Ajaj Resume

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Personal Profile Nationality: German.

yathrib.ajaj@gutech.edu.om

athoba@gmail.com German Phone: +4917623209289 Oman Phone: +96879055842

Yathrib Ajaj Languages: Arabic English German

Due to +15 years’ of experience in scientific academia in Germany and Oman, my job includes research, teaching and students supervision. As a Chemistry Senior Lecturer at German University of Technology in Oman, I work as course coordinator, course instructor, lab instructor and project supervisor. My research interests are to understand the behavior of macromolecules, through the application of physical chemistry techniques. A major thrust of my research involves using dynamic and thermodynamic approaches to detect protein folding, structure and stability. Education PhD Physical Chemistry.

Department of Physical Chemistry II, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Ruhr University Bochum. 2006 – 2011 This was a DFG (German Research Foundation) sponsored project, investigating the dynamics and thermodynamics of proteins folding and interaction. Activities and Societies: - DFG (German Research Foundation) Member. - GDCH (German Chemical Society) Member. - GSCB (Graduate School of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Ruhr University Bochum)

Member. M.Sc. Thesis.

Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry. Stuttgart University, Germany. 2004-2005 Worked on a 12 months full time research project investigating the reaction of hydroxyl radicals with aromatic sulfonic acids as model compounds of polymer electrolyte fuel cell membrane using spin magnetic resonance.

M.Sc. in Physics. Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. Stuttgart University, Germany. 2002-2005 Studied robust advanced physics and physical chemistry modules which includes: Physics of Atoms and Nuclei, Modern Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Solid State Physics, Molecular Physics, Chemical Reactions, Condense Matter Physics, Thermostatics, Mathematics, Advanced Physical Chemistry, Biophysics, Nanoscience, advanced Physical Laboratory. Activities and Societies: - School of Magnetic Resonance - Member - Rotary Stuttgart Foundation (Rotary Stiftung Stuttgart) Member. - DPG (German Physical Society) Member.

B.Sc. in Chemistry. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science. Sudan University of Science and Technology. 1997-2001

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Experience German University of Technology in Oman.

Department of Mathematics and Science, College of Sciences September 2016 – present, (Muscat, Oman)

Title: Chemistry Senior Lecturer

My role involves a combination of teaching activities and research.

Duties and Responsibilities: Teaching activities:

- Chemistry 1 course (ENG 1103) - Chemistry 1 Lab and tutorial (ENG 1103) - Chemistry 2 course (ENG 1109) - Chemistry 2 Lab and tutorial (ENG 1109) - Chemistry for Earth Scientists course (AGEO 1107) - Chemistry for Earth Scientists Lab and tutorial (AGEO 1107) - Geochemistry (AGEO 2126)

Research: - Currently working in the of leachate treatment and geochemistry research projects.

University Administration and Committees:

- Life Skills Courses Coordinator - Life Skills Courses Committee - Member - Departmental Steering Committee - Member - Industry and Community Engagement Committee - Member - Business Development and Branding Committee - Member - The organizer of the Math & Science Department Activities- Member

Other social activities - Staff Day Out committee – Member - Yoga trainer

Sultan Qaboos University. Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences September 2012– June 2015, (Muscat, Oman)

Title: Visiting Faculty Member (Assistant Professor)

Roles at this level encompass the stages of an academic career. My role involved a combination of teaching activities and research.

Duties and Responsibilities: Teaching activities:

- Everyday Chemistry (CHEM 1100): this course is designed for non-chemists - Chemistry for a better life (CHEM 1100): this course is designed for non-chemists and has

been taught in Arabic. - General Chemistry 1 Lab and tutorial (CHEM 2101) - General Chemistry 2 course (CHEM 2102) - General Chemistry 2 Lab and tutorial (CHEM 2102) - Physical Chemistry 1 Lab (CHEM 3335) - Physical Chemistry 2 Lab and lab tutorial (CHEM 4435)

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Research: - Worked in the field of protein structure, folding and stability.

Supervision: - Final year project: Patterns of Myoglobin Folding and Interactions in Water Co-solvent

Systems (publishing the results is in process).

Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf. Department of Molecular Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry May 2011– July 2012, (Düsseldorf, Germany)

Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow

This was a temporary advanced scholarly appointment in an academic area. My responsibilities were to carry out advanced directed research, to train graduate students and to work as a lab teaching assistant.

Duties and Responsibilities: Teaching activities:

- Physical Chemistry 1 Lab for Biochemists - Physical Chemistry 2 Lab

Research:

- Worked on the detection of protein structure using high-precision FRET measurement, steady-state fluorescence and time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC).

- Investigated the self-assembly of human guanylate binding protein 1, upon the course of GTP hydrolysis.

Supervision: - Led a group of two Ph.D. students and helped them to solve their research problems. - Helped one master student on his project and trained him in the field of TCSPC.

Ruhr University Bochum Department of Physical Chemistry II, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry

April 2006– December 2010, (Bochum, Germany)

Title: Research Scientist

As a researcher I was primarily involved in planning and conducting experiments and analyzing results, to broaden scientific understanding of physical properties of macromolecules. I also contributed to teaching as a lab instructor. Duties and Responsibilities: Teaching activities:

- Physical Chemistry 2 Lab

Research: - Studied physical properties of macromolecules in solution.

Supervision: - Helped 3 students and trained them during their projects, B.Sc. and M.Sc.

Goethe University of Frankfurt.

Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacy May 2005– December 2005, (Frankfurt, Germany)

Title: Research Scientist

I was as an academic research student; I assisted in carrying out research in the field of molecular dynamic simulation.

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Duties and Responsibilities: Research:

- Molecular dynamic simulation for infrared spectroscopy has been used to monitor secondary structure and dynamics of small polypeptides.

University of Stuttgart. Institute of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry

March 2004– March 2005, (Stuttgart, Germany)

Title: Research Scientist

While working on my master’s degree I was hired by my supervisor as a demonstrator to carry out the undergraduate lab course.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Teaching activities: - Physical Chemistry 1 Lab.

Publications Ajaj, Yathrib; Wehner, Mark; Weingärtner, Hermann. Myoglobin and apomyoglobin in their

native, molten globule and acid-denaturated states. A dielectric relaxation study, Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie: international journal of research in physical chemistry and chemical physics, 2009, 223, 1105-1118.

Sajadi, Mohsen; Ajaj, Yathrib; Ioffe, Ilya; Weingärtner, Hermann; Ernsting, Nikolaus. Terahertz-Absorptionsspektroskopie einer Flüssigkeit mithilfe einer Polaritätssonde: Anwendung auf Trehalose-Wasser-Mischungen, Angewandte Chemie, 2010, 122 (2), 464–467.

Sajadi, Mohsen; Ajaj, Yathrib; Ioffe, Ilya; Weingärtner, Hermann; Ernsting, Nikolaus. Terahertz Absorption Spectroscopy of a Liquid Using a Polarity Probe: A Case Study of Trehalose/Water Mixtures, Angewandte Chemie / International edition, 2010, 49, 454-457.

Seidel, Claus A.; Kalinin, Stanislav; Sindbert, Simon; Peulen, Thomas; Ajaj, Yathrib; Rothwell, Paul J.; Hengstenberg, Carola; Herrmann, Christian. High Precision FRET to Determine Dynamic Protein Structures, Biophysical Journal, 2012, 102 (3), 235a- 236a

Tobias Vöpel; Carola-Sophie Hengstenberg; Thomas Peulen; Yathrib Ajaj; Claus A. Seidel; Christian Herrmann and Johann P. Klare. Triphosphate Induced Dimerization of Human Guanylate Binding Protein 1 Involves Association of the C-Terminal Helices: A Joint Double Electron-Electron Resonance and FRET Study, Biochemistry, 2014, 53, 4590-4600.

Ajaj, Yathrib; Weingärtner, Hermann. Thermodynamics Pattern of Lysozyme and α-Lactoalbumin in Water-Co solvent Systems. Journal of American Academic Research: JAAR, 2017, 5 (4), 60-67.

