Our crew

Nikolas Kosmatopoulos

Associate Professor at the Departments of Political Studies and Public Administration & Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies at the American University of Beirut, author of “Master Peace: Lebanon’s Violence and the Politics of Expertise” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024). His research interests include the politics of violence and peacemaking as well as shipping, insurgencies and solidarity politics at sea. Nikolas is co-navigator of FLOATS.

Siba Mroueh

Coordinator of the FAIRShips project, Siba holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology of Politics, Violence, and Crime from University College London, where she focused on the role of think tanks in shaping policies in West Asia and North Africa. She previously earned degrees in Arabic Language and Literature as well as Sociology/Anthropology from the American University of Beirut (AUB), where she was recognized with the prestigious Anwar Salman Award in Literature. Beyond academics, Siba has co-founded, led, and participated in various political clubs and literary societies.

SARAH SABRA

A Master’s student in Public Policy and International Affairs, with a passion for exploring how communication and policy intersect to drive meaningful change. As part of the Visualizing Palestine Solidarity project, Sarah focuses on tracking ships to Gaza (Gaza flotillas), shedding light on the role of maritime activism in the fight for justice. She is passionate about delving into the powerful stories and strategies behind solidarity efforts at sea.

GEORGES PHILIPPE AL ACHKAR

A master’s student in Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut. After forced migration in the Mediterranean, he is now diving into the environmental effects of wars, particularly in the East basin. Georges Philippe also looks at maritime solidarities and ways of accountability. His thesis will encompass toxic materials and weapons ships to Lebanon.

Rawan al ahdal

A dedicated researcher and a recipient of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Scholarship, currently pursuing a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Societies. With a strong academic background in sociology, anthropology, and human rights from the American University of Beirut, Rawan’s research focuses on the socio-economic impact of AI, sustainable development, and the intersection of technology with marginalized communities. Her work also encompasses research on human security, social justice, nationalism, and ongoing studies on the Muhamasheen community in Yemen. Rawan is involved in a research project exploring the maritime dynamics of the Yemeni seas, focusing on the challenges, mobility, and rootlessness at sea, while promoting awareness of cultural, social, and environmental maritime narratives.

JAN PHILIPP GROSS

An MA candidate at the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut and a lawyer. His current research at the intersection of anthropology and law deals with memories preserved and embodied by objects in the sea and the question of who owns these memories.

DINA Al Amood

Economics student at the American University of Beirut with research interests in economic development, international maritime law, and transitional justice. Currently, she serves as a researcher for the Fairships Research Project, where she focuses on tracking and mapping the activities of Yemeni maritime insurgents as part of the Visualizing Palestine Solidarity project.

ChristoPHER KABAKIAN

Economics student minoring in International Law at the American University of Beirut, with research interests on Financial Economics, Stock Market Dynamics, Globalization and International Law. He is fluent in English, French, Arabic, Armenian and Spanish. As a researcher for the Fairships Project, Chris is currently part of the Visualizing Palestine Solidarity Project, where he focuses on the detection and mapping of blockages of armed ships heading to Gaza through ports. 

ABDULLAH AL AWLAKI

Previous crew

Marwa Elshakry

An Associate Professor, and teaches on a broad range of subjects in the history of science, technology, and medicine and modern Arabic intellectual history. Her first book, entitled, Reading Darwin in Arabic was published in 2013 with the University of Chicago Press. She is currently working on the idea of golden ages, universal histories and the history of science and orientalism from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. She received her Ph.D. (2003) from Princeton. Marwa is co-navigator of FLOATS.

Kevin St Martin

An Associate Professor at Rutgers University. He is a human geographer whose work is at the intersection of economic geography, political ecology, and critical applications of GIScience. His research concerns the development and institutionalization of economic and environmental discourse. It emerges from a strong background in both social theory and spatial analysis, and it has been clearly and consistently linked to issues of environmental policy. While at Rutgers, he has worked on several well-funded research projects that have in common the regulation and transformation of the marine environment.

Gesine Klipstein

Borja Nogué Algueró

A doctoral candidate at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) working in the fields of political ecology, ecological economics and environmental history. His research centers on degrowth and the marine environment, with a focus on the Mediterranean.

Elisa Kim

An Assistant Professor of Art at Smith College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in energy and environmental policy from Boston University and a Master of architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. Kim's research combines methodologies from environmental policy with architectural drawing and representation to engage a wide set of concerns about the environment, borders and boundaries. Her current oceanic mappings question the agency of the line and the illusion of the fixity of the map as an outlined artifact delineating cultural, political and social bodies from one another.