INSIde: Research 4-5 Initiatives 6-7 Community 8News 1-3

dean Yves gnanou

An engaging talk by President Choon Fong Shih welcomed new students

to the campus at the 2012 Convocation September 3, marking the begin-

ning of KAUST’s fourth academic year.

Professor Shih spoke of King Abdullah’s dream of founding “a univer-

sity that would rekindle the Golden Age of Islamic Civilization and its

great traditions of scholarship and service.”

“King Abdullah wanted a university of global excellence, one imbued

with a spirit that seeks knowledge for the larger purpose of serving

humanity through scientific and engineering solutions to the problems

facing the Kingdom and the world.”

Professor Shih offered an interpretation of the King’s dream in three

words: excellence with purpose.

Professor Shih then spoke of another visionary, the late Steve Jobs,

founder of Apple. “In the early 1980’s, Jobs’s team started working on

the original Mac. Recognizing that going for quick results can undermine

excellence, Jobs constantly told his people ‘Don’t compromise.’”

“Jobs did not speak about maximizing profit or minimizing costs. he

said: ‘Being the richest man doesn’t matter to me. My passion has been to

build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great

products. everything else was secondary.’”

“From Apple, let us turn to universities. What do universities pro-

duce? Three deliverables come to mind – graduates, research, and

increasingly, technology transfer. Through these products, top univer-

sities impact the world.”

“The scientist is driven by curiosity to discover. The engineer is driven

by compulsion to make things work and deliver value.”

“At KAUST, our Academic Divisions integrate Science and engineering.

At KAUST, our scientists and engineers are encouraged to work together

– to think big, to push the boundaries of knowledge, to deliver innova-

tive technologies. At KAUST, our four research thrusts – Water, Food,

energy, and the environment – offer rich intellectual space for our sci-

entists and engineers to work together to discover and deliver.” DeAn GnAnOu | Continued on p2

PrOfessOr yves GnAnOu APPOinteD DeAn Of PhysicAl sciences AnD enGineerinG

قدم الربوفسور تشون فونغ شيه حديثا استقطب االهتمام، رحب فيه بالطلبة اجلدد واستقباهلم يف احلرم اجلامعي يف 3 سبتمرب مع بداية العام الرابع

للجامعة. وقد حتدث الربوفسور شيه عن حلم خادم احلرمني الشريفني امللك عبداهلل بتأسيس "جامعة تعيد الوهج لشعلة العصر الذهيب للحضارة اإلسالمية

وتراثها العظيم يف جمال التعليم وخدمته".وقد أراد امللك عبداهلل تأسيس جامعة ذات متيز عاملي وجامعة ذات روح وثابة تسعى للمعارف خلدمة اهلدف األمسى املتمثل يف خدمة البشرية من

خالل اإلهتداء إىل احللول العلمية واهلندسية للمشاكل اليت تواجه اململكة والعامل قاطبة".

وقدم الربوفسور شيه تفسرًيا حللم امللك عبداهلل يف ثالث كلمات هي: التميز مع اهلدف. مث حتدث الربوفسور شي عن شخصية حاملة أخرى هو ستيف

جوبس، مؤسس شركة آبل، قائال "يف أوائل الثمانينات، بدأ فريق جوبس العمل على جهاز ماك األصلي. وقد كان جوبس يدرك متام االدراك أن اجلري وراء النتائج السريعة يعين تدمري التميز وكان حيث فريقه دائما على عدم اللجوء

إىل احللول الوسطى.واستطرد الربوفسور شيه قائال أن "جوبس مل يتحدث عن تعظيم األرباح أو

خفض النفقات، وكان يقول كون أنه شخص واسع الثراء أو أغىن رجل ال يعين له شيًئا، وأن جل شغفه كان يتمثل يف بناء شركة معمرة ومستمرة يتم فيها حتفيز الناس لعمل منتجات عظيمة وأن أي شئ آخر خبالف ذلك يعده

أمرا ثانويا".وقال "دعونا ننتقل من آبل للتحدث عن اجلامعات ولنسأل ماذا تنتج

اجلامعات؟ ولالجابة على هذا التساؤل تطرأ ثالثة متطلبات- اخلرجيون واألحباث وبصورة متنامية نقل التقنية. ومن خالل هذه املنتجات يكون تأثري

أرفع اجلامعات على العامل". "فالرجل العامل يدفعه الفضول لالستكشاف. واملهندس حيركه االندفاع جلعل

األشياء تعمل وحتقق قيمة". "ويف جامعة امللك عبداهلل، تتوىل األقسام األكادميية الدمج بني العلوم واهلندسة. ويف جامعة امللك عبداهلل جيري تشجيع العلماء واملهندسني

للتعاون مًعا والتفكري يف أفكار عظيمة لتجاوز حدود املعرفة وابتكار تقنيات جديدة. ويف جامعة امللك عبداهلل تتمثل حمركات أحباثنا األربعة يف املاء

والغذاء والطاقة والبيئة وهي مبثابة جماالت فكرية ثرية لعلمائنا ومهندسينا o .للتعاون معا بهدف االكتشاف وحتقيق النتائج املرجوة

تعيني الربوفسور إيف نانو عميدا لقسم العلوم واهلندسة الفيزيائية

يف خماطبته الحتفال استقبال الطالب اجلدد رئيس اجلامعة يتحدث عن

التميز واهلدف

مت أخريا تعيني الربوفسور إيف نانو عميًدا جديًدا لقسم العلوم واهلندسة الفيزيائية يف جامعة امللك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية، جالًبا معه خربته املكثفة يف اإلدارة األكادميية وخربته البحثية من املؤسسة

التعليمية العريقة اليت قدم منها وهي جامعة إكول بوليتكنيك يف باريس، حيث شغل منصب

نائب الرئيس للشئون األكادميية واألحباث يف هذه اجلامعة العريقة. كما أنه واثقًا من قدرته على

املساعدة يف وضع جامعة امللك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية على خارطة التميز األكادميي.

