TEHRAN – Somayyeh Koohi, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, has won the Best Patent Award of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH).

Her project titled "Design and Implementation of Biological Data Optical Processor" won the Best Patent Award 2023, IRNA reported.

The main objectives of COMSTECH include the assessment of human and material resources of member states and the identification of their scientific and technological needs and requirements.

Enhancement of cooperation and coordination in scientific and technological fields amongst the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states with a view to achieving collective competence in science and technology for the solution of the problems of the OIC member states is the other main goal.

Moreover, it looks for the creation of an effective institutional structure for planning, research, development, and monitoring of scientific and technological activities at national, regional, and international levels.

COMSTECH

COMSTECH the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the OIC was established by the Third Islamic Summit of OIC held at Makkah, Saudi Arabia in January 1981.

The core mandate of COMSTECH is to strengthen cooperation among OIC Member States in science and technology (S&T), enhance their capabilities through training in emerging areas, undertake follow-up-actions and implement the resolutions of the OIC, and draw up programs and submit proposals designed to increase the capability of the Muslim countries in science and technology (S&T).

The ultimate aim is to build and nourish a scientific culture in addition to using S&T as a major contributor to socio-economic development and rapid industrialization.

COMSTECH works in close collaboration with various Standing Committees and other organs of the OIC, Member States of the OIC, and their major Scientific and Technological Institutions, in addition to some international organizations.

Some organizations include the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Islamic World Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ICESCO), Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), International Foundation for Science, (IFS), World Health Organization – Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO–EMRO).

Women among top 1% most-cited researchers

Some 135 out of 938 Iranian researchers who have been recognized among the world's top one percent most-cited researchers in 2023 were female scholars.

In 2023, 938 top researchers affiliated with Iranian organizations have been identified, which shows a 12 percent increase compared to the previous year. Over the past decade, the number of highly-cited researchers in the country has been growing.

Women are an important part of society, playing an important role in the development of human societies, IRNA quoted Ahmad Fazelzadeh, the head of the Islamic World Science and Technology Monitoring and Citation (ISC) Institute, as saying.

One of the indicators of scientific authority is the number of highly cited scientists in each country, and Iranian women researchers have a special place in the field of scientific authority at the national and international level, Fazelzadeh added.

MT/MG