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Contact | Education | Past Educational | Honors | Research | Professional | Extracurricular |
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Name: Loai Naamani
Email Address: loai[at]loai-naamani[dot]com
Website: http://www.loai-naamani.com/
Current University: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge,
MA 02139-4307
Degree in Progress: Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Area of Concentration: Information Systems
Master of Engineering (MEng, Information Technology), MIT (GPA 5.0/5.0) – July 2003
Bachelor of Engineering (BE, Civil Engineering), with Distinction – July 2002
Graduated from “Tripoli
Evangelical School” (mathematics section) in 1998 – with Distinction
“Lebanese Baccalaureate – Mathematics Section” in 1998
“Lebanese Certificate” in 1995 (Brevet) – with High Distinction
MIT ASO “Graduate Student of the Year” Award (2008)
MIT “Agent of Change” Award (2007)
Citation of Gratitude by the Prime Minister of Lebanon (2006)
American Lebanese
Engineering Society Scholarship Award (2004)
Placed on America’s National Dean’s List (2003)
Graduate Program of the Year Award (MIT, for Libanissimo III – 2003)
Schoettler Fellowship Award (2003)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT Fellowship Award (2003)
Most Distinguished Student of Class 2002 Award (2002)
Elected Most Career Promising graduate of Class 2002 by CEE faculty
Placed on the Dean’s Honor List for terms: Spring 2001, Fall 2002, and Spring 2002
Research (Visit the ‘Academics’ framespage for complete navigation of the contents below)
General Ticketing: Authn & Authz Specification for iLab Interactive Architecture | June-05: General Ticketing is a secure, efficient, OS/vendor-independent mechanism for authenticating and authorizing access to shared laboratory resources in the iLab architecture. The solution can span internet domains and academic communities, and bridges web applications and web services by providing coordinated authorization for both technologies. It is also inherently able to express transient user-specific rights (e.g. this student can use your lab server for the next 60 minutes.) The scheme has been designed to be modular and similar enough in structure and function to WS-Security so that it can be eventually replaced by the latter evolving technology with minimal disturbance to the remaining code of the interactive architecture.
A draft of the working document specifying the General Ticketing scheme is available at:
[available upon request]
Web-Enabled Shake Table on iLab Shared Architecture | December-04: A remotely accessible system for controlling a shake table laboratory experiment. Currently hosted in MIT’s Civil Engineering Department and funded by the Microsoft-sponsored iLab initiative, the system allows students and researchers to excite a two-story structure by vibrating its base while receiving accelerometer readings from its three levels. Registered users may upload via the Web their own input data, such as the seismic ground acceleration of a newly occurring earthquake, and therefore study the corresponding behavior of a real structure. Relevant fields of study include real-time signal processing and filtering techniques that would provide an understanding of how earthquakes affect a structure and therefore provide insight on means to minimize encountered damage in large-scale structures. Two main characteristics of the web-based application are interactivity, provided through synchronized control/response processes, and sensor-based monitoring of the experiment. In its 2nd generation, the Shake Table software setup is being layered on top of iLab’s Shared Interactive Architecture. The current implementation supports the aforementioned General Ticketing specification.
A presentation showcasing the latest Shake Table developments is available at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/ShakeTable.pps
miChord: Decoupling Object Lookup from Storage in DHT-Based Overlays | November-03: Existing DHTs make implicit or explicit assumptions about the homogeneity of a peer-to-peer system’s participants and workload. In reality, peer-to-peer node and workload characteristics are not homogenous. As such, applications built on DHTs may opt to exploit this heterogeneity and prefer certain nodes over others. miChord uses pointers to decouple object lookup from object placement in Chord, enabling applications to influence the final location of object storage based on a preference of the application’s choosing. This paper introduces the miChord decoupling scheme and discusses different metrics/properties of peers that can motivate such decoupling. We further provide simulation results showing performance gains over Chord when object placement is skewed in favor of different metrics.
The paper is available in .htm and .pdf format at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/miChord.htm
miSchedule: An Idiocentric Portable Scheduling Service | May-03: The miSchedule initiative aims at: (1) centralizing the user’s multipurpose calendaring/scheduling applications and services around the individual and not the service, (2) automating the ‘event’ logging process from regular email into the user’s central miSchedule calendar, and (3) integrating the miSchedule service seamlessly with existing popular technologies and systems through the miSchedule email client add-in, Web Service, and proprietary markup tags.
miSchedule has also constituted my thesis work at MIT. A devoted website is accessible at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/miSchedule
ProRAST.NET (Profiling Using Range Sensing Technology) | Dec-02: This is an exploration of the use of range sensing technologies in reconstructing three dimensional surface profiles through the implementation of remote data access and control protocols. Software components that handle data publishing, storage, and analysis are developed using C# on the .NET platform. The project combines skills from various engineering disciplines, namely mechatronics, computer vision and sensor technology. The final product incorporates several hardware and software components that enable registered clients to remotely access the range sensor and aquire total control over the sensor prototype.
The comprehensive ProRAST.NET report is available at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/ProRAST_Report.htm
AviaSafe DBMS | Nov-02: This is a web-based management system to support AviaSafe, Inc., an aircraft maintenance company in New England. AviaSafe clients will use this web outlet to browse the company’s catalogue of supported services, place/track aircraft maintenance orders, and update their personal profiles. AviaSafe internal users will be able to login with special privileges capacitating them to manage (update/add/delete) aircraft, engine, service, client, and order-related data. Internal users can also change website settings and style elements, as the website is completely database-driven, content and form-wise.
A preliminary description of the requirements, processes, interfaces, and resources necessary to develop the DBMS is provided at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/AviaSafe_Requirements.htm
GIS for Dhofar Pilot Study | Nov-02: This document outlines the key factors shaping the selection, development, and assembly of a proposed Geographic Information System (GIS) to support the ongoing Pilot Study on Biosphere-Atmosphere Interaction in Dhofar. After a concise description of the Dhofar region, the ecological threat it faces, and the global objectives of this Pilot Study, we delve into spelling out: the need for a GIS, a survey of system alternatives, the major development milestones foreseen at this point, and the end-goal(s) the system would serve; all the way from being an indispensable spatial analysis tool to helping in communicating results to the lay public. A listing of the various datasets we expect to normalize and assimilate is also presented.
The preliminary project proposal/description is available at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/Dhofar_Proposal.htm
IT in CE: Applicative CE/IT Integration Efforts at AUB | Nov-02: Through exemplary CE/IT projects presented by civil engineering undergraduates at AUB and fruitful policies enforced by faculty to incorporate IT into their conventional civil engineering courses, this paper outlines a strategic departmental shift towards better CE/IT coupling culminating into: the addition of new IT-related courses to the Civil Engineering curriculum, possibly a graduate specialization in Information Technology track, and the acceptance of all its applicants to the graduate Information Technology track at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From the standpoint of a civil engineer keenly interested in IT, I will use my experience at AUB and ongoing education at MIT to voice/justify my opinion on the extent of success such ‘integration’ efforts have attained and recommendations on how that can be better realized and directed towards civil engineering.
The full-fledged document is available at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/CE&IT_ver_1.978.htm
‘CEE AutoLabs’ Database Management System | Jul-02: The ‘CEE AutoLabs DBMS’ is an attempt at helping laboratories in the civil and environmental engineering department at AUB lever up their administrative and data storage/manipulation tools, both of which, if realized, would favorably reflect on their overall productivity, efficiency, and reliability when it comes to attracting new clients and better serving old ones. As to its scope, from the perspective of lab work, it has been designed to accommodate all 3 main CEE labs: the soil mechanics lab, the concrete and materials lab, and the environmental sciences and water quality lab; and covers/automates all administrative (client profiles, experiment orders, invoice archives, result reports, etc…) and experimental (experiments inventory, results calculation, storage, & retrieval, experimental data aggregation, etc…) duties of the respective labs. Technically, however, this endeavor has become more and more involving as its IT scope stretched to include fluency in automating MS Access via Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), advanced querying with Structured Query Language (SQL), and a database-driven web outlet to the ‘CEE AutoLabs DBMS’ using Active Server Pages (ASP) and various web scripting technologies.
The project overview and components schematic are available at:
http://www.loai-naamani.com/Academics/CEELabsDBMS.htm
Seepage Analysis: FEA vs. Seepage Tank Model | Jun-02: Presented with Diala Turk and Hasan Osman, this project involves the experimental versus finite element modeling of a series of precisely defined groundwater seepage problem variations. Each model was first constructed in an experimental setup (using a ‘Seepage Tank’ available in the hydraulics lab), and then imported into ActiveSEEP (an upgrade of the CAD port for 2-D groundwater seepage modeling software application originally developed for the ‘CVEV118/698 Computer Methods for Civil Engineering’ course – see below).
The project documentation and related documents (Excel files, drawings, downloadables, etc…) are available at:
http://www.loai-naamani.com/Academics/FEAvsTank.htm
ActiveSEEP - An AutoCAD Port for 2-D Seepage Modeling | Apr-02: Developing the ‘ActiveSEEP’ software application, an AutoCAD 2002 port for 2-D groundwater seepage modeling powered by LISA's finite element analysis engine, with Abdurrahman Khansaheb for the ‘CVEV118 Computer Methods for Civil Engineering’ course. ‘ActiveSEEP’ is meant to provide a highly flexible CAD environment for the user to define his seepage problem and the corresponding finite element grid/mesh.
The ‘ActiveSEEP’ documentation and download files are available at:
http://www.loai-naamani.com/Academics/ActiveSEEP.htm
Water & Wastewater Works for Qalamoun | Feb-02: Working with a team of four colleagues, we presented the complete design of a water distribution and a sewage conveyance network (in addition to their respective treatment plants and a storage reservoir) for Qalamoun, a coastal village situated in Northern Lebanon (as part of the CVEV523 Water & Sewage Works Design course). This four month venture started with performing field surveys, visiting relevant organizations (NGOs), estimating/projecting present & future population and water demand, and establishing our design criteria. After narrowing on to the optimum alternatives with colleagues and the Qalamoun public in a formal presentation of our proceedings, we attended to the detailed design, specifications, BOQs, and cost estimation for the agreed upon infrastructure components/units. We have also incorporated a GIS (ArcView) for ease of presentation, analysis, and preparing network model-input purposes. Although this is unprecedented in my locality and is not required by my course instructors, we wanted to bring to their attention the dynamism of using such a tool and demonstrate its numerous applications in the water resources & environmental engineering fields.
An overview of the final design report contents is posted in .html format at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/Qalamoun_Contents.htm
CapCAL Tutorial and Soil Bearing Capacity Solver | Feb-02: This computer-aided learning package consists of a web-based online tutorial (‘CapCAL-Tutorial’) targeted at presenting the theoretical and conceptual aspects of bearing capacity determination and an application solver (‘CapCAL-Solver’) with the primary objective of providing the user with an interactive environment where he can review, test, and apply the knowledge of soil bearing capacity gained from the tutorial. ‘CapCAL-Solver’ is a freeware to be downloaded and run under MS-Excel Xp (automated using VBA 6.0).
The package is accessed through ‘CapCAL-Tutorial’ at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/CapCAL/index.htm
GIS Applications in Environmental & Water Resources Engineering | Mar-02: A term paper on the applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in environmental and water resources engineering has been presented. This paper (and accompanying seminar) addresses a specific audience with basic engineering knowledge, sufficient computer literacy, and minimal GIS-know how. It is divided into 2 main units; an introductory unit in which the reader is acquainted with the fundamentals of any GIS necessary to understand the second application-oriented section of the paper. This latter section is presented through 5 tailored case-studies traversing various applications in the environmental & water resources engineering domains and representative of different GIS analysis capabilities. Finally, a conception of the “hydraulic network modeling in GIS” merger has been discussed in the light of our proceedings in the supply model-input facilitated by a using a GIS for the Qalamoun Water Supply & Sewage Works Design project.