وما اجتذبه إىل هذه املؤسسة الفتية ما تتميز به من "رؤية جريئة وبنية حتتية مدهشة" على حد قوله،

ويبحث الربوفسور نانو عن اجلودة والتميز يف الطلبة وهيئة التدريس لربنامج أكادميي مع الرتكيز على

العالقة الوثيقة بني العلوم واهلندسة األساسية. ويعلق قائال أنه "يف بيئة اليوم ذات املنافسة احلادة ال مكان للرتاخي وأنه يتعذرعلينا النجاح يف الدمج

بني التميز األكادميي والتنمية االقتصادية ما مل

PROFeSSOR Yves Gnanou, newly appointed

Dean of Physical Sciences and engineering

(PSe) brings to KAUST his extensive academic

management, teaching, and research experi-

ence at a long-established institution: École

Polytechnique (eP) in Paris. he held the role

of Vice President of Academic Affairs and of

Research at this grande ecole and is confident

that he can be part of “putting KAUST on the

map of academic excellence.”

Attracted to this young institution by the

“bold vision and fantastic infrastructure,” Dean

Gnanou seeks quality and excellence in students

and faculty for an academic program with an

emphasis on a close relationship between basic

science and engineering. “In today’s competi-

tive environment,” he commented, “there is no

room for complacency. Only by propagating the

work habits of a truly academic institution can

we succeed in blending academic excellence

and economic development.”

KAUST President Choon Fong Shih said:

“Yves Gnanou shares our aspiration to build

a great research university which makes

pReSIdeNT ShIh SpeAKS Of exCelleNCe, pURpOSe

IN CONvOCATION AddReSSتتمه صفحة 2

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

www.kaust.edu.sa

beACONthe ة املنـار

September 2012 / Jumada Al-Akhir 1433 volume 3, Issue No. 1

in brief leAdeRS Of TOMORROwFOUR KAUST students attended the 2012 St. Gallen

Symposium in May.

The Swiss city of St. Gallen is home to one of the top busi-

ness schools in europe, the University of St. Gallen, known

for its programs in management, economics, and commerce.

equally well-known is the annual St. Gallen Symposium,

drawing 600 leaders of government, business, and civil soci-

ety. At this annual event, leaders of today come to debate

with students selected and invited from around the world

(Leaders of Tomorrow). The resulting intergenerational dis-

cussions are enlivened by intercultural exchanges which give

unique insights into “how the young generation views the

world, what it expects, what it dreads, and what attracts it.”

Facing Risk was the theme of this year’s two-day

Symposium in May. The theme, with applications in business,

science, and technology, is directed to many basic questions

for humanity and many decisions taken daily by scientists,

managers, teachers, and others.

Four KAUST students were invited to attend this year’s

Symposium: Ahmad Showail (PhD CS), Bingmu Xiao (MS

erSe), Kiran narayanan (PhD Me), and Luis Lujan Rodriguez

(MS enSe).

An intercultural group, they represent four countries: Saudi

Arabia, China, India, and Mexico. extremely enthusiastic,

they have expressed many ideas about future contributions

to the student experience and the student voice at KAUST. For

all four, attendance at the St. Gallen Symposium has been a

high point in their graduate student careers, and they convey

their ideas with excitement and freshness.

lefT TO RIghT: luis luján, Kiran Narayanan, bingmu xiao, Ahmad Showail

DeAn GnAnOu | Continued from p1

enduring contributions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and

the wider world. he possesses an outstanding record in aca-

demic leadership, and is a researcher of international distinction.

his dedication to the highest standards will further strengthen

KAUST’s culture of academic and research excellence.”

For Provost Stefan Catsicas, Yves Gnanou’s experience at

École Polytechnique is a unique attribute to his career. “Like eP,

we pursue a transdisciplinary educational model to foster a tra-

dition of leadership amongst our students. This model, adapted

to the needs of the Kingdom and the region, will further enable

KAUST students to graduate as innovative and highly-qualified

professionals equipped to become the next generation of tech-

nology leaders.”

Professor Gnanou’s personal background is the design of

metal-free “green” catalysts for chain and step-growth polymeri-

zations and the assembly of original polymeric architectures by

novel synthetic methods. Professor Gnanou’s publication record

is impressive and he is the co-author of two internationally used

textbooks for undergraduate and graduate students.

Born in Vietnam, Dean Gnanou grew up in Pondicherry, India,

before moving to europe and the US. his wife and children hope

to visit regularly from France.

ننشر عادات العمل اليت متيز املؤسسات األكادميية احلقيقية".ويقول رئيس جامعة امللك عبداهلل، الربوفسور تشون فونغ شيه أن

"إيف نانو يشاطرنا تطلعاتنا إىل بناء جامعة حبثية عظيمة تقدم مساهمات مستدامة للملكة والعامل. ويتمتع نانو بسجل بارز يف

قيادته األكادميية وهو فضال عن ذلك باحث متميز على املستوى العاملي. وال شك أن والءه ألعلى املقاييس سيكسب ثقافة اجلامعة

األكادميية والبحثية املزيد من املنعة واملتانة والتميز".ويرى وكيل اجلامعة ستيفان كاتسيكاس أن خربة إيف نانو يف جامعة إكول بوليتكنيك تعد ميزة فريدة يف تطوره الوظيفي. فجامعة امللك عبداهلل مثلها مثل اجلامعة الفنية تسعى إىل تطبيق منوذج التعليم

متعدد التخصصات البينية من أجل زرع ثقافة الريادة يف الطلبة. وهذا النموذج املعدل ليناسب احتياجات اململكة واملنطقة

سيضفي على طلبة اجلامعة املزيد من التمكني لكي يتخرجوا كمهنيني من ذوي الفعاليات االبتكارية عالية الكفاءة والفعالية

ومؤهلني لكي يصبحوا اجليل القادم من قادة التقنية".وتتمثل اهتمامات الربوفسور نانو البحثية وخلفيته الشخصية يف

تصميم الوسائط الكيميائية "اخلضراء" اخلالية من املعادن لعمليات سلسلة البلمرة وعلى جتميع معماريات البوليمر األصلي باستخدام

طرق تصنيع مبتكرة. وللربوفسور نانو سجل توليف مبهر فهو املؤلف املشارك ألثنني من الكتب املنهجية املستخدمة على نطاق العامل

لطلبة املرحلة اجلامعية واخلرجيني.ولد العميد نانو يف فيتنام و ترعرع يف بلدة بونديشريي يف اهلند

قبل انتقاله اىل أوروبا والواليات املتحدة األمريكية. ويتمىن كل من o .زوجته وأطفاله زيارته بصورة منتظمة من فرنسا

welCOMe New SChOlARS!welCOMe New SChOlARS!

News2

THIS issue of The Beacon marks the beginning of our fourth aca-

demic year. It features President Choon Fong Shih’s speech shared

at Convocation 2012, encouraging each of us to contribute to a

culture of excellence with purpose.

These pages capture some of the energy and activity of our

research community. While over 100 graduate students took up

summer internships around the globe, our faculty and researchers

on campus mentored many young Saudi scholars in challenging

programs as part of Saudi Initiatives, while still others welcomed

high school students from The KAUST Schools into their labs.

One of the many advantages of being a young institution is the

ability to be flexible and dynamic. The realignment of the divisions is

one such example, marking an important moment in the University’s

journey of establishing KAUST in the first ranks of academia.

—THE BEACON Editorial

The Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 1, September 2012. Published by The Communications Department, King abdullah university of science and technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.

Contact Salah Sindi salah.sindi@kaust.edu.sa, or Caroline Kingdon caroline.kingdon@kaust.edu.sa

© King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Printed on partially recycled paper.

http://thelens.kaust.edu.saFind out more at

Visit The Lens for: � News and Updates � Announcements � Information and Events

on CamPus aCCess onLY

September 2012

The alignment of Programs, Divisions, and Research Centers, which was effective from September

1, 2012, is shown in the graphic below.

Bringing together closely related scientific and engineering disciplines within each Division and

providing strong and coherent intellectual platforms, the realignment will promote fundamental

discoveries and support the key priorities of our goal-oriented Research Centers.

Scientific advances in the past ten years have created new research areas including bioinformat-

ics, bioengineering, and nanotechnology. These fields require excellence in each basic discipline and

the capacity to integrate through transdisciplinary channels.

As KAUST Provost, Prof. Stefan Catsicas, told The Beacon, “each Division will combine and

integrate approaches where disciplines merge. At the same time, Research Centers will seek transdis-

ciplinary contributions from the knowledge base of all Divisions. The realignment seeks to promotes

the balance needed between basic research and goal-oriented research which will allow KAUST to

focus on our strategic thrust areas of Water, Food, energy, and environment.”

Kaust weLComes new faCuLtY

transdisCiPLinaritY: SHAPINg RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

األقسام األكادميية:تشكيل عمليات األحباث والتعليم

يوضح الشكل البياين أدناه التشكيل اجلديد للربامج واألقسام األكادميية ومراكز األحباث اعتبارا من 1 سبتمرب 2012.

ويتميز التشكيل اجلديد باجلمع بني التخصصات العلمية واهلندسية ذات العالقة الوثيقة ببعضها اآلخر يف كل قسم، ويؤمن املنصات الفكرية القوية واملرتابطة بصورة منطقية، كما أنه يشجع ويدفع االكتشافات

األساسية ويدعم األولويات الرئيسية ملراكز األحباث ذات األهداف املحددة يف جامعة امللك عبداهلل..وقد أدت التطورات العلمية خالل السنوات العشر املاضية إىل نشوء جماالت أحباث جديدة تشمل استخدام احلاسوب الستخالص وحتليل البيانات البيولوجية واهلندسة البيولوجية وتقنية النانو. وتتطلب هذه املجاالت

التميز يف كل ختصص أساسي والقدرة على الدمج من خالل القنوات متعددة التخصصات البينية.وقد صرح وكيل اجلامعة الربوفسور ستيفان كاتسيكاس ملطبوعة "املنارة" قائال "سيتوىل كل قسم مجع

ودمج أساليب تلتقي عندها التخصصات، ويف الوقت نفسه ستسعى مراكز األحباث للحصول على االسهامات املتعددة التخصصات من قواعد املعرفة املتاحة يف مجيع األقسام. وتهدف اعادة التنظيم هذه إىل إجياد

التوازن املطلوب بني األحباث األساسية واألحباث ذات األهداف املحددة مبا يسمح للجامعة بالرتكيز على o ."جماالت اهتماماتها االسرتاتيجية املتمثلة يف املاء والغذاء والطاقة والبيئة

mani sarathYAssistant Professor, Chemical Engineering,

Clean Combustion Research Center,

Physical Sciences and Engineering Division

Professor Mani Sarathy joins the

University from the Lawrence Livermore

National Laboratory, USA. Prof. Sarathy's main research interest

lies in experimental and computational combustion chemis-

try. His fundamental chemical kinetic models can be coupled

with physical models to simulate fuel combustion and pollut-

ant formation in energy systems, and to decrease the impact

transportation fuel combustion systems have on our envi-

ronment. Prof. Sarathy received his master's degree in 2006

and his PhD in 2010, both in Chemical Engineering, from the

University of Toronto, Canada. He received his bachelor's degree

in Environmental Engineering Chemical Specialization from the

University of Waterloo, Canada, in 2004.

PeiYing hongAssistant Professor, Environmental Science and

Engineering, Water Desalination and Reuse

Center, Biological and Environmental Sciences

and Engineering Division

Professor Peiying Hong joined the University

in August 2012 from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

She obtained a PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering

from the National University of Singapore in 2009. Prof. Hong’s

research interests include molecular microbiology and the microbial

aspects of water and wastewater ecosystems. Her research aims to

understand the roles and interactions of microorganisms in these

ecosystems, and to utilize these insights to solve issues related to

water quality and wastewater treatment. Her research also looks at

the biotic contaminants (e.g. antibiotic resistance genes, pathogens)

that are present in the natural and engineered environments.

Burton JonesProfessor, Marine Science, Red Sea

Research Center

Professor Burton Jones came to KAUST from the

University of Southern California. He combines

biological engineering and oceanography in

his transdisciplinary research into the biological, chemical, and physical

processes in the ocean. He has participated in fundamental worldwide

oceanographic studies. Using ocean observations, remote sensing, and

numerical modeling, he has led efforts to understand the effects of

major conurbations on biological and chemical processes in coastal

ocean regions. At KAUST he is extending this research to an under-

standing of the physical and biogeochemical processes of the Red Sea,

and the interaction of the open sea with the coastal coral reef systems.

The results will be used in environmental management and in planning

future uses of the Red Sea. Prof. Jones received his bachelor’s degree in

Biological Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and

his PhD in Biological Oceanography from Duke University.

News 3September 2012www.kaust.edu.sa

DR. YIhAn Zhu, a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Yu han’s group, co-authored an important paper

with Qingxiao Wang and Dr. Lan Zhao from the Imaging and Characterization Core Lab, which

was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition at the end of last semester.

Today, most plastics are made from feedstock derived from crude oil and natural gas. Indeed,

a major by-product of the petroleum processing is propane, and the more adventurous among

us are familiar with this gas – widely used for camping stoves and barbecue grills. But in fact

over 50% of this inexpensive component is converted into high value-added oxygenates using

a catalytic vapor-cracking process; these monomers are the building blocks for many plastics.

But this is an energy-intensive process and in fact more hydrocarbon fuel is required to effect

this conversion than the hydrocarbon feedstock. enhancing the process with a view to reducing

energy requirements makes both economic and environmental sense.

Key to this chemical conversion process is the catalyst, and the use of complex metal oxide

catalysts (CMOs) has attracted much research attention in past decades. Although the mode of

action simple oxides is well understood, CMOs present some puzzling phenomena that cannot

be explained by bulk structure, and evaluation of the surface termination (the interface where

the catalysis occurs), which could lead to the further enhancement of this energy-intensive pro-

cess, has been challenging.

The extraordinary core facilities at KAUST allowed the team of researchers to directly observe

surface termination using high-resolution electron microscopy (eM) and environmental scan-

ning eM which facilitated direct in situ observation of surface evolution at the major active M2

phase of the reaction. Such examination necessitated an ultrathin sample and the focused ion

beam (FIB) technique used allowed site-specific sample preparation ensuring that the specimen

obtained contained the actual outermost surface.

employing various characterization methods, it was discovered that the surface termination

differed in crystalline structure from the bulk structure and the proposed surface reconstruction

model explains the puzzling catalytic behavior of the M2 phase seen in practical applications.

The elucidation of surface structure is fundamental to optimizing catalytic performance and

this research makes a valuable contribution to the body of work. The paper can be accessed at

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201108532/abstract.

spintronics: why is it important?

An electron carries an electrical charge. This simple feature

is the basis of all electronic gadgets from iPhones to super-

computers. But an electron has a second basic feature, akin to

magnetic polarization, known to scientists as spin.

Spin electronics – or spintronics – is a developing field that

focuses on harnessing the electron’s spin. The benefits for

computer memory and storage could be enormous. Potentially,

spintronics would allow more data to be stored in a computer,

and allow the data to be accessed faster. In addition, a spin-

tronics computer would run cooler and use less power. As an

example, a four gHz desktop PC currently consumes between

60 and 250 watts but a spintronics version might need as little

as 20 watts, or even less.

Fig. 1: Typical Magnetic Random Access Memory architecture

Fig. 2: Mutlilayer stack of a tunneling spin-vave, the fundamen-

tal brick for spin logics and memories.

surfaCes: uP CLose and PersonaL

The Core Laboratories pro-

vide world-class facilities

for KAUST faculty, students,

researchers, and collabo-

rators. The Beacon spoke

with their newly appointed

Core Laboratories Director,

Dr. Xixiang Zhang.

Commenting on research, Dr. Zhang explained that, “As

a core facility, these labs provide cutting edge instruments

to the faculty and researchers way beyond the scope of

those facilities available in individual labs. Our equipment

and resources save faculty members much time and allows

them to focus their research.”

Thus far, Imaging Lab researchers have co-authored

more than 80 publications in very high impact journals

such as Nature, Materials, NanoLetters, and Journal of the

American Chemical Society.”

Dr. Zhang talked about the role of the Core Labs in

education. “Our facilities play a critical role in support-

ing education. Our staff provides certified training so that

qualified users can operate instruments and thus con-

duct their own experiments in the labs. Additionally, we

provide training and technical support for collaborative

research opportunities and our staff is often asked to lec-

ture on specific techniques.

Once users are trained, they become experts in those

techniques – adding to their skill set.

We also support faculty by providing demos, lab courses,

and lectures.”

The Core Lab’s scope is not just internal. “We provide

support to various industrial partners, including Aramco,

SABIC, and Schlumberger, and work closely with the

universities in KAUST’s Global Collaborative Research net-

work, as well as with other universities in the Kingdom,”

Dr. Zhang told The Beacon.

Dr. Zhang has been with KAUST since September 1, 2008.

“It is an honor to continue developing this excellent

facility to better fulfill KAUST’s education and research

mission. I look forward to working with everyone.”

new cOre lAbs DirectOr Dr. xixiAnG zhAnG

In a recently published article, two KAUST

scientists discuss theoretical predictions

that contribute to understanding how

electrical currents control magnetization

direction – a hot topic in the developing

field of ‘spintronics’ (http://spintronics.

kaust.edu.sa).

Aurelien Manchon, Assistant Professor

of Materials Science and engineering,

and postdoctoral fellow Xuhui Wang, co-

authored a paper entitled “Diffusive Spin

Dynamics in Ferromagnetic Thin Films with

a Rashba Interaction” published in Physical

Review Letters 108, 117201 (2012).

Spin electronics – ‘spintronics’ – is a

field that marries conventional electron-

ics with magnetism, where magnetic

configuration of nanodevices controls cur-

rent flow. One of the fundamental effects,

giant magnetoresistance (GMR), enables

ultra-high data storage density, passing the

once-challenging milestone of one million

bits per square inch (1 terabit/in2). The tech-

nology is presently used by Jürgen Kosel,

a KAUST assistant professor of electrical

engineering, in biosensor applications

(http://smm.kaust.edu.sa).

A reciprocal mechanism – ‘spin transfer

torque’ – allows the magnetic configuration

to be manipulated by injection of large cur-

rent densities into the device. This effect is

now exploited in promising applications

such as non-volatile magnetic memo-

ries (MRAM – Fig. 1) and radio-frequency

oscillators. Although not yet commercially

available, this technology is a potentially

viable way to replace dynamic random-

access memories (DRAM) and to perform

reprogrammable logic in low-power-con-

sumption systems. At present, the limitation

is in the complexity of the multilayer stack

needed to achieve a spin-valve (Fig. 2).

A recent development in the field is Profs.

Manchon and Zhang’s theoretical prediction

that an appropriately designed spin-orbit

interaction (a fundamental connection

between the spin and the electron propa-

gation direction) could replace the need for

a polarizer and allow electrical control of

a single ferromagnet’s magnetization. This

would significantly simplify device archi-

tecture and performance. high-end research

in the field has subsequently confirmed

the existence of the so-called ‘spin-orbit-

induced torque,’ and recent work by the

KAUST Spintronics Group paves the way to

a better understanding of this effect.

