King Abdullah University
of Science and Technology
Tackling Global Challenges Through Cutting-Edge Research
KAUST is an oasis of innovation and a force for transformation serving Saudi Arabia and the world. Founded in 2009 on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, KAUST is an international graduate-level research university advancing science, education, economic development and entrepreneurism. Though young, KAUST has been recognized as one of the world’s fastest-growing research institutions for high-impact science. Its faculty are recruited from prestigious global universities and collaborate in research centers aligned to the university’s strategic work in energy, water, food, climate and the environment, and artificial intelligence.
On a Mission to Support Research in Service of Humanity
In January 2021, Lawrence Carin, an internationally recognized expert in machine learning and artificial intelligence joined KAUST as provost.
“KAUST is inspiring,” says Carin. “We are tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges, from advancing human health to elucidating the enigmas of the universe. This makes KAUST a wellspring of innovation. We are translating our research for societal impact, and through our educational programs, we are producing a world-class STEM workforce. Between our unique funding model, tremendous freedom, absence of departmental boundaries, our strategic centers that foster creativity and interdisciplinarity, and some of the finest core facilities in the world, we can do science not just for science’s sake—we can make it transformational, for all.”
About KAUST
Mission
Vision
KAUST advances science and technology through distinctive and collaborative research integrated with graduate education. We are a catalyst for innovation, economic development and social prosperity in Saudi Arabia and the world.
We exist for the pursuit and advancement of scientific knowledge and its broad dissemination and benevolent application. We strive to enhance the welfare of society with a special focus on four areas of global significance – food, water, energy and the environment.
KAUST aspires to be a destination for scientific and technological education and research. By inspiring discoveries to address global challenges, we strive to serve as a beacon of knowledge that bridges people and cultures for the betterment of humanity.
Mark Tester
Professor, Plant Science
Associate Director, Center for Desert Agriculture
Professor Tester is elucidating the molecular genetic mechanisms that enable certain plants to thrive in suboptimal conditions, such as high salinity or temperature, and then deliver the outputs in economically viable systems. His group aims to increase the global productivity of crops in conditions of challenging abiotic stress and to unlock seawater by developing an agricultural system where salt-tolerant crops are irrigated with partially desalinized seawater or brackish groundwater.
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Mani Sarathy
Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Associate Director, Clean Combustion Research Center
With a passion for developing sustainable energy technologies with decreased net environmental impact, Professor Sarathy is focusing on simulating the combustion chemistry of transportation fuels. He is developing fundamental chemical kinetic models to simulate fuel combustion and pollutant formation in energy systems. The models can be used by engine designers to achieve various performance targets and can illuminate how the chemical structure of a fuel affects pollutant formation.
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J. Carlos Santamarina
Professor, Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering
Associate Director, Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center
Professor Santamarina explores the scientific foundations of geomaterial behavior and subsurface processes using particle-level and pore-scale experiments, combined with numerical methods and high-resolution process-monitoring systems. This conceptual and experimental framework is advancing the study of phenomena and the development of solutions in energy geotechnology for resource recovery, energy geostorage, efficiency and conservation, and energy waste.
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Magnus Rueping
Professor, Chemical Science
Associate Director, KAUST Catalysis Center
Professor Rueping’s research is directed toward the development and simplification of synthetic catalytic methodologies and technologies and their application in the rapid synthesis of diverse functional molecules. Current projects focus on metal catalysis and organocatalysis as well as photo- and flow catalysis, including metal catalysis and biocatalysis, new reaction methodology and technology, smart materials, photochemistry, and flow chemistry.
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Håvard Rue
Professor, Statistics
Professor Rue works on computational Bayesian statistics and Bayesian methodology such as priors, sensitivity, and robustness. His main body of research is built around the R-INLA (R-integrated nested Laplace approximation) project (www.r-inla.org), a practical tool to approximate Bayesian analysis of latent Gaussian models, often at extreme data scales. His work on stochastic partial differential equations enables representation of Gaussian fields for use in spatial statistics.
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Boon Ooi
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor Ooi studies semiconductor lasers and photonic integrated circuits. He has developed practical technologies for semiconductor photonics integrated circuits, broadband semiconductor lasers, multiple-wavelength lasers, and superluminescent diodes. His recent interest is areas of gallium nitride (GaN)-based nanostructures and lasers for applications such as solid-state lighting and visible light communications.
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Omar Mohammed
Associate Professor, Material Science and Engineering
Professor Mohammed’s research is directed toward the fundamental understanding of carrier dynamics in a variety of solar-cell systems, including semiconductor quantum dots, polymers and perovskite solar cells (with the aid of cutting-edge nanotechnology), ultrafast laser spectroscopy, and four-dimensional electron imaging. These investigations will provide valuable input for the engineering and optimization of solar cell devices.
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Matthew McCabe
Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering
Associate Director, Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC)
Professor McCabe is focused on water and food security, climate change impacts, precision agriculture, water resources monitoring and modeling, and the novel use of technologies for enhanced Earth system observation. Using modeling and observational approaches, his group investigates the distribution, variability, and exchange of water at local, regional, and global scales, as well as interactions with vegetation.
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Pierre Magistretti
Distinguished Professor
Director, KAUST Smart Health Initiative
Biological & Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division
Professor Magistretti has made significant contributions to the field of brain energy metabolism, discovering cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the coupling between neuronal activity and energy consumption by the brain. This work has considerable ramifications for understanding the origin of the signals detected by functional brain imaging techniques used in neurologic and psychiatric research.
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Niveen Khashab
Professor, Chemical Science
Inspired by the model of evolutionary biological systems, Professor Khashab’s research group is designing and synthesizing supramolecular assemblies at the nanoscale, employing noncovalent and coordination interactions. The main advantage of these molecularly defined entities is their superior solution processability, allowing them to be easily and reproducibly integrated in future commercial fabrication processes. These systems are designed with an emphasis on hierarchical assembly (evolution), porosity (ordered self-assembly), and stimuli-responsiveness (smart materials).
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Peiying Hong
Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering
Professor Hong investigates molecular microbiology and microbial aspects in water and wastewater ecosystems. Her research aims to understand the roles and interactions of microorganisms in these ecosystems and to apply these insights to solving issues related to water quality and water reuse. Another focus of her research is biotic contaminants present in natural and engineered environments, including antibiotic resistance genes, mobile genetic elements, and pathogens.
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Yu Han
Professor, Chemical Science
Professor Han’s research interests at KAUST include the synthesis of nanoporous and nanostructured materials, the resolution of their complicated structures and the development of novel applications. These structures are tailored for use in heterogeneous catalysis, gas separation and capture, water harvesting, and energy storage and conversion. His group is also developing low-dose electron microscopy techniques for real-space direct imaging of extremely sensitive crystalline materials.
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Jorge Gascon
Professor, Material Science and Engineering
Professor Alshareef is developing nanomaterials for energy storage, electronics, and sensors. Applications of his group's current projects include mobile ion batteries (Li, Na, Zn, and K), electrochemical supercapacitors and microsupercapacitors, wearable electronics and sensors, transparent electronics, and thermoelectric materials. He is veteran of the semiconductor industry who has put materials in volume production at companies such as Texas Instruments.
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Mohamed Eddaoudi
Distinguished Professor, Chemical Science
Director, Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Research Center
Professor Eddaoudi is developing new strategies for the design and synthesis of functional solid-state materials from molecular building blocks and advancing the understanding of the structure–property relationship of materials. His group works toward developing made-to-order metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that address some of our most challenging and enduring societal needs, such as clean energy alternatives, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and remediation of chemical and biological threats.
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Carlos Duarte
Distinguished Professor, Marine Science
Professor Duarte is a world leader in multiple branches of biological oceanography and marine ecology. His work spans from the tropics to polar ecosystems, from macrophytes to microbes, and from coastal systems to open ocean gyres, using all types of approaches. His research has stoked discussion on the heterotrophic nature of oligotrophic systems and identified the role of hypoxia thresholds for marine biodiversity.
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Stefaan De Wolf
Associate Professor, Material Science and Engineering
Professor De Wolf’s expertise lies in photovoltaics for terrestrial applications. His research focuses on the fabrication of high-efficiency silicon-based solar cells, especially the fundamental understanding of interface structures and electrical contact formation relevant to solar cells and electronic devices. He is also interested in new device architectures and applications, such as perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells, to capture the full solar spectrum for electricity generation.
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Osman Bakr
Professor, Material Science and Engineering
Professor Bakr’s research is focused on the physics and chemistry of hybrid materials. His group studies the synthesis and assembly of organic–inorganic hybrid materials and nanomaterials with novel optical and electronic properties. These materials can be used to fabricate advanced material building blocks for solar cells and optoelectronic devices.
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Mohamed-Slim Alouini
Distinguished Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor Alouini’s research addresses inequities in global distribution and how this impacts access to and use of information and communication technologies. His group has developed aerial and space networks to provide connectivity to remote geographical areas with low populations and uses diverse technologies such as multihop/cooperative communications systems, optical wireless communication systems, cognitive radio systems, and green communication systems.
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Husam Alshareef
Professor, Material Science and Engineering
Professor Alshareef is developing nanomaterials for energy storage, electronics, and sensors. Applications of his group’s current projects include mobile ion batteries (Li, Na, Zn, and K), electrochemical supercapacitors and microsupercapacitors, wearable electronics and sensors, transparent electronics, and thermoelectric materials. He is veteran of the semiconductor industry who has put materials in volume production at companies such as Texas Instruments.
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Professor, Chemical Engineering
Director, KAUST Catalysis Center
Professor Gascon’s research interests fall at the intersection of chemical engineering and materials science, including the development and validation of new nanostructured materials and composites. Applications of his work include multifunctional catalysis, with special emphasis in C1 chemistry.
He has received the ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engineering Award for his work on separation techniques and separation modeling in petrochemistry and engineering of metal–organic frameworks for gas separation.
Lawrence Carin
KAUST Provost
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“We are translating our research for societal impact, and through our educational programs, we are producing a world-class STEM workforce.”
KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is a young university located in Saudi Arabia. Perched on the eastern edge of the Red Sea, this novel oasis of innovation is a force for transformation, service, knowledge, and inquiry. Despite only 12 years of existence, KAUST has already set a standard for fostering high-impact, revolutionary science and engineering research and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing research institutions in the world. Its star faculty, recruited from prestigious international universities, collaborate in research centers correlated with KAUST’s strategic initiatives, including energy, water, food, climate and livability, and artificial intelligence (AI). “KAUST has a mission to perform world-class S&T research, to translate that research for societal impact, and through our educational programs produce a world-class STEM workforce,” says Provost Lawrence Carin.
- Lawrence Carin, Provost
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Website created by the /AAAS Custom Publishing Office
Website created by the /AAAS Custom Publishing Office
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