The paper is posted in .html format at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/GIS_Applications.htm
Flumes: Theory and Application | Aug-01: During my internship, I prepared an extensive report on the theory, modes of operation, and practical considerations inherent in selecting and installing various types of flumes. The 40-page paper addresses the critical flow theory by starting from the fluid mechanics basics and culminating into the specific head vs. discharge formulas for different flumes. A selection guide that includes the advantages and disadvantages of most flume types is also presented.
The paper is posted in .html format at:
http://www.loai-naamani.com/Flume%20Theory/Flumes_Theory_&_Application.htm
Simple Nonlinear Rainfall/Runoff Model | May-01: Along with Bassel Younan, we have recently presented a simple nonlinear conceptual simulation of rainfall-runoff phenomena. It is based on the concept of a nonlinear storage outflow relationship, assumes a nonlinear loss module, and is a function of a number of parameters that can be estimated efficiently using nonlinear least-squares regression. The model has been applied to the Walnut Gluch experimental watershed in Arizona with considerable success. In addition, I composed two MATLAB programs that simulate both the Horton and Philips infiltration models. The primary aim of a MATLAB simulation of the theoretical models governing infiltration and ponding time was obtaining the required results with greater efficiency and accuracy.
Both models are posted in .html format at:
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/Rainfall_Runoff_Model.htm
http://www.Loai-Naamani.com/Academics/MATLAB_Hoton_and_Philips.htm
MOBIUS LOGIC - MENA, LLC | December, 2004 | Massachusetts, MA
Partner – Helped found & develop MA-based Mobius Logic’s operation in Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region as provider of technology and management consulting services
STAR IT CONSULTING, LLC | June – September 2004 | Massachusetts, MA
IT Consultant – Subcontracted to migrate parts of Primavera’s Onyx Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to the .NET platform as a stand-alone, web-based application
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT, S.A.L. | May 2003 – May 2004 | Beirut, Lebanon
IT Consultant – Developed Web-based extranet for secure document exchange and collaboration between Millennium and worldwide team of urban-planning consultancies (Gensler, HOK, Architecture Studio, DMJM Harris, ...); prepared presentation and kit material for Launching of Works session of Shamiyah Redevelopment, a multibillion dollar construction project in Saudi Arabia; designed RFP and bidding process for Millennium’s corporate website
DEPT. OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (MIT) | Since November, 2002 | Massachusetts, MA
Research Assistant to Prof. E. Kausel on Shake Table WebLab project as part of Microsoft’s iLab initiative
Consultant to Prof. P. Jaillet (CEE Chairperson) on deployment & launch of new CEE portal (http://cee.mit.edu)
Consultant to Prof. George Ayoub on MEDAWARE to develop tools & guidelines for promotion of sustainable urban wastewater treatment & reuse in agriculture production in Mediterranean countries (deliverable | website)
Research Assistant to Prof. Elfatih Eltahir on Pilot Study on Biosphere-Atmosphere Interaction in Dhofar (fully developed GIS component)
SOUTHERN DATASTREAM, INC. | Summer of 2001 | La Belle, FL
Intern Engineer – Designed, built, and tested water split unit of flume-based Biosolids Sampler later deployed at experimental watersheds in Everglades; managed materials inventory and ordering; analyzed precipitation and discharge data for Cape Coral rainfall/runoff model
Lebanese Club at MIT, President
TECHLEB|06
International Conference on Technology Development in Lebanon, Conference
Chair
International Network of Lebanese Entrepreneurs and Technologists (INLET),
Co-founder
Harvard-MIT Lebanese Affairs Think Tank (LATT), Co-founder
Other interests include modern art,
Pablo Picasso,
Fairouz, Ziad & the Rahbani Brothers, contemporary literature, and world politics
Last Updated: 9/11/2005