Riyad Hamzah
President, University of Bahrain; Member, Future Earth Regional Center Advisory Committee
Prof. Riyad Y. Hamzah is President of the University of Bahrain; Kingdom of Bahrain (since 2016) holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Houston, USA and is a Professor of Biotechnology. He has served as Secretary General for Higher Education, Kingdom of Bahrain 2011-2016 where he was responsible for the improvement for the overall higher education sector in the Kingdom and the launch the first National Higher Education Strategy and National Research Strategy. Prof. Hamzah was involved in the establishment of the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) Kingdom of Bahrain from inception having also served as Vice-President from 1994 to 2005. Other key academic and administrative posts at AGU include Director General of Finance and Administration (1986-1994), Dean of the College of Applied Sciences (1990-1994). Prof. Hamzah was Editor-in-Chief of the Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, and is a member of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) based in Trieste, Italy. He is a founding member and member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) in Beirut, Lebanon and currently a jury member for the UNESCO-King Hamad Bin Isa Khalifa Prize for the use of ICTs in Education. In 2011, Prof. Hamzah was awarded the Distinctive Medal - First Degree, from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain.