthday—and he wasn't about to spend his own life on the ground.
"Eight and a half million," the broker reminded him, a price comparable to a small business jet but with a view no airplane could match.
"She's a Q-class beauty," the broker said, patting a massive propeller housing. "Four engines, carbon-fiber framing , and enough lift to carry you across the Atlantic without a single bump."
The sun was barely peeking over the fog-drenched spires of the city when Elias arrived at the shipyard, his pockets heavy with the inheritance that was supposed to buy a sensible townhouse. Instead, he stood before a towering skeletal frame of duralumin and silk: the Aurelia .
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Principal Investigator, Professor of Chemistry
Panče Naumov leads the Smart Materials Lab and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials at NYUAD. His group is internationally recognized for pioneering crystal adaptronics and advancing adaptive molecular solids, with applications in sensing, robotics, optics, and energy systems.
Meet the TeamAs the shipyard crew began the final inspection of the circular mainframes, Elias watched the massive helium-filled envelope strain against its moorings. He wasn't just buying an airship; he was buying the sky.
Elias looked up at the titanium dock on the nose cone. For years, he had built wooden 3D puzzles and small radio-controlled models in his basement, dreaming of the day he’d trade balsa wood for a real command car. He knew the history—how Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had pioneered these giants after his 60th birthday—and he wasn't about to spend his own life on the ground.
"Eight and a half million," the broker reminded him, a price comparable to a small business jet but with a view no airplane could match.
"She's a Q-class beauty," the broker said, patting a massive propeller housing. "Four engines, carbon-fiber framing , and enough lift to carry you across the Atlantic without a single bump."
The sun was barely peeking over the fog-drenched spires of the city when Elias arrived at the shipyard, his pockets heavy with the inheritance that was supposed to buy a sensible townhouse. Instead, he stood before a towering skeletal frame of duralumin and silk: the Aurelia .
We are proud that the Smart Materials Lab is the leading team in impactful chemistry research in the United Arab Emirates, with research output that, according to the Nature Index, accounts for 40‒60% of the total chemistry publications within the country, both in fractional count and weighed fractional count. The past and current research projects in the Smart Materials Lab have been sponsored by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), Human Science Frontier Program Organization (HFSPO), and the UAE National Research Foundation (NRF), in addition to generous financial support from NYUAD and the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute. The members of the Smart Materials Lab work closely with NYUAD's Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM).