King abdullah university of Science and Technology at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi arabia

www.kaust.edu.sa

ة املنـارdecember 2013 / Muharam 1435

Volume 4, issue no. 4

coMMenceMent | Continued on p2 تتمه صفحة 2

On December 14 against the backdrop of the setting sun on the Red Sea, President Jean-Lou Chameau,

members of the KAUST Board of Trustees, leadership, faculty, staff, proud families, and friends gathered

at the University’s Discovery Walk to honor the 114 candidates soon to receive their MS and PhD degrees

at KAUST’s Fourth Commencement Ceremony. University Marshal Prof. James Calvin, Vice President of

Academic Affairs, extended a warm welcome to the assemblage.

HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, inaugurated Dr. Chameau as the University’s

new President, saying, “President Chameau’s track record as a researcher, educator, and distinguished

academic leader make him well-qualified to lead the next phase of KAUST’s development. He will continue

to build upon excellence in education and research. His presence on campus, around the Kingdom, and

among global audiences is already bolstering our long-term vision for KAUST.”

والتقنية للعلوم اهلل عبد الملك جامعة في والدكتوراه الماجستير لدرجتي 2013 دفعة خريجو تسلم درجاتهم األكاديمية في حفل التخرج الذي أقيم أخيرًا في ساحة االكتشاف في مقر الجامعة. كما اقيمت البترول وزير معالي قبل من لو شامو الدكتور جان ــ الجديد الجامعة لرئيس الرسمي التعيين مراسم

والثروة المعدنية المهندس علي بن إبراهيم النعيمي، رئيس مجلس األمناء في الجامعة.وانضم الدكتور شامو إلى جامعة الملك عبداهلل في شهر يوليو من عام 2013 بعد أن ترك منصبه كرئيس

لمعهد كاليفورنيا للتقنية في الواليات المتحدة األمريكية.

جامعة امللك عبداهلل حتتفل بتخريج الدفعة الرابعة من طلبة املاجستري والدكتوراه

COMMenCeMenT

BeaCOnthe

2013 Ms and PhD degree recipients at KaUst’s Fourth Commencement Ceremony

Dean of academic affairs Prof. Brian Moran marshals in the PhD candidates to the ceremony.

KaUst President Jean-Lou Chameau

Dean Pierre Magistretti and President Jean-Lou Chameau with a Bese Ms degree recipientPhD candidatesstudent speaker Hassan al-ismail

Commencement Guest speaker Dr. robert H. Grubbs

Prof. Jean Fréchet, vice President of research, leads in KaUst faculty.

He ali i. al-naimi, Chairman of the KaUst Board of trustees

inSide: weP 5 research 6-7 Community 8news 1-4

news2 December 2013 The Beacon

This issue celebrates the awarding of degrees to 18 PhD and 96 MS candidates and the inauguration of

Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau as University President by HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees

at KAUST’s Fourth Commencement Ceremony. There is news of several forums, an SRSI Gala and a

Seed Fund Gala. You will find a synopsis of the success of the KAUST Exhibit at IBTIKAR in Riyadh,

which was visited by many dignitaries. Most prominent of all was the visit of HRH Prince Muqrin Bin

Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier. There is research news and an introduction to Prof. Karl Leo, the

newly appointed Director of the Solar and Photovoltaic Research Center. A WEP Preview is provided

so that you may anticipate the exciting and instructive events that will take place in January. Finally,

there are accolades, intros to colleagues at KAUST, and wonderful photos of the TKS musical to end the

calendar year on a “high note.”

The Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 4, December 2013. 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 Michelle D'Antoni michelle.dantoni@kaust.edu.sa © King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Printed on partially recycled paper.

—THE BEACON Editorial

On the beautiful evening of Dec. 12, President Chameau, KAUST Leadership, faculty

and staff, graduates, their families, and invited guests celebrated commencement on

the Al-Marsa Green, overlooking the Red Sea. Tables decorated with Arab coffee pots

and colorful linens provided the festive atmosphere for listening to an amplified oud

player, watching sword dances, and listening to Saudi singers and drummers while

enjoying an Arab feast served buffet style.

Masters of ceremony and Graduate Student Council Members Saba Nathif and

Hjörtur Jónasson kept up a snappy repartee entertaining guests. Damian San Roman

Alerigi and Mariam Sahal Awlia, also Council members, addressed the graduates

wishing them well. President Chameau in his address hoped students would enjoy

the two-days of celebrations, but while doing so, reflect on what they learned at

KAUST and the relationships they have made. He congratulated them on their

achievements and asked that whatever they decide to do, to do it well and with

passion. “You owe it to your family, KAUST, and the Kingdom to do important

things,” he said in conclusion.

After dinner, guests wandered through a mini-souk where there were henna artists,

falconers and their birds, a basket weaver, and other traditional arts and crafts.

COMMenCeMenT dinner

“I am honored and privileged to receive your confidence,” Dr.

Chameau remarked, “and also humbled by the responsibility you

entrust to me as the President of King Abdullah University of Science

and Technology.”

Addressing the graduates, Dr. Chameau said, “Ultimately, the

greatness of KAUST and its contributions to the world and society

will be through you, our graduates. If we educate students and engage

them in an environment that stresses excellence, curiosity, invention,

integrity, and a passion for doing things that matter, we will be a

great university and serve society well.”

Guest speaker Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, Victor and Elizabeth Atkins

Professor of Chemistry at California Institute of Technology and 2005

Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, said, “Most universities take generations

to develop and grow – this institution has made amazing strides

toward the development of a world class research facilities and

laboratories in four short years. That is a short time to turn a dream

to a reality.”

He implored the graduates to use their knowledge to further

sustainability. He quoted Carl Sagan saying: “Anything else you

are interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air

or drink the water…” He commented that “most of your programs

[at KAUST] are designed to develop sustainable technologies and

to provide the pathway to new step-change inventions…Do good

science! Strive to do interesting and creative and responsible science

to the highest standards because you are fascinated by the prospect of

discovery. Step-change typically comes from a totally new approach

to a problem, not a tweak of an old technology.”

Hassan Al-Ismail represented the Class of 2013 as the

Commencement student speaker. Al-Ismail, sponsored to KAUST by

Saudi Aramco, received a MS in Earth Sciences and Engineering with

a specialization in Geophysics at the ceremony. While at KAUST, he

was president of the Graduate Student Council and president of the

student chapter of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. During

his address, Al-Ismail quoted Martin Luther King‘s “I Have a Dream”

speech: “Today is as much about the future as it is about the past.”

He set up a dream sequence in his talk where he envisioned KAUST

in 2038 with alumni as Nobel Laureates and the University as the

world’s top research university for the second consecutive year. A

dream, perhaps, but he thinks it will be reality. “We have all seen

[KAUST] as a challenge, and we all came here because we dared to

except this challenge: the challenge of transformation, the challenge

of realizing a dream, King Abdullah’s dream, a dream of a great man

who saw no limit to what he could do to put his country in the fast

lane to progress,” he said.

Eighteen students were hooded and awarded their doctoral degrees:

four women and 14 men. The new PhDs originate from 13 different

countries on five continents. May Majed Al-Qurashi, who received

her degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering, is the first Saudi

PhD graduate of KAUST. Al-Qurashi is a founding student and was

the student speaker at the first KAUST Commencement in 2010.

Four of the new PhDs will continue with their research at KAUST as

postdoctoral fellows. Two will begin work in-Kingdom, one at DOW

Chemical and one at SABIC, both as research scientists. Three others

will be postdoctoral fellows at other universities – the University

of Edinburgh, UK; Stanford University, US; and the University of

Manitoba, Canada. The others are still considering their options.

Ninety-six Master of Science (MS) candidates, hailing from 24

countries, were then honored; 63 men and 33 women. Forty-

three percent of the MS recipients were Saudi, and of these, 61%

were women.

Many of the MS recipients will continue at KAUST for their

PhDs. Others will join KAUST industry partners – Saudi Aramco,

SABIC and DOW Chemical – in support of KAUST’s economic

development mission. Still others will pursue a higher degree at

different universities.

President Chameau closed the ceremony, saying to the graduates,

“I encourage you to be… a group who can change the world. Being

smart, creative, and highly educated is a blessing. Use this blessing

to have an impact, make a difference, do things that matter, and

do them with passion. You owe it to yourself, to your families, to

KAUST, and to the world. The Kingdom and the world need graduates

like you – now more than ever.”

وقال معالي الوزير علي النعيمي، رئيس مجلس األمناء: "اآلن نستطيع القول ونعلن بمنتهى الثقة أن جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية بدأت تؤتي ثمارها كما خطط ورسم لها خادم الحرمين الشريفين حفظه اهلل في رؤيته التأسيسية الملهمة لبيت الحكمة الجديد، وستكون هذه الجامعة إضافة حقيقية وقوية لدعم البحث العلمي في المملكة وتمكينه من اإلسهام في بناء البلد وتنميته المستدامة".. وأضاف: " خالل 5 أعوام فقط أصبحت جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية مركزًا فريدًا للتعليم واالكتشاف واالبتكار وريادة األعمال في المملكة، فضاًل عن تخريجها ألجيال وعقول مبدعة سيكون لها أثرها وبصمتها الواضحة في المملكة والمنطقة والعالم أجمع". انها تسير في خطى ثابتة نحو

تحقيق حلم خادم الحرمين وخدمة البشرية جمعاء. وأعرب رئيس الجامعة الجديد جان-لو شامو عن عميق شكره وتقديره على الثقة الكريمة في شرف تولي مسؤولية قيادة جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية. وقال في كلمته لخريجي دفعة 2013 :" من خاللكم تتجلى عظمة جامعة الملك عبداهلل ومساهماتها في المجتمع والعالم. فعندما نثقف الطلبة ونشركهم في بيئة تشجع على التميز، والفضول، واالختراع، والنزاهة، والشغف لصنع التغيير،

فإننا بذلك نكون جامعة عظيمة تخدم المجتمع على أكمل وجه".والقى كلمة التخرج لهذا العام البروفسور روبرت غرابز، أستاذ في الكيمياء من معهد كاليفورنيا للتقنية والحاصل على جائزة نوبل في الكيمياء عام 2005 حيث شارك الحضور بذكرياته عن افتتاح جامعة الملك عبداهلل بقوله : " لم يمض سوى بضع سنوات فقط منذ أن حضرت افتتاح هذه الجامعة. لقد خطت جامعة الملك عبداهلل خطوات مذهلة تجاه تطوير مرافق أبحاثها ومختبراتها لتكون بهذا المستوى العالمي في أربع سنوات فقط وهي فترة قصيرة جدًا اذا ما أخذنا في االعتبار أن معظم الجامعات تحتاج ألجيال لتتطور وتنمو. لكن جامعة

الملك عبداهلل نجحت في تحويل الحلم إلى واقع مدهش. والقى كلمة خريجي دفعة 2013 الطالب السعودي حسن اإلسماعيل طالب ورئيس جيوفيزياء تخصص االرض وعلوم هندسة بقسم الماجستير درجة مجلس طلبة الدراسات العليا الذي درس في جامعة الملك عبداهلل برعاية أرامكو السعودية. اإلسماعيل قال: "أتينا جميعًا إلى هنا لنواجه هذا التحدي: تحدي التحول، تحدي تحقيق الحلم - حلم الملك عبد اهلل، هذا الرجل العظيم

الذي أحب أن يرى بالده تسير في خطى ثابته وسريعة نحو التقدم واإلزهار ".وتم أثناء االحتفال منح درجة الدكتوراه إلى 18 طالبًا قدموا من 13 دولة في خمس قارات ويمثلون الجيل الثاني من خريجي درجة الدكتوراه في جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية. وكان منهم ستة خريجين حصلوا على درجة الماجستير من جامعة الملك عبداهلل خالل حفل تخريج أول دفعة لها عام خريج أول القرشي، صالح ماجد مي الطالبة الستة هؤالء بين ومن .2010

سعودي بدرجة الدكتوراه في جامعة الملك عبداهلل. كما تم ايضا تكريم 96 طالبًا من حملة درجة الماجستير من 22 دولة كجزء من دفعة خريجي 2013. ويمثل الطلبة السعوديون نسبة %43 منهم. ويرغب للحصول عبداهلل الملك في جامعة العليا دراستهم مواصلة منهم العديد على درجة الدكتوراه كما سينضم بعض منهم إلى شركاء الجامعة في مجال الصناعة كشركة أرامكو السعودية، وشركة سابك، وشركة داو للكيماويات دعمًا منهم لمهمة جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية التي من أهدافها .الرئيسية تحويل اقتصاد المملكة العربية السعودية إلى االقتصاد المعرفي

CeMse Ms degree candidates

Mariam sahal awlia and her family celebrate her upcoming graduation

the stage backdrop and the decorations added to the festive atmosphere of the celebratory dinner.

Drummers entertained the audience.

Henna specialists created their art on ladies’ hands.

coMMenceMent | Continued from p1 * تتمة الصفحة األولى:

news 3December 2013www.kaust.edu.sa

The Brain Forum, an event bringing together some of the world’s most prominent thinkers and

researchers in the field of brain science, was held in Jeddah December 3-4. The event was the first of

its kind in the Middle East region.

KAUST acted as an academic partner and organizer of the event, along with King Abdulaziz University

(KAU), the Saudi Society of Neurology, the Saudi W Science Initiative (headed by Dr. Walid Al-Juffali),

and NeuroPro AG Switzerland.

The forum enabled participants to discuss and share their thoughts on the latest advances in

neuroscience and combatting the growing worldwide epidemic of neurological disorders. The event

follows an initiative of the Saudi government to address national health priorities.

Stated Dr. Al-Juffali: “The main aim of the Brain Forum [was] to convey and transfer the latest

technology in relation to brain disorders in the Kingdom as well as to raise awareness and educate

the population regarding these diseases…[This] offer[ed] an interconnectivity with the world’s top

inspirational thinkers, pioneers in the field of brain research, personalized healthcare, [and] scientists,

and patients.”

KAUST Professor Pierre Magistretti, Dean of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering,

was a panelist speaker for the sessions on brain research. He gave a presentation entitled “Food for

Thought – A Neuroenergetic Perspective on Brain Function.” In his presentation, Prof. Magistretti

discussed how the brain regulates energy flow in relation to neuronal activity and how this process is

at the origin of the signals detected by functional brain imaging techniques.

He also outlined future avenues for research covering new technologies in this area, including

nanotechnologies and new types of sensors that could be used to explore brain function with high

spatial and temporal resolution. “Nanotechnology applied to neuroscience is something we would like

to develop at KAUST, leveraging on the remarkable facilities and competencies that are on campus to

solve some of the open questions in neuroscience,” Prof. Magistretti said.

KAUST President Jean-Lou Chameau, Dr. Abdullah Almojel, Vice President of University Development,

and KAUST Professor Xin Gao, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, also attended the forum. Prof.

Gao acted as a panelist during a discussion about big data entitled “Big Data: Advances, Challenges,

and Opportunities in Neuroscience and Personalized Medicine.”

Members of the Brain Forum visited KAUST on December 2, taking a tour of the campus and visiting

different Core Laboratories, including the KAUST Visualization Core Lab. “The visitors were most

impressed with all KAUST has to offer,” said Syed Bashir from University Development, who assisted

in organizing the visit.

“The Brain Forum was a unique event,” stated Prof. Magistretti. “It was a scientific meeting, but at

the same time it was also an interesting outreach effort to key players in the field of brain science in

general in the Kingdom.”

Dr. Al-Juffali noted that he believes events like the Brain Forum will contribute to the improvement

of medical technology and research in the Kingdom, as well as supporting the government’s scientific

and medical efforts.

“The forum…falls under the tenets and guidelines of the W Science Initiative, which was launched to

support outstanding scientific projects,” said Dr. Al-Juffali. “It…also facilitates collaborations among

leading scientists working at the interfaces of different scientific disciplines to address unmet medical

needs and improve the quality of personalized healthcare.”

The Saudi Research Science Institute

(SRSI) recently hosted a gala reception to

acknowledge the many members of the

KAUST academic community who served

as mentors and assistant mentors during

the 2013 SRSI. These men and women

were recognized for their significant

and numerous contributions to the

development of the young Saudi scholars

who participated in the summer 2013

program. Over the six-week institute,

nine professors, four associate professors,

20 assistant professors, and two research

scientists served as mentors along with 58

assistant mentors.

Dr. Najah Ashry, Vice President for Saudi

Initiatives, commented, “Without the generous

support of the entire KAUST community,

these young scholars’ dreams of experiencing

and exploring research could not be realized.”

Guests had the opportunity to observe

some of the students’ results through an

exhibit of the student research posters,

with several mentors commenting on the

academic and scientific growth of each

student between the time they produced

their posters and later completed and

presented their research papers.

At the gala, KAUST President Jean-Lou

Chameau also expressed his thanks for the

support of the mentors and encouraged

all to take an interest in inspiring the

next generation.

The next SRSI program will be from June

10 – July 25, 2014. Faculty and research

scientists interested in learning more about

serving as mentors are encouraged to

contact Mariam Fouad in Saudi Initiatives at

mariam.fouad@kaust.edu.sa.

SrSi Gala fOr MenTOrS

KauST ParTiCiPaTeS in ninTh Saudi waTer and POwer fOruM

aCadeMiC ParTner KauST OrGanizeS Jeddah Brain fOruM

جامعة امللك عبداهلل تشارك يف املنتدى السعودي التاسع للمياه والطاقة

vice President of saudi initiatives najah ashry thanks srsi mentors for their participation in the program last summer.

التاسع السعودي المنتدى أعمال أخيرا افتتح هذا ويمثل جدة، مدينة في والطاقة للمياه ورواد المسؤولين بين للتواصل منبرًا المنتدى يجمع كما السعودية، في والطاقة المياه صناعة الكتساب والعالم المملكة في المعنية الجهات ومناقشة والشراكات الخبرات وتبادل المعارف والكهرباء المياه ومشاكل المستقبل قضايا أهم المستدامة. التنمية وتحقيق بالسعودية والطاقة والكهرباء المياه وزير معالي المنتدى وحضر والقى الحصين عبدالرحمن بن عبداهلل المهندس

االفتتاحية. كلمته لمدة أعماله استمرت الذي المنتدى في وشارك أكثر ديسمبر، من األول من ابتداء أيام ثالثة عبداهلل الملك جامعة وكانت شركة 100 من من جيد بحضور شاركت قد والتقنية للعلوم مركز الذي صممه طالب المميز خالل جناحها وموظفون المياه استخدام واعادة تحلية أبحاث مشاريع عرض وتم االقتصادية التنمية قسم من لتحلية المياه ذات استهالك منخفض للطاقة ومن بينها اثنان من مشاريع صندوق التمويل التأسيسي بالجامعة. كما قام طلبة الدكتوراه و زمالء ما بعد

المشاريع وشرح الزائرين مع بالتحدث الدكتوراه المتعلقة بتحلية المياه.

استخدام واعادة تحلية أبحاث مركز قدم كما المياه بالتعاون مع قسم التنمية االقتصادية بجامعة الملك عبداهلل جلسة افتتاحية بعنوان )االتجاهات الحديثة في تحلية المياه بطاقة منخفضة ومتجددة( والقت استحسان الحضور الذين بلغوا أكثر من 200 مندوبًا. وتحدث المحاضرين حول الموارد المتجددة بطاقة المياه تحلية وتقنيات المملكة، في للطاقة وشملت متجددة. بطاقة المياه وتحلية منخفضة، الرئيس نائب الشيباني، أمين المتحدثين قائمة و تحلية أبحاث مركز ومدير االقتصادية؛ للتنمية إعادة استخدام المياه غاري ايمي؛ البروفسور توماس عماد غفور؛ نورالدين نغ، تشون كيم ميسيمير، فغالي ،الدكتور ماهر العودان، والدكتور نبيل ندى. أبحاث ومركز االقتصادية التنمية قسمي وقام تحلية واعادة استخدام المياه للسنة الرابعة على التوالي برعاية زيارة لجامعة الملك عبداهلل لــ30 مندوبا من المنتدى. و قاموا بجولة لمركز أبحاث األغشية ومركز المياه استخدام واعادة تحلية

.المتطورة والمواد المسامية

The Ninth Saudi Water and Power Forum opened

Dec. 1 bringing together top Saudi officials,

industry professionals and experts, manufacturers,

contractors, and suppliers to try to provide answers

to the challenge of maintaining a sustainable

supply of water and power in the Kingdom in

the future. The Minister of Water and Electricity

HE Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen

attended the opening ceremony and gave the

keynote address.

Over 100 companies exhibited during the

three-day meeting, including KAUST. The KAUST

booth designed by the Water Desalination and

Reuse Research Center (WDRC) students and

personnel with Economic Development backing

featured low energy desalination projects,

including two that have funding from the Seed

Fund. PhD students and postdocs were on hand

in the booth to speak with visitors and explain

the projects – Forward Osmosis and Multistage

Membrane Distillation – and their posters and

to hand out brochures on the processes.

WDRC in conjunction with Economic

Development also presented a pre-forum session

entitled “Recent Trends in Low-Energy and

Renewable Energy-Driven Desalination,” which

was very well received. Presenters spoke about

renewable energy resources in the Kingdom,

low energy desalination technologies, and

renewable energy-driven desalination. Speakers

included Amin Al-Shibani, Vice President of

Economic Development; WDRC Director Gary

Amy; Professors Thomas Missimer, Kim Choon

Ng, and Noreddine Ghaffour; Imad Feghali of

CH2M-Olyan; Dr. Maher Alodan of KA-CARE;

and Dr. Nabil Nada of ACWA-Power. Over 200

delegates attended.

For the fourth year Economic Development

and WDRC sponsored a visit to KAUST for 30

forum delegates. The group toured the WDRC

and the Advanced Membranes and Porous

Materials Laboratories.

Members of the Brain Forum enjoy their December 2 visit to the KaUst campus

The KAUST Seed Fund Team recently held a gala

lunch and award ceremony to unveil the four

winning teams from the 2013 Seed Fund Fall

Round. During his opening remarks, Vice President

of Economic Development Amin M. Al-Shibani,

explained that KAUST was created “with the

vision to accelerate technology-based economic

development.” He highlighted the fact that the

Seed Fund has been a successful mechanism to

achieve this goal since, within its first six rounds,

21 projects were funded, resulting in the creation of

three companies along with 15 active jobs.

Further emphasizing this success, the event’s

keynote speaker, Barig Siraj, delivered a talk to the

overflowing crowd of over 200 attendants about

“Creating Healthy Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in

Saudi Arabia.” Siraj said: “In my opinion, KAUST

is leading in the commercialization of ideas in the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Announced at the event were four new additions

to the Seed Fund program’s contribution to the

Kingdom’s entrepreneurial ecosystem:

� Falcon Viz (3D Aerial Scanning & Modeling

System). Team members: Neil Smith,

Mohamed Shalaby, Luca Passone

� Nano Assembly (Low-Cost & High-Quality

Quantum Dots). Team members: Jun Pan, Ala’a

El-Ballouli, Osman Bakr, Edward Sargent

� ROFix (Reverse Osmosis Fouling Index).

Team members: Noreddine Ghaffour,

Rinaldi Rachman, Mohanned Al Ghamdi

� EFD (Early Fouling Detection for Membrane

Systems). Team members: Szilard Bucs,

Sacco Hekkert, Marc Staal

Presenting Falcon Viz, Neil Smith described the

project as a “new 3D aerial scanning solution for

documentation and inspection.” This technology

can be particularly useful for government

organizations and private companies involved in

city planning, cultural heritage site management

and preservation, construction, and real estate.

Such stakeholders have a common need to be

able to physically see the layouts and structures

of their assets in real-time. Integrating multi-rotor

mini-copters, this new system captures 3D models

through high-resolution photos.

Another innovative project, Nano Assembly,

presented by Jun Pan, proposes a process to

mass-produce quantum dots nanoparticles at a

significantly lower cost and higher quality than

what is currently available on the market. Their

patent-pending technology, recently published in a

high-impact journal, has the potential to open new

market opportunities in many industrial areas such

as LED displays and solar cells.

The other two projects tackle the common

issue of water desalination plant performance.

The challenge facing plant operators is the poor

performance of membranes caused by seawater

fouling. This results in frequent shutdowns and the

costly use of chemicals to clean the membranes.

The solution proposed by the ROFix project

is to install a device between the desalination

plant and the seawater’s pre-treatment step that

will alert plant owners by identifying the intake

water’s fouling index. The ROFix device can

predict different types of fouling in the early stage

so the right action can be taken before fouling

occurs. The unit is fully automated, portable and

easy to operate.

The final presenter, Szilard Bucs, showcasing

the EFD (Early Fouling Detection for Membrane

Systems) project indicated that the novelty of

their innovation is that their device is the first

on the market to monitor and characterize the

fouling as it occurs within the system. The team

believes that their fouling monitoring device

can increase the membrane lifetime by twenty

percent and decrease the chemical costs by

around thirty percent.

The Seed Fund program is a product development

funding mechanism that can help move promising

ideas further toward commercialization, and

ultimately lead to the formation of a new business.

The Seed Fund is open to all KAUST faculty,

students, staff, researchers, and postdocs, and

offers funding of up to US$ 200,000 as well as

advisory support and mentorship up to 24 months.

Seed Fund will open the new round, Spring 2014,

in February 2014. Interested applicants can email

the Seed Fund team at seedfund@kaust.edu.sa

شاركت جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية في معرض عبدالعزيز الملك مؤسسة نظمته الذي 2013 ابتكار ورجاله للموهبة واإلبداع بالتعاون مع شركة أرامكو والذي ُأقيم في مركز الرياض الدولي للمعارض والمؤتمرات خالل

الفترة من 1/12/2013 – 5/12/2013.وجاءت مشاركة الجامعة في هذا المعرض بقبتين علميتين تمت إقامة ورش عمل فيهما إستهدفت طلبة المدارس بمختلف المراحل وكذلك فئة الشباب من زوار المعرض، وقد إشتملت القبة العلمية األولى على عرض ألحياء البحر ممتعة علمية تجربة الجناح زوار خاللها عاش األحمر البحر أعماق اكتشفوا المدارس حيث وخاصة من طلبة األحمر وتعرفوا على حياة الكائنات البحرية فيه من بواسطة

نماذج احواض المياه التي صممت خصيصا لذالك. وتحتوي القّبة العلمية الثانية لجامعة الملك عبداهلل على عرض تجارب علمية مهمة مثل استخدام البكتيريا إلنتاج الكهرباء، وعرض تطوير طائرات بدون طيار تحمل أجهزة استشعار صغيرة تحدد مستوى ارتفاع مياه األمطار ومقدار سرعتها وذلك للوقاية والحد من كوارث الفيضانات والسيول.

