Forbes 30 Under 30 – MENA Region: The AUBites

Nadim Habr (BE ’12) is the founder and chief executive officer of Designhubz, a company that works with online retailers to create an immersive and interactive online shopping experience using web-based 3D and augmented reality enhancements that make current product images and videos seem quaint and outdated. Ikea has signed on with Designhubz to offer their customers in KSA and the Gulf a virtual “try before you buy” experience. 

Nataly Naser Al Deen (PhD cell and molecular biology 2020). As a scholar who received three consecutive fully funded US Department of State scholarships, Al-Deen’s research focuses mainly on single cell and single nucleus RNA sequencing in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and breast cancer. She was selected as the only Global Academic Fellow to the Precision Medicine Council at the World Economic Forum for a year-long science policy fellowship in 2019. In 2015, Al Deen founded Pink Steps, a health exercise support group for breast cancer survivors in Lebanon that promotes physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Al Deen’s commitment to community service and her clear vision turned what was initially a short-term grant program into a well-established and successful NGO.

Abbas Sidaoui (MSFEA PhD student in human-robot interaction). Sidaoui cofounded Revotonix the first startup in Lebanon and the Middle East to specialize in developing fully autonomous mobile robots and mechatronics solutions. Revotonix’s first product “Felix,” was a human-sized robot used primarily for customer support and advertising. The company has proposed robotics solutions to customers in Lebanon, Egypt, and GCC countries. Revotonix is currently designing a window cleaning robot for a company in Chile. 

The youngest of the recipients at age 20, Kamel Wehbe’s role as the first National Youth Liaison to the Lebanese President positioned him to influence overall national policy in favor of the youth of Lebanon while still studying economics and politics at AUB. Wehbe has worked on parliamentary committees concerned with human rights and school policy.  He was part of the team that achieved the equivalency of the Lebanese Baccalaureate with the International Baccalaureate. Wehbe is a National Public Speaking Champion, and founding president of the Young Diplomats Club at AUB.