Dr AHMED SHAMS
Research Officer, Henley Business School
Sessional Lecturer, Durham University
Research Consultant, Oxford University

Email:
ahmed.shams@alumni.imtlucca.it; a.shams@henley.ac.uk

Links:
https://eamena.org/people/dr-ahmed-shams
http://durham.academia.edu/ahmedshams/
http://ahmedshams.com/sinai-peninsula


RESEARCH INTEREST

- Mapping, mapmaking & geographical knowledge-making
- Cartographic archaeology
- Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) and the economic value of landscapes
- Landscape and land use
- Watershed management
- Nature parks
- Mountain/highlands development
- Desert & mountain frontiers and borderlands (Middle East, Alps, Hindu-Kush/Himalaya & Tibet)

EDUCATION

Dec. 2019
Executive Education, Leadership - Influence and Impact
Henley Business School, Henley, United Kingdom

Mar. 2010 – Mar. 2013
PhD in MDCH - Management and Development of Cultural Heritage
IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy, AlpEnv Institute for Alpine Environment, EURAC European Research Academy, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy

Sep. 2000 – Sep. 2005
BSc Engineering Management
Excellent/Honors; Senior Graduation Project (Grade A)
Department of Industrial and System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, MUST Misr University for Science and Technology, Cairo, Egypt


TEACHING, RESEARCH & REVIEWING

- Dec 2018 – current
Research Consultant, SinaiArcheoWater (EAMENA Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa), School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Nov 2018
Career Coaching (sessions), IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
- May 2015 – current
Research Officer, Henley Business School, University of Reading, Reading, UK
- Feb. 2014 – current
MA Sessional Lecturer, MA-ICHM International Cultural Heritage Management, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK
- Mar. 2013 – Feb. 2014
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK
- Oct. 2011 – Jan. 2013
Researcher, AlpEnv Institute for Alpine Environment, EURAC European Research Academy, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy
- Feb. 2009 – Mar. 2010
Research Analyst & Assistant to Editor in Chief, EU European Commission & CULTNAT Centre for Documentation of Natural and Cultural Heritage, Cairo/Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
- Sep. 2007 – Jun. 2008
Researcher, Sinai Peninsula Research, Cairo/Sinai, Egypt
- May – Sep.2007
Environmental Management Specialist, EcoConServ Environmental Consultant, Cairo, Egypt
- Sep. 2005 – Jun. 2007
Teaching Assistant, Department of Industrial and System Engineering, MUST Misr University for Science and Technology, Cairo, Egypt


MEMBERSHIP IN ACADEMIC SOCIETIES

Jan. 2019 – current Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), London, UK
Jan. 2014 – current UNESCO-ICOM − UK International Council of Museums, Paris/Edinburgh, UK
Jan. 2014 – current PEF – Palestine Exploration Fund, London, UK
Jun. 2015 – current MRS – Market Research Society, London, UK

SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS & AWARDS

- Mar. 2010 – Mar. 2013
PhD Fellowship of the Government of the Republic of Italy, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy (2nd rank out of 6 awarded PhD students, out of 270 applicants ‘open international call’)
- Sep. 2011 – Sep. 2012
Research Collaboration Grant, EURAC European Research Academy, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy (AlpEnv Institute for Alpine Environment)
- Mar. 2013 – Jun.2013
Cultural Engagement Fund, AHRC Arts and Humanities Research Council, London, United Kingdom (Department of Archaeology/Institute of Advanced Studies, Durham University)
- Jun. 2014 – Jun. 2016
Leverhulme Research Grants, BA British Academy − Humanities and Social Sciences, London, United Kingdom (SRG 2013-14 round ‘joint with Queen Mary University of London’)


FIELDWORK & SCIENTIFIC VISITS

FIELDWORK
Middle East Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
United Kingdom & Europe Alto Adige-Südtirol, Italy; Mont Blanc de Cheilon-Monte Rosa ridge, Italy/Switzerland

EXHIBITIONS & CATALOGUING PROJECTS

- Nov. 2015 - Apr. 2016
Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) – Maps of the “Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai” and “Jennings Bramley”, London, United Kingdom (catalogued and attributed the 19th and 20th centuries maps of the British Royal Engineers and the Frontier Districts Administration (FDA))
- Nov. 2-30, 2017
Royal Geographical Society & Saint Catherine Foundation − Boissonnas in Egypt, London, United Kingdom (provided and contributed to the attribution and description of the exhibitions entries)
- Jan. 2018 – Jan. 2019
Library of the Congress – Photograph collections of Eric & Edith Matson (Photograph Department of the American Colony of Jerusalem), Francis Frith, Bernhard Moritz, and Underwood & Underwood, Washington, United States (provide the attributions, history and geography description/notes, for Sinai’s 19th and 20th centuries photographic entries on the Prints & Photographs Catalogue)


PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

- Shams, A. August 2011e. Eight years wandering in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: A tale of two maps. Cairo, Sinai Peninsula Research (SPR) (ISBN: 9781447812838)

EXHIBITION CATALOGUES

- Shams, A. November 2017b. A Swiss Photographic Journey: Egypt’s Landscapes from Alexander’s Desert Temple to Mount Sinai, and Beyond. In Boissonnas and Egypt, ed. O. Baddeley, London: Saint Catherine Foundation & Royal Geographical Society

THE SINAI’S MAPS TRILOGY (JOURNAL PAPERS)

- Shams, A. September 2021c. Time for a New Sinai Map? J. Cartographica (The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization) 56(3):208-225 (DOI: 10.3138/cart-2020-0018)
- Shams, A. August 2021b. Sinai’s Imaginary Boundary Line in Twenty-first Century. J. Borderlands Studies (DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2021.1968930)
- Shams, A. 2016g. Mapping and mapmaking in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: A review and the revival of the 19th century practices. Q. Palestine Exploration 148(3):188-210 (DOI: 10.1080/00310328.2016.1201738)

OTHER JOURNAL PAPERS

- Tews, S., Harkel, L. T. and A. Shams. September 2022b. From the Coast to the High Mountains: A Remote Sensing Survey of Disturbances and Threats to the Archaeology and Heritage of South Sinai. J. Maritime Archaeology. (DOI: 10.1007/s11457-022-09335-2)
- Shams, A. and U. Tappeiner. January 2015a. Semi-arid watershed management: The experimental farm and representative catchment of the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. Int. J. of Water 9(1):1-27 (DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2015.067443)
- Shams, A. November 2014f. A rediscovered-new ‘Qanat’ system in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula, with Levantine reflections. J. Aid Environments 110: 69-74. (DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.06.006)
- Shams, A. December 2012c. Towards a quantification model: The accountability of the for-profit and nonprofit organizations in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. Int. J. Tourism Anthropology 2(3):185-212 (DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2012.050758)

SHORT ARTICLES

- Shams, A. September 2021a. Sinai in Ten Maps. ASOR / The Ancient Near East Today 9 (1)
- Shams, A. September 2019b. Sinai’s Century: Sinai’s Century: The Photographs of the Library of Congress. ASOR / The Ancient Near East Today 7 (9)
- Shams, A. July 2018a. Sinai’s Unfinished 150-year Survey. ASOR / The Ancient Near East Today 6 (7)

CONFERENCE PAPERS

- Shams, A. July 2014d. Trans-border impacts on governance decentralisation and landscape in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: Review and alternatives. In Heritage 2014: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Heritage & Governance for Sustainability)
- Shams, A. B. Stoinschek and U. Tappeiner. June 2012b. Heritage-based land use patterns in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula and the Alps: A neo socio-ecological perspective. In Heritage 2012: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Heritage & Environment)
- Shams, A. July 2011d. The treasures of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai: From the treasury of 6th century CE to the museum of 21st century CE. J. Predella 29: Online (Section: Museums)
- Shams, A. June 2011c. Themes of traditional-modernized daily life of the Gebaliya tribe in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Sharing Cultures 2011: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Intangible Heritage, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, 585-594, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Social Practices)
- Shams, A. April 2011b. Towards a quantification model: The impact of eco-cultural heritage-based mass tourism in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Proceedings of Tourism in an Era of Uncertainty (ICOT 2011), ed. K. Andriotis and A. Theocharous, 672-683, Cyprus: International Association for Tourism Policy (Theme: Sustainability & Environment in Tourism)
- Shams, A. June 2010b. Integrated cluster of centralized heritage-based nano-economies in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Heritage 2010: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, ed. R. Amoêda, S. Lira and C. Pinheiro, 421-430, Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development (Theme: Heritage & Economics)

REVIEWS

- Shams, A. June 2016e. Chambon, A. eds. Gaza from Sand and Sea: Art and History in the Jawdat al-Khoudary Collection, 2012. Pp. 204. Jerusalem: Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Française de Jerusalem. Q. Palestine Exploration 148(2):148-150

ABSTRACTS

- Shams, A. October 2022c. Mount Sinai, a mountain? The Governance of Cultural Ecosystem Services in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In 2nd Global Mountain Sustainability Forum (GMS) Conference, ed., Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS): Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research and Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University (UNU-EHS)
- Harkel, L. T. and A. Shams. January 2022a. Sinai’s climate challenge: How the past can inform the future. In Climate, Culture, Peace ICCROM Conference, ed., The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and The British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund (CPF), in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
- Shams, A. February 2020b. Mapping post-colonial development in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Imaginaries of Development in the Highlands: The constitution of mountain areas as spaces for international development cooperation since 1945, ed., Center for Global Studies (CGS), University of Bern (Swiss National Science Foundation)
- Harkel, L. T. and A. Shams. January 2020a. The SinaiArchaeoWater project: remote and field-based survey of recent heritage sites in a landscape context. In British Association of Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) Conference 2020, Critical Debates in the Archaeology of the Middle East, ed., 36-37, Oxford: School of Archaeology, University of Oxford & Ashmolean Museum
- Shams, A. September 2019c. On-and-off the Maps: Geographical Names in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East. In Changing Geographical Names as a Challenge for Research and Gazetteer Management. Expectations and Perspectives for Future Development, ed., Marburg: Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe
- Shams, A. July 2015c. Mapping the vicinity of Mount Sinai: The representation of a sacerd landscape (whilst) on the move. In Portable Landscapes: Environments on the Move, ed., Durham: Centre for Visual Arts and Culture
- Shams, A. October 2014e. Ancient agriculture in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula in the light of the new-rediscovered 'Qanat' system. In The Qanāt: Archaeology and Environment, ed., Durham: Department of Archaeology
- Shams, A. August 2011f. Dynamics of rural mobility in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula. In Programme Book: Royal Geographical Society ‘with IBG’ Annual International Conference (AC2011), ed., sections: 132 and 171, London: Royal Geographical Society (Themes: Rural Mobilities - Engaging with Rurality (Whilst) On the Move & Urban, Suburban and Rural Development)

PRESS ARTICLES

- Shams, A. May 11, 2017a. From St. Catherine's to the Nile. Al-Ahram Weekly (1344)
- Shams, A. June 30, 2016f. Sinai governance: Lines and boundaries. Al-Ahram Weekly (1302)
- Shams, A. April 21, 2016d. Sinai economy: Timely questions. Al-Ahram Weekly (1292)
- Shams, A. March 17, 2016c. Sinai society: The Bedouin epicenter. Al-Ahram Weekly (1287)
- Shams, A. February 18, 2016b. Sinai water: Towards a sustainable strategy. Al-Ahram Weekly (1283)
- Shams, A. January 14, 2016a. Sinai development: From 1980s to 2000s. Al-Ahram Weekly (1278)
- Shams, A. July 9, 2015b. The Sinai development syndrome. Al-Ahram Weekly (1254)
- Shams, A. March 1, 2014c. Rugum: Rescue plan for the Sinai Mountains. DailyNewsEgypt
- Shams, A. February 19, 2014b. The nature of trekking in the Sinai Mountains. DailyNewsEgypt
- Shams, A. January 2012a. Twinned peaks: The ‘SinaiAlps project’. M. Academia (57):24-25
- Shams, A. January 2010a. El Freish retreat. Eternal Egypt (1):48-75

ATLASES & MAPS

- Shams. A. July 2013a. Pocket atlas of the Sinai Peninsula: Discovering a historical landscape. Berlin, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group - epubli GmbH
- Shams, A. January 2011a. Serabit el-Khadim regional map. Tur, South Sinai Regional Development Program, EU-Commission

BLOG POSTS

- Shams. A. and L. T. Harkel. December 2021e. Which Visitor or Town? The ‘Great Transfiguration’ of Sinai’s Endangered Cultural Mountain Landscape. Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA), School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
- Harkel, L. T. and A. Shams. November 2021d. Declassified Satellite Imagery (KH-9): Analysing the Impact of Mass Tourism on the St Catherine Region, South Sinai. Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA), School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
- Shams. A. April 2020c. Keeping the Sense of Time. Henley Business School.
- Shams. A. and L. T. Harkel. May 2019a. The SinaiArchaeoWater Project (SAW). Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA), School of Archaeology, University of Oxford

POSTERS

- Shams. A. January 2014a. Tales of the Frontier (TotF) ‘In the light of the inscription of the UNESCO transnational Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site (FREWHS)’. Liverpool, Foresight Centre, University of Liverpool - Cultural Engagement Fund Showcase

MEDIA & PRESS

Feb. 22, 2014 BBC Xtra − Week Guest, London, United Kingdom
Aug. 31, 2015 Egyptian State TV / Channel One – Prime Talk-show Guest, Cairo, Egypt
Jun. 9, 2016 BBC Xtra − London, United Kingdom

Other contribute opinion and articles to several UK-based/international newspapers/journal for wider public outreach and engagement: UN-IRIN, Al-Ahram Weekly, The Arab Weekly, Daily News Egypt, etc.


SELECTED CONFERENCES, SEMINARS & TALKS

- Aug. 29 – Nov. 21, 2010
Venice Biennale Architecture − 12th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice, Italy
- Apr. 27 – 30, 2011
International Conference on Tourism (ICOT 2011), Rhodes, Greece (Presenter)
- Aug. 31 – Sep. 2, 2011
Royal Geographical Society ‘with IBG’ − Annual International Conference (AC2011), London, United Kingdom (Presenter)
- Sep. 28, 2012
European Research Academy (EURAC), Institute for Alpine Environment (AlpEnv) − Long Research Night, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
- Nov. 9, 2012
International Biennial of Cultural and Landscape Heritage (Florens 2012), Florence, Italy
- Jan. 23, 2013
World Citation and Collaboration Networks: Uncovering the Role of Geography in Science, Lucca, Italy
- Mar. 7, 2013
Museum Finances: Challenges beyond Economic Crises, Lucca, Italy
- Jun. 5, 2013
Durham University − Archaeology Research Seminar 2012-2013 Comparative, Landscape Dynamics at the Perimeter of the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula: Late Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age New Sites Revealed, Durham, United Kingdom (Presenter)
- Jun. 7, 2013
Great North Museum Workshops − Users, Fans and Followers: Engaging with Museums, Galleries and Heritage via Social Media, Newcastle, United Kingdom
- Oct. 17 − 19, 2014
Durham University − The Qanāt: Archaeology and Environment, Ancient agriculture in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula in the light of the new-rediscovered 'Qanat' system, Durham, United Kingdom (Presenter)
- Nov. 4, 2014
ExCel London − World Tourism Market London 2014, London, United Kingdom
- Apr. 14, 2015
Victoria & Albert − Culture in Crisis, London, United Kingdom
- Jun. 3, 2015
European Research Academy (EURAC), Institute for Alpine Environment (AlpEnv) − The Traditional Irrigation Channels and Local Water Reservoirs in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula and the Alps: A Low Cost Water Supply System? Bolzano/Bozen, Italy (Presenter)
- Jun. 6, 2016
British Museum − The Destruction of Memory, London, United Kingdom
- Feb. 1, 2017
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology & Heritage Lottery Fund − The 150 Years Gap in Mapping and Mapmaking in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East, London, United Kingdom (Speaker)
- Oct. 26, 2017
School of Oriental and African Study (SOAS), Centre for Palestine Studies − The Balfour Declaration, One Century After, London, United Kingdom
- Nov. 2, 2017
Royal Geographical Society & Saint Catherine Foundation (Ondaatje Theatre) – (On) Geographical Knowledge and Mapmaking in Sinai Peninsula, London, United Kingdom (Speaker)
- Dec. 12, 2017
School of Oriental and African Study (SOAS), London Middle East Institute (LMEI) (Khalili Theatre) − Lines or No Lines: The Reality of Maps in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East, London, United Kingdom (Speaker)
- Jun. 7, 2018
University of Oxford, School of Archaeology, Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) – Sinai Peninsula: Landscape, Knowledge-making, and Remote Sensing Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom (Speaker)
- Jun. 26-27, 2018
Durham University, Department of Archaeology, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage & British Council (Newton-Moshrafa Fund & UK-India Education Research Initiative) – Politics, Heritage and Identity in Cultural Heritage Workshop & Benchmarking the social and economic impacts of the tangible and intangible heritage of Middle Egypt Workshop, Durham, United Kingdom (Presenter)
- Nov. 5, 2018
ExCel London − World Tourism Market London 2018, London, United Kingdom
- Feb. 19, 2019
University of Erfurt (Universität Erfurt), Gotha Research Centre (Forschungszentrum Gotha), Perthesforum AND University of Oxford, School of Archaeology, Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) & SinaiArchaeoWater Project – “150-year in the Making”: Historic Geography and Cartographic Archaeology in Sinai Peninsula, Gotha, Germany (Speaker)
- Sep. 9-11, 2019
Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe Project – On-and-off the Maps: Geographical Names in Sinai Peninsula and the Middle East, Marburg, Germany (Presenter)
- Nov. 14, 2019
Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) – “In Each Others' Steps”: Visualizing Biblical Mount Sinai, Pittsburgh, United States (Speaker)
- Feb. 27-28, 2020
Center for Global Studies (CGS), University of Bern AND Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) – Mapping post-colonial development in the High Mountains of Sinai Peninsula, Bern, Switzerland (Presenter)
- Jul. 10, 2021
The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) and The Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) – Mount Sinai: Knowledge-making in “Biblical South” and across the peninsula, London (online), United Kingdom (Speaker)
- Aug. 30, 2021
Near Eastern Seminar Series (NESS), School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI), The University of Sydney – On and off the maps: The "cartographic" peninsula of Mount Sinai, Sydney (online), Australia (Speaker)
- Jan. 24, 2022
The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and The British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund (CPF), in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) – Sinai’s climate challenge: How the past can inform the future, Rome (online), Italy (Presenter)
- Apr. 28, 2022
Almaty Management University and BRID program, UN Department Office for Global Communications, UN information office – Sustainability education: Trade, business, local development, Almaty (online), Kazakhstan (Presenter)
- Oct. 27, 2022
European Research Academy (EURAC), Institute for Alpine Environment (AlpEnv) − The cartographic theory and cultural ecosystem services in the natural parks of Alto Adige/Südtirol: Naturpark Rieserferner-Ahrn / Parco Naturale Vedrette di Ries-Aurina, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy (Speaker)

LANGUAGES

English (fluent); Arabic (fluent); French (basic); Italian (basic)