كما تم عرض ابتكارًا عن السيطرة والتحكم في التجمعات البشرية عن كيفية ضبط الزحام من خالل إحصاء ومتابعة استخدامها ويمكن الذروة اوقات في الناس تحركات بطريقة الحشود لتنظيم والعمرة الحج فترات خالل أفضل والمساعدة في سالمة الحجاج والمعتمرين في مكة

المكرمة والمدينة المنورة.المعرض كذلك تقديم تجربة تفاعلية توضح وتم خالل تأثير الملح على النباتات وإيضاح كيف يتمكن بعضها من

العيش في التربة المالحة دون غيرها، وكذلك إستخدام الزراعي الحصاد لتحسين للملح المقاومة النباتات والتأمين ضد المجاعات. كما قدمت الجامعة عرضا لتجربة علمية تم فيها ابتكار طريقة لفصل غاز الهيدروجين من جزيئات الماء بواسطة التحفيز الضوئي، وكذلك طريقة إلى عرض علمي قدمه مختبر الرادارات، باإلضافة عمل

الضوئيات في جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية.الزوار حيث وصل وقد شهد المعرض إقباال كبيرًا من ألف 200 حوالي االفتتاح أيام خالل اإلجمالي العدد زائر منهم ما يقارب 45 الفا من طلبة التعليم العام من القبب من العديد خاللها زاروا مدرسة 2000 حوالي المختلفة العمل ورش فعاليات فيها وحضروا العلمية والتي تجاوزت 200 فعالية علمية على مستوى المعرض.

كما زار جناح جامعة الملك عبداهلل عدد من المسؤولين بن مقرن األمير الملكي السمو صاحب رأسهم على عبدالعزيز النائب الثاني لرئيس مجلس الوزراء، وكذلك معالي وزير االقتصاد والتخطيط الدكتور محمد الجاسر، ومعالي الربيعة عبداهلل الدكتور الصحة وزير ومعالي رئيس مدينة الملك عبدالعزيز للعلوم والتقنية الدكتور محمد السويل، وقد إستمع الزوار إلى شرح واِف من طلبة الجامعة عن األبحاث التي شاركوا بها في هذا المعرض.

يشار إلى أن العدد االجمالي لالبتكارات الفردية المشاركة ابتكارا توزعت على مجاالت في المعرض بلغت 200 والبتروكيماويات الغاز – المياه تقنية مثل مختلفة – الطاقة المتجددة – تقنية المعلومات واإلتصاالت –

.المجاالت الطبية، باإلضافة إلى مجاالت أخرى

IBTIKAR 2013, the third Saudi innovation exhibition,

was held Dec. 1-5 at the Riyadh International

Exhibition and Conference Center. It was sponsored

by The King Abdulaziz and His Companions

Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity

(Mawhiba) and Saudi Aramco. Over 200,000

people attended, including 45,000 students from

more than 2,000 schools, who visited the scientific

domes and took part in scientific workshops. Two

hundred innovations in water technology, gas and

petrochemical industries, renewable energy, IT, and

medical fields were exhibited.

KAUST was an active participant in the event

with two scientific domes. The first dome contained

information about the exploration of the Red Sea

and its marine life. The display included live Red

Sea creatures in small water tanks.

The second dome displayed technology being

developed at KAUST: electricity generated from

bacteria in a microbial fuel cell; the estimation

and monitoring of rainfall to prevent flood

disasters by using unmanned aircraft (drones)

fitted with microsensors; and an innovative

system for crowd control (HACHID), a highly

accurate computational system that enables

real-time human counting and tracking in high

density crowds, a technology that may prove

very useful during the Hajj and Umrah seasons

for public safety.

There were also interactive experiments. One

illustrated how some plants survive in salty soil

whereas others perish and how salt-tolerant

plants improve food production. There was also

a live demonstration on how Photocatalysis

produces hydrogen gas by water-splitting; a

presentation on the ubiquitous use of radar in

non-defense applications; and a presentation

about the Photonics Laboratory.

The KAUST exhibits were visited by several

top government officials headed by HRH Prince

Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier. HE

Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Minister of Economy

and Planning; HE Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah, Minister

of Health; and HE Dr. Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel,

President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and

Technology, visited as well.

December 2013 The Beaconnews4

KauST ParTiCiPaTeS in iBTiKar 2013

Seed fund Gala: 2013 fall rOund winnerS annOunCed

جامعة امللك عبداهلل تشارك يف معرض ابتكار 2013

a student takes a photo of a microbial fuel cell during one of the workshops in the KaUst dome.

HrH Prince Muqrin Bin abdulaziz, second Deputy Premier, looks into one of the red sea Marine Life tanks during a visit to the KaUst exhibit at iBtiKar.

the winning seed Fund gala teams with the keynote speaker, Barig siraj, and the economic Development team.

One of the two KaUst domes at iBtiKar.

THE FIFTH Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) is taking place January

12–30, 2014. Visit http://wep.acadox.com for details and a full program

listing and to register for courses, events, and lectures presented by

an eminent group of international speakers (71), in-Kingdom speakers

(17), and KAUST speakers and presenters (47).

For information, visit the new WEP Hub (WEP team office) on

Level 2 of the Engineering Science Hall (building 9), room 2134

or email contactwep@kaust.edu.sa.

Follow events live on the WEP 2014 Twitter page at http://

twitter.com/KAUST_WEP and also join our Facebook group,

DiscoverWEP@KAUST

SPeCial eVenTS, SerieS, exhiBiTS, and hiGhliGhTS

OFFiCiaL OPeninG OF WeP

Opening Night evening

Saturday, January 11 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Opening Session (Opening remarks by James Calvin followed by

Opening keynote by Khalid Al-Falih, CEO and President of

Saudi Aramco)

Sunday, January 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

DisCOver saUDi araBia 2: aLOnG tHe HeJaZ raiLWay

Opening of Photography Exhibition

Monday, January 20 from 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Exhibition runs from January 20 – 27

The Hejaz railway was built during the last years of the

400-centuries-long reign of the Ottoman Empire. Built between 1901

and 1908, the railway brought pilgrims bound to the Holy Cities into

the Arabian Peninsula from Damascus.

BUsiness anD inDUstry

The Business Leadership Series, Learn to Lead

Learn from the following industry leaders in Saudi Arabia: Sheikh

Abdulrahman Abdulkader Fakieh, Eng. Mubarak Abdullah Al

Khafrah, Mrs. Nashwa Abdulhadi Taher, Mr. Hussein A. Al-Banawi,

and Mr. Zeyard Basam Al Basam.

January 13, 22, 27, and 28 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

KICP Industrial Lectures and Discussion - The Future of Food in

the Kingdom

Chaired by Prof. Nina Fedoroff and featuring Victor Aigbogun and

Ahmad AlBallaa

Tuesday, January 14 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

aFriCan DrUMMinG stUDent COnCert

Thursday, January 23 from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Senegalese traditional djembe drummer and percussionist Makha

Diop brings the sounds and rhythm of West Africa to KAUST.

POster COMPetitiOns

International Undergraduate Poster Session

Thursday, January 21 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

KAUST Graduate Student and Postdoc Poster Session

Wednesday, January 22 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Poster Session Award Ceremony

Thursday, January 23 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

sCienCe FUn Fair

Monday, January 27 from 12:00 - 6:00 p.m.

The annual Science Fun Fair gives young people and the entire

community at KAUST the opportunity to learn about science in a fun

and interactive setting. The KAUST School students, KAUST graduate

students, and postdocs will showcase various experiments.

5K FUn rUn

Thursday, January 17 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

A popular community activity, the 5K Fun Run is open to everyone

wishing to run or walk with friends and family or to sprint to the finish

line as a hopeful winner. The event starts and finishes at the Harbor

Sports Club.

FarMers MarKet

In collaboration with Facilities & Community

Thursday to Friday, January 16-18 from 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

In recognition of the 2014 UN International Year of Family

Farming, this event will celebrate the contribution of local farmers,

including certified organic farms. The Farmers Market will provide the

community with the opportunity to buy healthy, fresh food directly

from farmers and include a chef cooking demo.

stanDUP MatHeMatiCian PerFOrManCe

By Simon Pampena

Monday, January 27 from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00pm

Australian numeracy ambassador and television presenter Simon

Pampena will entertain the young and young at heart with his

Mathemania standup show.

CLOsinG aWarD CereMOny anD GaLa Dinner

Wednesday, January 29 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Lecture highLightSKeynote Lectures presented each weekday evening by world leaders

in their respective fields, including Cedric Villani, Maths Field Medal

Winner; Marion Guillou, President of Agreenium the French institute

in Agrosciences; and Regina Dougan, VP of Motorola Mobility.

tHe evOLUtiOn OF DOMestiCateD PLant sPeCies

By Michael Purugganan

tHe POtentiaL OF GMOs FOr PUBLiC GOOD anD tHe tOUGH

LessOns FrOM tHe HUManitarian GOLDen riCe PrOJeCt

By Ingo Potrykus

Monday, January 13 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Keynote speakers will demonstrate how the process of plant

evolution can give us important insights into the rapidly evolving

field of genomics. The nature of evolution will be examined through

the lens of the various patterns of variation in genome sequence and

structure. Ingo Potrykus has recently been widely featured in the

media for inventing genetically modified Golden Rice.

FUtUre FOODs rOUnD taBLe - BrOWn BaG LeCtUre series

By Mark J. Post and Jonathan Fraser

Tuesday, January 14 from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

During this brown bag lecture series, Mark J. Post will discuss

alternative food sources as a solution to growing concerns about

food security in the future. A researcher of in-vitro meat, Post

gained international media attention last August for presenting the

world's first lab-grown hamburger patty. The other main speaker

at roundtable will be Jonathan Fraser, Founder of ENTO. His

company, ENTO, uses different insects to create edible delicacies

which will be available to sample.

tHe nOnsense OF BiOFUeLs

By Hartmut Michel

Wednesday, January 15 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Nobel Laureate in chemistry Prof. Hartmut Michel will discuss

the shortcomings of using biofuels to tackle the problems of global

warming. Such an adverse effect is deforestation resulting from

the exploitation of palm oil or soy beans from tropical countries to

produce biofuels.

COMiC striP- PHD LiFe seMinar anD tHe POWer OF

PrOCrastinatiOn KeynOte

By Jorge Cham

Thursday, January 21 from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. (Seminar)

Wednesday, January 22 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. (Keynote)

Jorge Cham is the creator of "PHD Comics", the popular comic

strip about life in academia. Cham holds a PhD in Robotics from

Stanford University.

The WEP team would like to thank 2014 WEP sponsors: SABIC, King

Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Construction Products Holding

Company (CPC), National Water Company, Yanbu Aramco, Sinopec

Refining (YASREF) Company Ltd, and Lufthansa.

winTer enriChMenT PrOGraM (weP) 2014

Clockwise: WeP activities include keynote speeches by nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry Prof. Hartmut Michel; alternative foods researcher Prof. Mark J. Post; and golden rice inventor Prof. ingo Potrykus; african Drumming Concert and the along the Hejaz railway exhibition.

December 2013www.kaust.edu.sa weP 5

research6 The BeaconDecember 2013

Dr. Jessica Eid, KAUST Research Scientist, and

colleagues in the Solar and Photovoltaic Engineering

Research Center have been working to develop high-

efficiency inorganic thin film solar cells based on

copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) materials.

“These are I-III-VI2 semiconductor materials

composed of copper, indium, gallium, and

selenium,” explains Dr. Eid. “Among second

generation photovoltaic technologies, CIGS is one

of the most promising thin film technologies for the

manufacture of solar panels. It has the advantages

of being able to be deposited on flexible substrate

materials, producing highly flexible and lightweight

solar panels for different applications.”

Dr. Eid and her team’s work (“Combinatorial

study of NaF addition in CIGSe films for high

efficiency solar cells”) has recently been published

in the journal Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pip.2419/abstract).

During the setup phase of KAUST’s Solar and Photovoltaic

Engineering Research Center, Dr. Eid carried out experimental

work related to the development of CIGS cells. Working with the

company Intermolecular in San Jose, California (US), Dr. Eid used

a proprietary R&D high productivity combinatorial platform to do

the work, focusing her efforts on the development of CIGS films

using a two-step process.

“In a CIGS solar cell, the CIGS layer acts as the absorber layer,” Dr. Eid

says. “To develop the CIGS layer, the first step is the deposition of the

metals copper, indium, and gallium by the sputtering technique using

physical vapor deposition (PVD). The second step is annealing under

H2Se/Ar at high temperature to form a CIGS polycrystalline film.”

By applying advanced combinatorial device prototyping, Dr.

Eid and the team have developed a more thorough understanding

of the interdependencies between materials and device

performance in the complete Cu(Inx,Ga1-x)Se2 solar cell stack.

“This combinatorial approach is used during the sputtering of

the metals to screen a wide range of elemental composition and

thickness,” explains Dr. Eid.

An additional area the team focused on was understanding

how to manage sodium (Na) incorporation and concentration to

increase the conversion efficiency and improve manufacturing

yields. The in-depth characterization and analysis of processing

results was done at KAUST.

“By implementing what we learned and by using a combinatorial

approach, we have successfully demonstrated a power conversion

efficiency of 16.3% for solar cells without the addition of an anti-

reflection layer,” states Dr. Eid.

The team continues to conduct experiments to gain a deeper

understanding of the photo-physics involved in the workings of

the devices through the use of the facilities at KAUST’s Solar and

Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center. They are also exploring the

possibility of using the solar cells to build high-efficiency and low-

cost hybrid tandem structures.

“Under the new direction of Professor Karl Leo, the Solar and

Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center has set many ambitious

goals,” states Dr. Eid. “One of these is to install a world-class

combinatorial facility at KAUST to allow researchers to explore new

and complex materials using earth abundant elements for solar cells

and other energy-related applications.”

Prof. Karl Leo was recently appointed as Director of the Solar &

Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center (SPERC). Prof. Leo brings

a wealth of combined research and industry experience to the Division

of Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE). A widely published

scientist in over 440 refereed publications, his name is also associated

with approximately fifty patents.

