Under the Patronage of HE Mohammed Al-Mahrouqi, Chairman of Oman Public Authority of Electricity and Water (PAEW) a joint expert workshop on the dangers of Harmful Algal Blooms (commonly called red tides) on desalination plants is to be held in Oman on 8-9 February, organized by the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC), National Centre for Excellence in Desalination (NCEDA) Australia and the Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The two-day expert workshop will be held at MEDRC located in Muscat, Oman..MEDRC and the PWA announce the 2012 MSc scholarship program for students in Gaza and the West Bank... MEDRC awards M.Sc Scholarship in Municipal Water and Infrastructure, specialization water Supply Engineering to Mr. Mohammed Awni Hamdan AlJirjawi of Palestinian Authority to attend UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education...MEDRC awards PhD Scholarship in Decision Mapping and Optimal Inspection Models for Oman Sea Water Desalination Plants to Mr. Ahmed Fadhil Said Al Hinai of Oman to attend Glasgow Caledonian Engineering College... MEDRC and the Palestinian Water Authority Establish a Center of Excellence for Desalination and Water Reuse Technologies......Environmental Impact of desalination, send us your thoughts at info@medrc.org.........The NATO Science for Peace Program and the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) awarded grants to researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev and Hashemite University of Jordan to continue working on a novel desalination method, for more info contact research@medrc.org.....MEDRC awards first research project of the MEDRC-PWA Center of Excellence to Professor Dr. Marwan Haddad of An Najah National University, entitled: Solar Desalination of Brackish Water by RO Membranes Powered by Photovoltaic Cells in West Bank, Palestine