Database systems research in the Arab world

FROM HAMMURABI’S STONE tablets to papyrus rolls and leather-bound books, the Arab region has a rich history of recordkeeping and transactional systems that closely matches the evolution of data storage mediums. Even modern-day data management concepts like data provenance and lineage have historic roots in the Arab world; generations of scribes meticulously tracked Islamic prophetic narrations from one narrator to the next, forming lineage chains that originated from central Arabia. Database systems research has been part of the academic culture in the Arab world since the 1970s. High-quality computer science and database education was always available at several universities within the Arab region, such as Alexandria University in Egypt. Many students who went through these programs were drawn to database systems research and became globally prominent, such as Ramez Elmasri (professor at University of Texas, Arlington), Amr El Abbadi (professor at University of California, Santa Barbara), and Walid Aref (professor at Purdue University). Some have commented that it was easy to get into database research because it is a microcosm of computer science. The big tent of database research encompasses all: from systems to theory to languages and query optimization. Today, many prominent database researchers are settling within the region and furthering its database research culture. For example, Ahmed Elmagarmid at the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) received the 2019 SIGMOD Contributions Award, Azza Abouzied at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) in the U.A.E. received the 2019 VLDB Test of Time Award, and of the six ACM Distinguished Members and Fellows in the region at the time of this writing, three are database systems researchers: Ashraf Aboulnaga, Ahmed Elmagarmid, and Mohamed Mokbel (all at QCRI). While the reasons for establishing their research groups within the region may vary, there are a few main influencing factors. First, there is a growing, collaborative nucleus of researchers spread throughout the region. Second, there is a thirst for establishing global research universities locally or in partnership with international universities. Third, there are funding opportunities and supportive environments for high-impact research. Finally and most importantly, there are many eager graduate students and young researchers interested in data research. We describe the works of a few researchers to illustrate the diversity and richness of database systems research in the region. We begin our tour by exploring research on data preparation Database Systems Research in the Arab World: A Tradition that Spans Decades DOI:10.1145/3447750