Prof. Leo joins KAUST from Technische Universität in Dresden,

Germany, where he is full professor of optoelectronics. His

research interests focus on organic semiconductors and emerging

photovoltaic technologies. As Prof. Leo explains, “organic

semiconductors represent the new form of semiconductors, which

are carbon-based.” As opposed to the classical silicon-based

electronics, his work on carbon-based solutions has led him to

applications such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and

organic solar cells.

The long-term perspectives for organic solar cells, or PV

technology, are appealing as they can be flexible on plastic

substrates and can also be transparent. Moreover, carbon is

inexpensive and widely available. The challenge, however, is that

this technology still has fairly low efficiency and lifetime.

Increasing the efficiency level of organic solar cells has been

a major driving force of Prof. Leo’s research and entrepreneurial

endeavors. One of the eight spin-off companies he has launched,

located in Dresden, is the current world-leader with an organic

PV efficiency rate of 12%. This is quite an improvement from

the early efficiency rate of 1% when organic PVs were first

introduced in the 1980s. His goal is to attain around 20%.

“This field has taken enormous development,” said Prof. Leo.

“Even a couple of years ago when you talked to people from

silicon photovoltaics, they smiled, and they thought of organic

photovoltaics as childish, little baby technology. Buy now they are

taking us seriously,” he remarks.

Prof. Karl Leo’s spin-off companies have gained a good level of

success, as they’ve employed over 250 people and generated sizeable

revenue levels. One of these companies, Novaled AG, which supplies

materials for organic LEDs, was purchased by Samsung. Another

company, Heliatek GmbH, which holds the OPV cell efficiency world

record, plays a leading role in the application of organic solar cells.

He believes that KAUST is a great place to pursue solar research.

In addition to the fact that “Saudi Arabia is an interesting

country to pursue work in solar energy,” Prof. Leo also credits the

University’s commitment to technology transfer and collaborating

with industry. Describing SPERC as a very “challenging, interesting,

and really exciting task,” he looks forward to help establishing it

as a strong and internationally respected basic research program.

“There are already very strong people here in the faculty of the

Solar Center. The next step is to bring that innovation into products.

In my experience, there are several approaches. One is clearly to

maintain research contracts with industry, which is already ongoing

here, and we are working on having more. The second is to sustain

a culture of technology transfer to applications. This must be our

long-term goal -- not only to do research and publish papers but

also to create an impact," he concludes.

SOlar and PhOTOVOlTaiC enGineerinG reSearCh CenTer deVelOPS unique hiGh-effiCienCy SOlar CellS

dr. Karl leO aPPOinTed direCTOr Of KauST SOlar CenTer

KaUst research scientist Dr. Jessica eid exhibits her work on high-efficiency inorganic thin film solar cells based on copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CiGs) materials.

“Graphene is the material of the 21st century, and it offers tremendous possibilities to revolutionize

people’s lives,” explains Dr. Mohamed Farhat, a KAUST postdoctoral fellow in the Computational

Electromagnetics Laboratory. “Over the last few years, it has been shown that a sheet of graphene

conducts electricity better than silver; it is harder than diamond; and it absorbs 2.3% of the incident

light, although it is atomically thin. These features have fueled research all around the world to

investigate graphene’s potential applications in many areas.”

Dr. Farhat, Dr. Hakan Bagci, KAUST Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Dr. Sebastien

Guenneau, a senior researcher from Institut Fresnel at Aix-Marseille Université (France), are examining the

use of graphene in photonics and optics.

In a paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, which was also selected as the journal editors’

suggestion (http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v111/i23/e237404), Dr. Farhat, Prof. Bagci, and Prof.

Guenneau propose a novel solution to the challenging problem of exciting surface plasmons on graphene

using electromagnetic fields at a broad band of frequencies. Plasmons are quasiparticles that are produced

from the quantization of plasma oscillation.

“Using the interplay of sound and light, we succeeded in efficiently exciting graphene plasmons. This

process otherwise requires complicated and rigid setups,” states Dr. Farhat. “Our design, however, offers

enhanced reconfigurability and an easier way for building novel photonic devices.”

Dr. Farhat and the team studied plasmonic field interactions on graphene at nano-scales. “This process leads

to the generation of surface plasmons on graphene’s surface,” he explains. As a result of collective oscillations

of conduction electrons at the interface between the metals and dielectrics, metallic surface plasmons are

generated. These have many “interesting features,” notes Dr. Farhat, but the most important feature is that

they allow for the subwavelength manipulation of light.

It was surprising to the researchers that, through corrugating the layer of graphene through flexural waves,

it was possible to absorb half the incident energy, despite the fact that the thickness of graphene is around

0.3 nm. “Plasmonic devices usually have thicknesses in the order of the micrometer,” notes Dr. Farhat. “This

finding is very important as it shows it is possible to manipulate and harvest light using very thin structures.

One potential application of this concept is the design of thinner and lighter photovoltaic cells that absorb

sunlight in a broad band of frequencies.”

The team’s findings have broadened the level of knowledge in the emerging field of acoustical-optics in

graphene. “This field has so far been remarkably under-studied,” Dr. Farhat says. “Our research work could

be a significant step towards the integration of graphene plasmonics into realistic and multiple applications,

prompting further advances in the emerging field of transformational plasmonics.”

Raja Swaidan, a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering in the

Advanced Membrane and Porous Materials Center (AMPM), won

the International Membrane Science and Technology Conference

(IMSTEC) 2013 Best Oral Student Presentation Award in Melbourne,

Australia, on Nov. 26. He received a certificate and cash prize.

Swaidan is supervised by Professor Ingo Pinnau, Director of the

AMPM Research Center, and Dr. Bader Ghanem, lead scientist in

Prof. Pinnau’s high-performance polymer synthesis group.

Swaidan’s presentation was entitled, “Intrinsically Ultra-

Microporous Polyimide Sieves for Gas Separation.” The

presentation outlined a new strategy for the development of

more robust and practical gas separation materials. The work

encourages a departure from current efforts towards highly

permeable materials, emphasizing the importance of selectivity in

membrane-based gas separation applications. The talk discussed

the economics favoring such an approach and successes by Prof.

Pinnau’s team in the design, synthesis, and characterization of

target materials.

Swaidan, a US citizen of Jordanian descent, is a founding student

of KAUST and was involved in helping design and set up the gas

permeation systems in AMPM with two other founding students

under the guidance of Dr. Eric Litwiller, a senior research scientist.

“Under Eric’s leadership, I acquired an invaluable set of skills that

supplement my knowledge from the classroom,” says Swaidan.

“Now we have full control over state-of-the-art equipment that

gives us insightful data only few have access to worldwide.”

Swaidan was not the only KAUST presenter at the conference;

he shares that his talk and those of two other colleagues from

AMPM sparked a lot of interest in KAUST and respect for the work

being done in AMPM.

Souraya Goumri-Said, a postdoctoral fellow working with Prof. Sahraoui

Chaeib in the Nano-Biophysics Laboratory in the Physical Science and

Engineering (PSE) Division, has been named as an associate editor in the

interdisciplinary section of Frontiers’ physics journal. As such, she will

be responsible for building the review editorial board and overseeing the

review process.

Frontiers is a Swiss, Gold open-access academic publisher launched in

2007 as a grassroots initiative by scientists of the Swiss Federal Institute of

Technology (EPFL). It is the first publisher to develop its own customized

IT platform to facilitate open-access publishing and offer novel solutions

to peer-review. Frontiers has recently partnered with the Nature Publishing

Group to advance the global open science movement.

At KAUST, Goumri-Said’s main area of research is density functional

theory applied to material science and the modeling of the physical properties

of functionalized materials, such as spintronics, ceramics, carbides, nitrides,

and materials for storage hydrogen. She also specializes in modeling optical

photonic devices and nanostructures for photovoltaic applications.

Goumri-Said is also associate editor of the Central European Journal of

Physics within the Springer Verlag Edition since 2008. She is the author of

more than 53 papers.

research 7www.kaust.edu.sa December 2013

raJa Swaidan winS award aT The inTernaTiOnal MeMBrane SCienCe and TeChnOlOGy COnferenCe

SOuraya GOuMri-Said naMed aSSOCiaTe ediTOr Of frOnTierS PhySiCS JOurnal

KauST reSearCherS adVanCe field Of GraPhene PlaSMOniCS

Prof. Hakan Bagci (L) and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Mohamed Farhat (r) discuss their work on graphene plasmonics in Prof. Bagci’s office at KaUst.

souraya Goumri-said

raja swaiden, third from left, is congratulated by Dr. Bader Ghanem, Dr. eric Litwiller, Professor ingo Pinnau, and Dr. Xiaohua Ma.

The Auditorium in building 20 vibrated on Nov. 27 and 28

with enthusiasm and pride as parents, friends, and community

members were entertained by The KAUST School (TKS)

students presenting the musical, “The Ozee.” The production

was adapted by John McHugh and Catherine Hill from the

1902 Broadway musical, “The Wizard of Oz” and the urban

adaptation of 1975 of the same called “The Wiz,” using songs

from each and parts of the storyline into a shortened version

appropriate for children.

Over 130 students, parents, and teachers worked for nine

weeks to prepare for the production. The obvious joy the

students derived from participating was a delight to watch.

The youngest actors were the Munchkins from grades K3

to grade five. There were also secondary school Munchkins

and crows from grades six through eleven. Eight students

were part of the orchestra while others helped backstage

with design, props, scenery, and stage management.

The principals of the production were Leesa Tulley as

Dorothy; Nathan Herrington as Scarecrow; Mohid Malik

as Tin Man; Fatima Mahmud as Lion; Shaiza Sinha as

Wicked Woman; Meghan Lees as Glinda; and Briana

Sewell as The Wizard. Each played his or her part to

the fullest, and their songs either moved the audience

like “Over the Rainbow” sung by the beautiful soprano

voice of Dorothy or “rocked the house” like “Don’t

Give Me No Bad News” by the Wicked Woman. The

rollicking finale with the entire cast on stage

singing and dancing “Ease On Down the Road”

brought on a roar of applause.

Others teachers responsible for the well done

production were Jennifer Hermanson, choral direction;

Lindsey Brooker, choreography; Chuck Brooker, band

direction and arrangement; Catherine Hill and Eduardo

Regula, elementary direction and arrangement; and Lauren

Molloy and Rebbecca Morris, costume and set design.

If you missed “The Ozee,” be sure to remember to

watch for the next production next school year.

You’ll be glad you did!

December 2013 Comunity8 The Beacon

John MchughJohn McHugh, a secondary school drama teacher

at The KAUST School (TKS) , was one of the two

directors and adaptors of “The Ozee,” the TKS

musical production that was recently performed.

John, a native of Ireland, has been at KAUST since August 2011.

He is originally from Donegal, but lived for five years in Istanbul with

his parents and attended secondary school there. He graduated from

Middlesex University in North London and taught in London for three

years. While there, he also worked with the Harringey Shed Charity

using drama to raise the self-esteem of disadvantaged children. He

says he became interested in drama while at the International School

in Istanbul where he had a wonderful teacher. He hopes he can be

that kind of teacher and instill a love of drama in his students as well.

One of the rumors bandied about by the students at TKS is that

Mr. McHugh was in the movie, “Captain America.” Yes, it is true. He

played a US Marine. He said, “I had no lines, but I had a great time

being on a set. If you don’t blink, you can see me in one scene.” He

said the movie scene he was in was shot in London in really raw

weather, and he was costumed only in a t-shirt and camouflaged pants

with no coat. And, “Kids, the explosions in the movie are really as loud

on the set as they are in the movie,” he says.

In his free time, John enjoys cycling with a group of friends and

running. He is training to prepare for a triathlon, but says the

swimming part still needs work.

Sahraoui chaiebSahraoui Chaieb, Associate Professor of

Mechanical Engineering, is a KAUST founding

professor, a “dinosaur,” he joking says, since he

has been at KAUST since the fall of 2009. Previous

to coming here he was at the University of Illinois in Urbana for

ten years and at MIT for three years before that.

Algerian by birth, he moved to Paris to study for his BS

degree in Physics, his MS degree in Theoretical Physics, and

his PhD degree in Physics and Physical Chemistry at the

Ecole Normale Supérieure. His research interests include

condensed matter physics, in particular the interaction

of waves with matter (photonics) and the mechanics of

materials with application to disordered nanomaterials and

to biophysics.

Besides his own research and working with his MS and PhD

students, he was a mentor for the Saudi Research Science Institute

(SRSI) this past summer. “I was very pleased with the students’

level of ability to perform in the lab. They were able to carry out

and understand the research I asked them to undertake,” Sahraoui

said. “They were also mature, which is important for them to focus

on the work they need to do in a short time.”

An avid mountaineer, Sahraoui has climbed to site on a few,

Mount Vinson in Antarctica and Mount Cook in New Zealand, one

of the most difficult mountains to climb. He also enjoys swimming,

running and cycling. Once about 20 years ago, he cycled most of

the route of the Tour De France, but at a slower rate of speed that

the cyclists in the actual race. He says, “It was a rigorous ride.”

“I am very happy to be at KAUST. Almost everything is easily

accessible, especially colleagues at all levels. Sometimes I cannot

imagine living anywhere else for many, many reasons,” he said.

My University

TKS STudenTS enThrall audienCe wiTh “The Ozee”

One of the Munchkins gives Dorothy advice. Crows threaten the scarecrow during “the Ozee.”

Leading characters in the tKs musical, clockwise from top: the Lion, the scarecrow, the Wicked Woman, the Wizard, Glinda, Dorothy, and the tin Man.

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