King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

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King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
جامعة الملك عبد الله للعلوم و التكنولوجيا
Established: Expected in 2009
Type: Public
Endowment: US$10 billion[1]
President: Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr (Interim President)
Shih Choon Fong (President Designate)
Location: Rabigh, Saudi Arabia
Campus: 36 million square meters
Website: www.kaust.edu.sa

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) (Arabic: جامعة الملك عبد الله للعلوم و التكنولوجيا) is a research institution which is expected to be completed in 2009. The aim of the University is to promote research and science achievement in Saudi Arabia and around the globe.

The development of the University was assigned to Saudi Aramco by King Abdullah. The interim chairman of the University development team is Nadhmi Al-Nasr, an executive in Saudi Aramco who held different positions including Vice President of Engineering.

KAUST is scheduled to open with a $10 billion endowment.[1]

Contents

[edit] General information

The location of the KAUST is in the west coast near the city of Jeddah. According to the University's website, the university will start on September 2009 with 250/350 students pursuing Masters and Ph.D degrees. King Abdullah has bestowed an endowment of 23 billion dollars on the university and commissioned Saudi Aramco, the Saudi-owned oil company to design and build the university's campus and curriculum.[2] At maturity, the total KAUST community will number approximately 20,000 people

[edit] Global Research Partnerships

On April 30, 2008, KAUST's Global Research Partnership (GRP) announced its grants to four interdisciplinary scientific research centers that are engaged in path-breaking work in the areas of applied mathematics, molecular photovoltaics, nanomaterials and computational science. The Centers are at Cornell University, the University of Oxford, Stanford University, and Texas A&M University.[3]

The GRP grants will support four Centers:

  • Cornell University’s KAUST Center for Research and Education, led by co-Principal Investigators Lynden A. Archer and Emmanuel P. Giannelis, will focus on applications and fundamental studies of novel organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials developed at Cornell. The Center will study these materials as new platforms for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration, desalination of water, production of gas and oil, and solar energy conversion. Cornell will also support KAUST's design and operation of the KAUST Nanoscale Facility (KNF), drawing upon its long history of success with its own NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF), and provide advice on curriculum and faculty development at KAUST.
  • University of Oxford’s Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM), led by Principal Investigator John Ockendon and six Co-Principal Investigators, will lead to the development of mathematical solutions to real-world problems, as diverse as modeling fluid-structure and acoustic-structure interactions and petroleum reservoir simulation (with applications in industry), modeling of plant and crop growth in stressed environments and vegetation-dune interactions (with applications in agriculture and land use policy). OCCAM will also enable a broad range of the basic and applied research lines at KAUST. OCCAM and its classes, lectures, and local and international network will be accessible through this collaboration. The Oxford Mathematical Institute’s renowned “Industrial Study Group” methodology —which provides a direct link between academe and the problems faced by commercial enterprises—will be transferred to KAUST between now and 2010.
  • Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Molecular Photovoltaics, led by Michael McGehee and Peter Peumans as co-Principal Investigators, is structured as a global research program engaging five other universities, including KAUST in Saudi Arabia, to address the efficiency and reliability in the conversion of solar energy to electric energy via molecular photovoltaic collectors with elements made from refined petroleum (polymers). The program covers the full spectrum of basic and developmental research from the fundamental properties of the materials through the challenges of manufacturing and deployment of the new technology. The research carried out around the world will be integrated with the establishment of a research facility and field station at KAUST focused on the science and engineering of durability in solar cells. The Center director will take his sabbatical at KAUST, lending his teaching and research organizing skills. Also, through exchanges of students and postdoctoral researchers at each campus, Stanford will bring its expertise on solar materials to KAUST work at its most formative stage.
  • Texas A&M University’s Institute for Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (IAMCS), led by Principal Investigator James Calvin, is designed to partner research and graduate education in applied mathematics and computational science at KAUST through joint development and pursuit of annual research themes, weekly seminars, and semi-annual and annual research working sessions. The Center will engage mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists on problems in the earth sciences, material sciences, and bio-sciences. Applications include reservoir modeling, thermoacoustic and photoacoustic imaging related to diagnosis of disease, models of gene expression, and imaging of complex data such as seismic data. As part of the Center activity, Texas A&M will launch and maintain graduate and postgraduate fellowships that allow graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to receive supervision, earn degrees, and/or contribute to research both at TAMU and at KAUST.

The selection of the Centers was based on criteria including scientific merit and quality of the proposed research, demonstrated research center capability, organizational plan for executing the research over five years, the ability to collaborate in a team environment, and the direct relevance and benefits of the proposed research to the mission areas of KAUST, including energy and environment, materials science and engineering, biosciences, and applied mathematics and computational science.[3]

[edit] Campus

Still under construction, the campus site is in a coastal location near the fishing village of Thuwal, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Jeddah. The total area is more than 36 million square meters (nearly 9,000 acres), including a coral-reef ecosystem that will be preserved by the University as a marine sanctuary, and will be a focus for research.

[edit] Presidential search

As of 13 January 2008, Professor Shih Choon Fong has been named the Founding President of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Prof. Shih is the current president of National University of Singapore and will be leaving NUS at the end of 2008.

[edit] Degrees

It is anticipated that the university will open with six fields of studies:

  1. Chemical Engineering
  2. Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
  3. Mechanical Engineering
  4. Materials Science and Engineering
  5. Computational Earth Science and Engineering
  6. Biosciences and Bioengineering

It is expected to add:

  1. Electrical Engineering
  2. Civil and Environmental Engineering

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Tamar Lewin, U.S. Universities Join Saudis in Partnerships, The New York Times, March 6, 2008.
  2. ^ Thanassis Cambnis, Saudi King Tries to Grow Modern Ideas in Desert, The New York Times, October 26, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Abdullah Al Maghlooth, [1], EurekAlert, April 30, 2008.

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

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