The Saudi professor who was declared a winner of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation, said he was caught by surprise. “I was shocked,” Abdullah Muhaidib told the Saudi Gazette on Saturday during a telephone interview shortly after the awards were announced. “I had submitted my book around 10 months ago and I totally forgot about it,” he said. The committee contacted Muhaidib Saturday afternoon to inform him that he won. Muhaidib won for this translation from English into Arabic Geotechnical Engineering: Soil Mechanics by John N. Cernica. The book presents a detailed study of the physical properties of soil and their effects on soil resistance to loads and soil stability. “Translating such a book into Arabic is very necessary for educational purposes – it has become a basic reference for students of civil engineering in the Kingdom,” said Saeed Al-Saeed, head of scientific committee of the award. “Not only did Muhaidib translate the book in high standards but he also added and contributed significantly to the transfer into Arabic of a large amount of terminology in the field of civil engineering.” “It was very difficult to translate this book,” said Muhaidib who is also the vice dean of the college of engineering for graduate students and quality control at King Saud University. One of the difficulties Muhaibid faced was the lack of Arabic terminology. “I had to innovate many terminologies, because they didn't exist or they were not agreed upon by Arab scientists in the field.” The book was the first book Muhaidib translated and his second translation project is currently in printing. Muhaidib is also the author of Arabization of Engineering Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Statistics and Hopes. Along with Muhaidib, Egyptian Ahmad Fouad Basha won the Translation award in Natural Science, from other languages into Arabic. Moroccan Abdulsalam Al-Shaddadi and Italian Claudia M. Tresso jointly won the award for Humanities and Social Sciences – for translating from Arabic into other languages. Egyptian Salih Sadawi Salih won the translation award in Humanities and Social Sciences – from other languages into Arabic. However, no one won the award for the translation award in the Natural Sciences from Arabic into other languages due to lack of quality in submitted entries. King Fahd Complex for the Printing of Glorious Qur'an won the Translation award for institutions. “The Complex won for their great value and quantity of distinguished works of translation it administrates, and funds,” said Saeed. A total of 186 applicants submitted their work to the committee from 30 different countries in 16 languages. “The award comes at a vital time when translations in the Arab world is at its weakest,” said Faisal Bin Abdurahman Bin Muammar, supervisor general of King Abdulaziz Public Library and the award. “We are hoping that through the award, Arabic translation to and from other languages are encouraged, supported and revived to its prior glory.” The holistic goal of the awards is not only to increase the number of translations in the Arab world but also strengthen its quality. This is the first year the award has been effective and organizers hope that the award will bridge cultural and scientific communities together. Bin Muammar announced that the award committee will be ready to receive applicants for next years award from March 15-to August 15th 2008. A reception ceremony will be scheduled in a month's time for the winners to receive their awards of SR500 thousand each, a certificate and a golden medallion. __