Conference Participation German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs gemeinschaft, DFG FOR 436) Workshop

“Polymorphism, Dynamics, and Function of Water at Molecular Surfaces ", Witten Bommerholz, Germany, February 2007.

German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs gemeinschaft, DFG FOR 436) Workshop “Polymorphism, Dynamics and Function of Water at Molecular Surfaces ", Witten Bommerholz, Germany; July 2008.

International Bunsen Discussion Meeting "Structure of Amyloid Fibrils and Mechanism of Amyloid Formation", Halle an der Saale, Germany; February 2009.

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German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs gemeinschaft, DFG FOR 436) Workshop “Polymorphism, Dynamics, and Function of Water at Molecular Surfaces ", Witten Bommerholz, Germany, Dortmund, Germany; July 2009.

Leopoldina Symposium "The complexity connecting biomolecular structure and solvation dynamics", Bochum Germany; May 2010.

International Bunsen Discussion Meeting "Föster Resonance Energy Transfer in Life Sciences", Goettingen, Germany; March 2011.

12th Conference on Methods and Applications of Fluorescence: “Spectroscopy, Imaging, and Probes (MAF-12)”, Strasbourg, France; September 2011.

2nd International Conference and Expo on Green Chemistry and Engineering, Barcelona, Spain; July 2018.

7th International Conference on Issues and Challenges in Doctoral Research, Goa, India, August; 2018.

Awards, Grants & Scholarships Recipient of Dr. Klaus Günther Jung-Stiftung grant for the workshop under the framework of

the promotion of young researchers in the field of physical chemistry at the Heinrich-Heine-University, September 2011.

Post-Doctoral Recipient for a grant from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs gemeinschaft, DFG), Dusseldorf, Germany, June 2011.

Recipient of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs gemeinschaft, DFG) grant for Ph.D. research under the framework of the Graduate School “Polymorphism, Dynamics, and Function of Water at Molecular Surfaces”, Bochum, Germany, July 2006.

Recipient of Rotary Stuttgart Foundation (Rotary Stiftung Stuttgart) for M.Sc. under the framework of Promotion of young scientists and artists of the universities of Stuttgart (Förderpreises für Junge Wissenschaftler und Kuenstler der Stuttgarter Hochschulen), Stuttgart, Germany, October 2001.

Recipient of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research’s Price award to the top graduate student in Chemistry, Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, September 2000.

Professional Development Program Harvard Certified Program (Future of Learning, on progress)

Learn Moodle 3.4

Interactive Teaching and Mastering of Large Classes

Introduction to COMSOL Multiphysics

Blended Learning Course by Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heribert Nacken

GUtech Professional Development Days (different workshops)

Skills for Life Course, Outward Band Oman

3 days Conference and Workshop in Recombinant DNA Technology

Professional Membership German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, GDCh)

Royal Society of ChemistryRoyal Society of Chemistry

Editorial Board Member at Bioaccent Online Publishing (BAOJ)

Editorial Board Member at International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR)

Judge for Think Science Competition (a program of Emirates Foundation)

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Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ernst Heim Prof. Dr. Muhammed S. Khan German University of Technology in Oman Sultan Qaboos University Tel: +96822061130 Oman Tel: +96824141493 Oman

bernhard.heim@gutech.edu.om msk@squ.edu.om

Assoc. Prof. Dr. John Husband Sultan Qaboos University Tel: +96824141469 Oman

johnh@squ.edu.om

References Prof. Dr. Hermann Weingärtner

Ruhr University Bochum Tel: +49234/32-25535 Germany Hermann.Weingaertner@rub.de

Prof. Dr. Christian Herrmann

Ruhr University Bochum Tel: +49234/32-24173 Germany Chr.Herrmann@rub.de

Prof. Dr. Claus A. M. Seidel University of Düsseldorf Tel: +492118115881 Germany

cseidel@hhu.de

Prof. Dr. Salma Al-Kindy Sultan Qaboos University Tel: +96824141494 Oman

alkindy@squ.edu.om