Kaust researChers Put a new sPin on eLeCtroniCs

The seven Core Laboratories:

� Advanced Nanofabrication, Imaging, and Characterization

� Analytical Chemistry

� Bioscience and Bio-engineering

� Coastal & Marine Resources

� Supercomputing

� Visualization

� Central Workshops

Aurelien Manchon

The BeaconResearch4 September 2012

Just as moveable type enabled printing, the digital age is enabled

by a tiny switch, the transistor, ubiquitous in today’s devices.

Manufacturers continue to miniaturize transistors, yielding

faster computation and more portability. Intel can now package

1.2 billion transistors on a computer chip (microprocessor), in

an area of 2.25 square centimeters. each transistor is less than

one-fortieth the diameter of a human hair!

In miniaturizing, designers are optimizing three parameters:

computation time, functionality, and battery life. This involves

tradeoffs. Particularly, increased functionality penalizes battery

life. But transistor architecture is now reaching a limit where it

is increasingly more difficult to squeeze out any faster compu-

tation, more functionality or longer battery life. Researchers are

thus looking for different and better transistor designs.

electrical engineering Program Assistant Professor

Muhammad Mustafa hussain continues:

“Last year, KAUST founding class MS student hossain Fahad,

published his MS thesis in the high-impact journal NanoLetters.

Fahad demonstrates an ultra-fast nanotube device made of sili-

con with architecture that confines all the electrons (current

carrier) available in the semiconductor to use for switching. The

result is extra-ordinary current – enabling ultra-fast computa-

tion, unique control and in a much smaller area.

In Fall 2011, Fahad extended his project, testing the princi-

ple in both n- and p-type transistors (a computer needs both).

In June 2012, the results were published in Scientific Reports,

newest member of the prestigious nature Group.

A first in semiconductor physics, Fahad and his supervi-

sor Prof. hussain have shown that a single device can achieve

improvement in all three chip parameters: ultra-fast computa-

tion, more functionality, and longer battery life.

Fahad, a Provost Award recipient, won first prize in KAUST’s

Graduate Research Symposium from the Physical Science and

engineering Division. Prof. hussain humbly makes a point that KAUST

students with their dedicated faculty can perform groundbreaking

research using campus resources, fulfilling King Abdullah’s vision.

http://www.nature.com/srep/2012/120627/srep00475/full/

srep00475.html

phd student hossain fahad

“I to the world am like a drop of water that in the ocean seeks another drop …” - Shakespeare

A KAUST doctoral student has run a simulation on the noor

computer cluster to bring new understanding in fluid dynamics.

Marie-Jean Thoraval’s work simulates the vortices and eddies pro-

duced when a single droplet hits a pool of still liquid. The work,

published in Physical Review Letters in June, was done in collabo-

ration with fellow scientists from France, Japan, and new Zealand.

Thoraval, who came to KAUST after completing his master's

at the École Polytechnique in Paris, created a model to simu-

late the splash of a single drop on impact. “I returned to Paris

to learn to use the code which is the basis of this simulation,”

Thoraval told The Beacon. “This model corresponds closely with

images of the same event taken by a high-speed camera.”

“The fundamental dynamics of these splashing effects appear

to have similarities with airflow effects, such as the swirls that

occur when air flows past a telephone wire,” added Thoraval’s

supervisor, Prof. Sigurdur Thoroddsen. “The possibility of such

phenomena occurring in a droplet impact had

not been considered until these results were

seen in simulations at KAUST. Of course,

because of the massive computation capacity

required, we can study only one isolated drop-

let at this high resolution.”

This fundamental research at KAUST may

yield lessons of general value that can be used

in industrial models and perhaps in processes

such as spray coating. Currently, industrial stud-

ies elsewhere focus on such processes as sprays in

fuel-injectors, using statistical models of distribu-

tion of droplets, but do not go into this detail.

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/

PhysRevLett.106.034501

maKing a sPLash

lefT: Marie-Jean Thoraval. AbOve: Impact of a liquid drop and splashing effect (simulation). The top images show liquids originating from the drop (red), from the pool (blue), and the air (green). The lower images show the correspond-ing vorticity in the liquid. The images on the right (g) detail the early oscillation and vortex shedding of (c).

nanotuBes or nanowires for energY management in the digitaL era?

figure 2: Nanotube field effect transistor’s characteristics compared to traditional planar and futuristic nanowire transis-tor shows nanotube transistor has faster computation capabil-ity at a much lower power consumption translating into longer battery life time.

5September 2012www.kaust.edu.sa

figure 1: Nanotube field effect transistor in its off (0) and on (1) state. during on state, all the available carriers participate to surge in current to generate extra-ordinary computation speed.

Off ON

Research

pAThwAY fOR YOUNg SAUdI SCIeNTISTS bRINgS SUCCeSS

Recent campus activity has been a practical demon-stration of how the Saudi Initiatives Program has built a pathway to identify, recruit, and nurture exceptional science students throughout the Kingdom. It has been a special pleasure to welcome the first five graduates from the KAUSt Gifted Student Program (KGSP) to KAUSt this September, following their undergraduate studies at Harvard University, the University of nottingham, and University college London.

KgsPnow in its fourth year, the KAUST Gifted Student Program con-

tinues to grow exponentially. The new 2012 intake of 120 students

effectively doubles the number of students in this program that is

a critical stage along the pathway for young Saudi students with

ambition in science to reach their potential through education.

Some of the 2012 intake will go directly into undergraduate

programs this fall, while others will begin foundation or english

language programs. Of the established KGSP students, 43 have

completed their foundation year. All of them were admitted to

undergraduate programs in top science and engineering universi-

ties in the US including MIT, Berkeley, Johns hopkins, Cornell and

Georgia Tech.

Current KGSP student Durah Almansour said, “It has been an amazing year. Having to adjust to a new style of learning was not an easy thing to do, but … the world became a better, brighter place.”

Mahmoud Ghulman, who has just begun his undergraduate studies at MIT, said, “The KGSP expe-rience has helped me create a strong work ethic, it cemented my interest in science, and it helped inte-grate me into a community of young Saudi scientists… I’d like to thank KGSP for the gift of community, the gift of brothers and sisters, and close college colleagues.”

saudi researCh sCienCe institute (srsi)

The six-week SRSI summer program is a key step on the academic

pathway that nurtures talented young Saudi Arabians from diverse

backgrounds to become scientists, researchers and leaders. The pro-

gram, modeled on MIT’s annual Research Science Institute, gives

gifted high school juniors the opportunity to conduct university-level

research under the mentorship of KAUST and visiting professors.

This year 40 bright and ambitious Saudi high school students

from across the Kingdom attended the program. The students

followed a rigorous program of lectures, college and career work-

shops, scientific paper writing, presentations, and extracurricular

activities. This was made possible by 30 KAUST faculty members,

who offered their time, expertise, and laboratory resources, as

they mentored the students with postdoctoral fellows and gradu-

ate students from their teams.

Mentoring Professor Nina Fedoroff explained, “My job with the young students… is to alert them to the big picture… Students really need to know that science isn’t just a collection of facts and books… it’s about discovery, it’s about going places that no one has ever been before, and it’s about solving problems, small problems in the laboratory, and big problems for humanity.”

KAUST SRSI MeNTORS:

Professors husam Al Shareef, Aram Amassian, Osman

Bakr, Christian Claudel, Jorge eppinger, Aamir Farooq,

nina Federoff, Christoph Gehring, Samir hamdan, Suk

ho Chung, Kuo-Wei (Andy) huang, Muhammed hussein,

Xabier Irigoien, niveen Khashab, Jurgen Kosel, Gilles

Lubineau, Jasmeen Merzaban, Klaus-Viktor Peinemann,

Vivek Polshettiwar, Iman Roqan, Pascal Saikaly, Ravindra

Samtaney, Udo Shwingenschlogl, Atif Shamin, Ulrich

Stingl, Kazuhiro Takanabe, Christian Voolstra, Xiangliang

Zhang, and Associate Director of Computational

Bioscience Research Center John Archer.

SRSI student, Redha Al Ibrahim said, “Professor Keyes opened his heart to us and our minds to science.”

The SRSI program included poster presentations of the stu-

dents’ work and a graduation ceremony on July 26, which

offered SRSI students the chance to meet and interact with

their KGSP peers.

One of the students, Ammar Al-Ameer said, “SRSI is a one-of-a-kind program. It really gave me the opportunity to discover what my real passions are. It is a great experience that could alter one’s life path.”

Moatasim Zawawi said, “We learned how to conduct scientific research … and radically developed our communications skills with presentations and poster sessions. The academic atmosphere at SRSI is an outstanding experience.”

a CeLeBration of saudi taLent: JuLY 26, 2012

Over 200 KGSP members including the first five KGSP gradu-

ates and their parents gathered with 40 SRSI students to attemd

the Young Talent Award Ceremony. KAUST welcomed his

Royal highness Prince Mishaal Bin Abdullah and his highness

Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Saudi Minister of education; KAUST

Chairman of the Board - Minister Ali Ibrahim Al naimi, Khalid

Al Falih, Ali Al Tuwairqi, and Jamil Dandany of Saudi Aramco;

SRSI Board Members Dr. Khalid Al Sabti, huda Al Ghoson, Amal

Fatani, nasir Al nafisee, Joann Diginerro; Dr. Adel Abdulrahman

Al Keaid and Abdulattif Al Othman.

The theme of the evening was "Transforming people; trans-

forming a nation." Dr. najah Ashry, Vice President for Saudi

Initiatives, explained that Saudi youth cannot achieve transfor-

mation in isolation. She spoke of world-class opportunities in

science and the access to mentors and role models for young peo-

ple who represent, in King Abdullah’s words, a "beacon of bright

hope for the future." Minister Al naimi encouraged the scholars

to profit from their experiences and make a difference to the eco-

nomic success and social progress of the Kingdom.

HH Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, the Minister of Education, said that he felt “…proud to be part of this opportunity to serve the Kingdom and to support these young men and women in these programs which address the future needs of the Kingdom.”

With the successful establishment of SRSI, KGSP, and other

supporting programs, a pathway for young Saudis with talent and

ambition in science is now open. The event marked an important

step in the nation's scientific and educational evolution that will

have a significant and positive impact on the future growth of

KAUST and on the economic development of Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah Kanee, a KGSP graduate who has just completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard spoke of his roots in a sheep herding family and the opportu-nities the program afforded him. “This experience has been a dream for me,” he said. “For which KAUST has given me beautiful tools.”

Initiatives6 The BeaconSeptember 2012

ميثل أحدث نشاط يف احلرم اجلامعي مؤخرا برهانا عمليا للكيفية اليت ظل برنامج املبادرات السعودية يبين مسارا للتعرف على طالب العلوم السعوديني االستثنائني من مجيع أرجاء اململكة واستقطابهم

ورعايتهم. فقد كان استقبال أول مخسة علماء من برنامج جامعة امللك عبد اهلل للطلبة املوهوبني يف اجلامعة يف شهر سبتمرب مبثابة فرحة غامرة بعد استكمال دراستهم اجلامعية يف جامعة هارفارد وجامعة

نوتنجهام والكلية اجلامعية يف لندن.

برنامج جامعة امللك عبداهلللرعاية الطلبة املوهوبني

لقد اكمل الربنامج عامه الثاين وهو ينمو بشكل منتظم حىت وصل عدد الطلبة املقبولني فيه لعام 2012 إىل 120 طالبا وطالبة ، وبذلك يكون الربنامج قد ضاعف عدد الطالب السعوديني الطموحني يف

مواد العلوم لتحقيق امكانياتهم من خالل التعليم.

معهد علوم األحباث السعوديمعهد علوم األحباث السعودي هو عبارة عن برنامج صيفي مدته ستة أسابيع وميثل خطوة رئيسية يف

املسار األكادميي للشباب السعودي املوهوب لكي يصبحوا علماء وباحثني وقادة. وقد مت تصميم الربنامج على منوذج معهد علوم األحباث السنوي يف معهد ماساتشوستس للتقنية ويتيح الفرصة

لطالب املرحلة الثانوية للقيام بأحباث على املستوى اجلامعي حتت رعاية واشراف أساتذة اجلامعة واألساتذة الزائرين.

وقد إلتحق يف الربنامج هلذا العام 40 من الطلبة املوهوبني والطموحني والذين قدموا من خمتلف أرجاء اململكة. واتبع الطلبة برناجما مكثفا من املحاضرات وورش العمل اجلامعية والعملية وكتابة األوراق

العلمية والعروض والنشاطات الالصفية. وقد مت حتقيق ذلك من خالل 30 من أعضاء هيئة التدريس يف اجلامعة ممن عملوا بكامل طاقاتهم وخرباتهم وتسخري اإلمكانيات املتوفرة من اجل تدريب الطلبة

مبشاركة زمالء ما بعد الدكتوراه والطلبة اخلرجيني.

األساتذة املرشدونيف جامعة امللك عبداهلل

األساتذة حسام الشريف وأرام أماسيان وعثمان بكر وكرستيان كلوديل وجورج إيبنجر وعامر فاروق ونينا فيديروف وكرستوف حيهرنج وسامر محدان وسوك هو تشونغ وكو-وي )آندي( هوانغ وحممد حسني وركزابري إيرجيوين ونيفني خشاب وجورغن كوسيل ،جيلز لوبينو وجامسني مريزبان

وكلوس-فيكتور بينمان وفيفيك بولشتيوار وإميان روقان وياسكال سيكايل ورافندرا سامتاين وأودو شوينجنشلوجل وعاطف شامني وأولرييك ستينجل وكازوهريو تاكانايب وكرستيان فولسرتا و

سيشيانغ زهانغ واملدير املشارك ملركز أحباث العلوم الببيولوجية احلسابية، جون آرشر.

واشتمل الربنامج على عروض ملصقات ألعمال الطلبة وحفل ختريج يف يوليو مما أتاح للطلبة الفرصة لالجتماع والتفاعل مع نظرائهم يف برنامج اجلامعة لرعاية املوهوبني يف حفل التخريج.

اإلحتفاء باملواهب السعودية: يوليو 2012اجتمع أكثر من 200 من أفراد برنامج رعاية املوهوبني و40 من طالب معهد علوم األحباث السعودي

لالحتفال باالجناز الباهر لربنامج العام 2012. وقد رحبت اجلامعة مبعايل وزير البرتول والثروة املعدنية رئيس جملس األمناء املهندس علي النعيمي وصاحب السمو األمري فيصل بن عبداهلل وزير الرتبية والتعليم وغريهما من املسؤولني. كما حضر االحتفال أول مخسة خرجيني من الربنامج مع آبائهم.

وكان شعار األمسية "تغري أمة". وحتدثت الدكتورة جناح عشري، نائب الرئيس للمبادرات السعودية قائلة أنه يتعذر على الشباب السعودي حتقيق التحول يف عزلة عن ما يدور حوله. وتناولت الفرص

املمتازة يف العلوم وحرية الوصول إىل والتفاعل مع املدربني والنماذج القدوة للشباب الذين ميثلون يف

مسار النجاحوالتفوق للعلماء

السعوديني الشبابكلمات امللك عبداهلل "منارة لألمل يف املستقبل الباهر". وحث معايل الوزير على النعيمي العلماء على

االستفادة من جتاربهم واحداث الفرق يف النجاح االقتصادي والنمو االجتماعي للمملكة.

وبفضل التأسيس الناجح هلذه الربامج وغريها من الربامج املساندة، انفتح الباب للشباب السعودي املوهوب والطموح من اجل اكمال مسريتهم يف درب العلوم. وقد كانت هذه الفعالية مبثابة خطوة

التأثري اهلائل التأسيس والتطور العلمي والتعليمي للمملكة وسيرتتب عليها يف غاية األهمية يف واإلجيايب ليس فقط على منو اجلامعة وتطورها يف املستقبل بل أيضا على التطوير االقتصادي

.للمملكة بشكل عام

KgSp virginia Tech foundation Students (Mohammad Alwazrah, Abdullah baras, faisal Alshaker, hamad Alroomi, waleed Alhaddad, Yousef Alowayed, and Amaal Tashkandi)KgSp virginia Tech foundation Students (Mohammad Alwazrah, Abdullah baras, faisal Alshaker, hamad Alroomi, waleed Alhaddad, Yousef Alowayed, and Amaal Tashkandi)

عبداهلل العبدالغين، عبداهلل الرتكي، أسيد عبده، و علي احلداد.

رائف عسريي

طلبة برنامج جامعة امللك عبد اهلل املوهوبني واملبتعثون إىل جامعة فريجينيا للتقنية ) حممد الوزرة، عبداهلل با راس، فيصل الشاكر، محد الرومي، وليد احلداد، يوسف العويض، أمل طاشكندي(

طلبة برنامج جامعة امللك عبد اهلل املوهوبني واملبتعثون إىل جامعة فريجينيا للتقنية ) حممد الوزرة، عبداهلل با راس، فيصل الشاكر، محد الرومي، وليد احلداد، يوسف العويض، أمل طاشكندي(

عبداهلل العبدالغين، عبداهلل الرتكي، أسيد عبده، و علي احلداد.Abdullah Alabdulghani, Abdullah Alturki, Osayd Abdu, and Ali Alhaddad

Raif Aseeri

Abdullah Alabdulghani, Abdullah Alturki, Osayd Abdu, and Ali Alhaddad

Initiatives 7www.kaust.edu.sa September 2012

When the rover Curiosity landed on Mars August 6, many

of the KAUST community watched. Thousands meanwhile

gathered in Times Square to witness this extraordinary

event. KAUST has a special connection to the Red Planet

landing through the Director of the nASA Jet Propulsion

Laboratory, Professor Charles elachi, a member of

President Shih’s International Advisory Council.

In an interview with The Beacon, Prof. elachi gave

his reaction to the successful landing, which followed

a journey of eight months and 350 million miles. Gale

Crater, site of the landing, is one of the deepest spots on

Mars. At the center of the crater is a mountain, Aeolis

Mons, over five km (18,000 ft) in height of stratified

sedimentary rocks that has recorded the evolution of the

Mars environment over billions of years.

Prof. elachi spoke of the “tension in the team of hun-

dreds that turned to jubilation” as the rover Curiosity

successfully landed in a mission “both bold and challeng-

ing.” “Seven minutes of terror” began when Curiosity,

inside its heat-shielding capsule, entered the Mars

atmosphere at 21,000 km an hour before its parachute

deployed and the heat shield jettisoned. Curiosity and its

sky crane, cradling the rover from above, then dropped

out of the capsule completely. next, the sky crane’s

braking rockets fired to turn a free fall into a controlled

descent. In the final seconds, the hovering crane gently

lowered the car-sized, 900-kg rover on nylon cables until

its six wheels touched the Martian soil.

The key question, said Prof. elachi, is “why earth and

Mars, two planets formed at about the same time four

billion years ago, should be so different now. The mis-

sion will compare the geology of Mars with that of earth,

just as two samples exposed to differing conditions are

compared in a lab.”

CURIOSITY ON MARS: INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES ELACHI

my university

TOp hONORS IN AN INTeRNATIONAl deSeRTIfICATION CONTeST

Bingmu xiao “I’m about to start the second year of my master's in earth Science. My specialty is in seismic

exploration which has applications in the oil industry, and in the study of earthquakes. It’s a

field which can be beneficial to people generally.” Bingmu is also a certified interpreter and

before coming to KAUST studied at Jilin University, the biggest campus in China. “KAUST is

like a very big family. And the St. Gallen Symposium was a great opportunity. It has shaped

my outlook in so many ways; for this I have to thank Career Counselor Ann MacDougall and

the Professional Development Office for so much help. And I have to thank KAUST.” Bingmu

has also developed leadership skills. “The Cornell entrepreneurship Program during WeP was a

great opportunity: very intensive, several consecutive 14-15 hour days. Members of the faculty from Cornell and many

entrepreneurs who have been engaged in startups worked with us and gave us the benefit of first-hand experience.

Students were able to apply their own research in creation of technology startups. It was an incomparable opportunity

to bridge the gap between academia and industry in a way I hadn’t seen before.”

Badr a attiah Badr Attiah joins the University as a master’s student in electrical engineering. Studying

for his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering - Communication & electronics at

King Abdulaziz University in his home city of Jeddah, Badr enthusiastically followed

news of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Badr was sufficiently

captivated to accept an opportunity to visit the University with a group of students from

his bachelor’s program. Touring the Campus, Badr’s interest deepened—and not only in

the academic offering. Badr realized further that the activities and community, which

surround the academic campus, offer a unique environment for a balanced student life. Several months after

his first visit to KAUST, Badr says, “now I am a KAUST student. My dreams are coming true.” Although Badr

has been at KAUST only a short time, he has already become an active member of the community. he served

as a volunteer during student orientation and is looking forward to joining some of the community-led clubs,

including the photography group.

Cameron maCPherson Bioinformatics PhD student Cameron MacPherson is to become KAUST’s first PhD graduate.

Cameron is from Johannesburg, South Africa. he studied genetics, microbiology, and medical cell

biology at undergraduate level. he gained his bioinformatics MSc with Professor Vladimir Bajic

in Cape Town before Prof. Bajic’s group relocated to KAUST. During his PhD studies, Cameron

collaborated with a plant biology laboratory at Rockefeller University, USA. his research focused

on small RnA biology in plant-stress, mainly on molecular response of Arabidopsis thaliana to

various stress conditions. Cameron has published a first-author paper in BMC Plant Biology, and

co-authored notable papers in Nature, Cell, and Neuron. he has another first-author paper in press.

After graduating in December, Cameron will join the renowned Institut Pasteur in France. he sees his post-doctoral

fellowship as an opportunity largely catalyzed by connections nurtured at KAUST. Cameron says, “I came to the

Kingdom expecting only a degree, and I depart with ties that run much deeper. My plans grew beyond my original

expectations and provided possibilities I never knew existed.”

A KAUST student, Amin Allam, is a member of a team that won top honors

in a prestigious programming contest, results of which were announced by

the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM).

The shortlist for the ACM SIGMOD Programming Contest consisted of five

teams, three of which featured KAUST students. In addition to Amin Allam

(team Puruguramingu), KAUST students in the shortlist were Fuad Jamour,

Lie Yan, and Islam Al Masri (team SYR); and han Liu (team GDChL).

The task was to implement a multidimensional high-throughput in-mem-

ory indexing system. Results of the contest were announced following the

conference of ACM’s SIGMOD (The Special Interest Group on Management

of Data) in Scottsdale, AZ in May 2012.

KAUST researchers have come first and second in the interna-

tional “help to Avoid Desertification” idea contest. Both teams

come from the Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC)

and have a common goal: to tackle desertification in Africa

and the Middle east. The teams proposed innovative ideas on how to remove salt

from seawater by using energy from renewable sources.

The contest winner was PhD candidate noura Shehab with her research pro-

posal entitled “The end of Desertification – A novel & Sustainable Technology

for the Middle east and north Africa Arid Lands”. noura’s research was supported

by Professors Pascal Saikaly and Gary Amy.

The second place went to a team of engineering specialists represented by

Rodrigo Valladares Linares and Muhannad Abu-Ghdaib, and postdoctoral fellows

Zhen-Yu Li and Chun-hai Wei. The team’s proposal was entitled “hybrid mem-

brane system for impaired water recovery, energy production, and salt-tolerant

crop harvesting in water-scarce regions”. The team was supported by Prof. Amy.

The competition was sponsored by Bayer MaterialScience. The first and second

place teams received €7,000 and €4,000, respectively, and were invited to visit the

company’s German headquarters this September.

The Faculty Dinner on May 14 was an occasion for President Shih to thank

Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini following completion of three years as interim

Dean of the Physical Sciences and engineering (PSe) Division.

“Dean Slim,” as he had become known, had not allowed the tasks of admin-

istration to take his attention from scholarship. As President Shih noted, “Slim

has remained focused on his research, even while carrying all the heavy bur-

den of Dean’s responsibilities. As Associate Dean of the Division of Physical

Sciences and engineering for the past three academic years, Slim has done a

truly outstanding job. he has worked with good humor and steely determi-

nation in the best interests of the Division and has been a strong advocate,

in his own quiet way, for faculty concerns. he has done all this on top of his

responsibilities for supervising and mentoring his students. Slim, I’m sure

you all will agree, has gone far beyond the call of duty. As Slim steps down

as Dean, we owe Slim a big debt of gratitude.“

Presenting Prof. Alouini with a traditional college chair as a token of rec-

ognition, Prof. Shih doubted that it would be used to take a rest.

Later, Prof. Shih presented faculty members with specially-commissioned

KAUST ties and foulards of a tessellation of bird and fish. At KAUST, the birds

are seen as falcons – known in Arabic by their now familiar name of Shaheen.

The falcon is strong, fast and flies high in the sky. It ascends to great heights

on its own. Fish thrive in community – in their schools and in symbiosis with

the rich, self-sustaining environment of the ocean depths.

“A fitting depiction of KAUST, both as a university and as a community, we aspire

to run with our global peers while growing roots in Saudi Arabia,” he commented.

KAUST- glObAl peeRS, ROOTS IN SAUdI ARAbIA

KAUST STUdeNTS feATURed IN pROgRAMMINg CONTeST ShORTlISTKAUST STUdeNTS feATURed IN pROgRAMMINg CONTeST ShORTlIST

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